Upgrading Rims: Performance / Handling gain?

[pokesmot]

alright, I currently have 4 crappyass 14" steel rims.. and I have really been eyeballing these 16" Aluminum OEM rims for my white 93 grand am.

http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/inventexinc/6506w_c.jpg

by spending $ and upgrading tot hese rims will I notice any handling / suspension improvements?

cause currently my car seems bumpy as hell! (or in other words, I can feel every single imperfection in the road as I drive over it) and thats with all new shocks and struts too :(

[PontiacGT]

um...........I assume with 16s you will be running lower profile tires, so you would feel a MORE HARSH ride than you do now. the more cushion you have, the less you feel.

[urweak]

Well the grand am isnt built like a caddy or some high end car that feels like its floating over the road. So your going to have the ride you have.

As for performance, changing to a larger wheel might help with hard cornering, since you will be running a smaller tire and there will be less sidewall flex.

[Foxy]

The stock tires on your car are 185/75-14, right? Do you know the width of the new wheels?

If we assume that it's the same width as the old wheels, the new right size will be 185/55-16. That's still a lot of sidewall (they're not exactly low profile), and I wouldn't be too concerned as far as changing the feel.

There aren't any good performance tires in that size, either summer or all-season. Tirerack says that the optional size for your car's year (I guess optional wheels?) is 205/55/16, for which there are quite a few good choices. The upgrade in wheel size, along with the much wider range of choices for performance tires, is definately worthwhile in my opinion. The ride still shouldn't be too harsh.

Depending on the relative weights of the wheels, you might lose/gain some performance in a straight line, though. Larger wheels have more rotational inertia, which means that it's harder for your engine to turn the wheels. As long as the new wheels you're getting are relatively light (and for factory 16's, I'd imagine that they are), I wouldn't worry about this.

[DontPassTheFence]

Actually, those tires probably call for the 205 tire width like the 'sport' wheels for the 96-98 GTs, however, I could be wrong. 185 is a waste, get 205+. Either way, tis just as urweak said, less sidewall, less sidewall flex, better hard cornering stability, no more rolling over the widewall. A wider tire will help your overall grip, but wont be very fun in winter. Really, it mostly depends on the size and kind of tire you choose form here. A grippy tire in a low profile size with a huge width would be most beneficial to summer performance, maximum dry grip, great cornering stability. An all season tire would lend to to a more all around tire, less overall grip, less actual performance, but less treadwear and less cost (usually)

[skateswitch97]

ive got some 15 inch alloys, they are the style that came of off sunfire convertables and some sunfires, i need to get rid of them, pm if your intrested, and as urweak and matt are saying handling gains pretty much depends on the tires you get

[pokesmot]

what about airless tires?


http://www.fastcoolcars.com/airless-tires.htm



anybody tried them?

[inferno]

ive never seen those on the street.