I drive a 1.6 litre car with 15%26quot; rims. If I change to 17%26quot; rims, how will it affect the performance of my car? Also, do I need to upgrade my disc brakes?15%26quot; to 17%26quot; alloy rims?
They should fit with no trouble, however your Tires will be pretty expensive and not give you much milage as the stock wheels and tires it came with.
You will notice much better handling/road holding from the new wheel/tire combo, but you will also feel every rough spot in the roads you drive...and once the rains come along it might be a little slippery...
No you dont have to modify anything in regards to brakes, BUT better brakes are always a great thing to have!
Best wishes!15%26quot; to 17%26quot; alloy rims?
Your ride quality will probably suffer.
Chances are the 17 inch wheels will weigh significantly more. Assuming you're going to the same size tire, the sidewall will be much shorter, but the actual rim itself will be much larger, and the spokes longer. Part of what determines how smoothly a car rides is the ratio of sprung to unsprung weight. Unsprung weight is everything that is on the OUTSIDE of the springs/shocks. That means wheels, brakes, bearings, and part of the weight of the suspension components and drive shafts. The more that stuff weighs, the more the springs and shocks have to work to dampen the motion caused when you hit a bump. Thus you feel it in the passenger compartment more. Also, your suspension components will wear out faster.
This weight will also (perhaps unnoticably) affect your acceleration. Because you will have more weight to get spinning (and ALL of it is added at the outside of the wheel, where it's hardest to get spinning) it will take longer to get up to speed. You probably won't notice, but it'll be there. Oh, and the added gyroscopic effect of all that extra spinning mass could affect cornering, too...but again, you probably won't notice.
Oh, and you'll see a decrease in (city) fuel economy from the extra energy you have to use to get the wheels spinning. Again, probably too small to really notice.
Also, with a shorter sidewall in the tire, there is less tire to absorb impacts. This also results in a harsher ride. There being less sidewall also means there is less flex in the tire as you corner, which would result in crisper cornering. So it isn't all bad.
Upgrading your brakes wouldn't be a terrible idea, since you've got that extra rotating mass to stop. Also, you have more room for brakes now. But it probably isn't necessary.15%26quot; to 17%26quot; alloy rims?
you will get better fuel economy but reduced pickup, the handleing feels much better, don't worry about brake upgrades15%26quot; to 17%26quot; alloy rims?
The problem with upgrading rims is that, you are more prone to kerbing them -which looks nasty and can cost quite a bit to repair- and also, the can lead to less grip whilst cornering and ruin the drive of the car. I have read about someone who decided to upgrade his rim, and this is what he thought of the result
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evolongt
