16" wheels thread

[adprokid]

Advan RZ 86/brz fitment

[adprokid]

TSW forged T66F

[makesdrivingfunagain]

Thank you for this post! I have seriously looked around and have had difficulty finding 16" wheels...I was kind of surprised to observe many people running the big rims and tires (i.e.18 +). I am not a professional driver, but an enthusiast, I thought higher market priced rear wheel drive cars also had staggered wheel combos, that is a smaller tire/rim in the front and a larger one in the rear, such as the Nismo 370Z Nissan, Corvette etc. I think it could be a possibility to really shave more time and weight off this car. I would like to explore this area a bit more, however, life, money and my job has me a bit tight on my budget and R&D. I would seriously like to compare the 8-10lb per wheel or 20lbs total from this rear wheel drive machine on a few dynos, to see if we can go faster. I have to run this naturally aspirated and pass California smog. I know some will say it will be slower on the track in high powered cars, but mine is a street car that may see some auto crossing that isn't that powerful, as it is a stock setup.

[Deadspool]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zh35vjzfix...302_185326.jpg

winter mode

[Porsche]

Originally Posted by Nevermore

A friend told me they were just too small. Some of the people here said they didn't like the look of 16's and that other sizes looked better, or that it wasn't necessary to downsize unless you were racing or autocrossing. I forget if anything else was said.

I could not care less what others think. Others are free to do whatever they like with their cars, and I'd never dream of criticizing another man's personal preferences. What manner of person behaves like that?

My silver BRZ looks just like the silver one above with the white wheels. Minus the decals, of course.

I put 16" white Sparco Assetto Gara wheels on my car for its winter tires. I prefer this appearance to the summer OEM wheels and tires. And there's a good selection of winter tires in 16" diameter.

@Nevermore, I suggest that you go to the Tire Rack and carefully examine the selection of tire options available in a 16" diameter. You will find that the options are very restricted. The Michelin Pilot Super Sport, for instance, is unavailable in a 16" diameter. Not a lot of choices in 16" from any manufacturer in high performance summer rubber. I don't think your preferred all-season Michelin is available in 16" either; that, or it's only available in a very narrow width.

17" wheels offer a far greater choice of tires to select from.

Unless one spends a small fortune on 10-12 lb. wheels, I would not expect to notice any difference in performance with the wheels that are only a few pounds lighter than the OEM. My Sparco wheels are a bit lighter, but I cannot discern any difference in driving. Now, I DO notice the difference in grip between the summer rubber vs. the winter performance tire, especially in braking distances.

I often do a "minus-one" wheel purchase, but the only time I've ever found the difference to be noticeable with smaller and lighter wheels is when we put 12 lb. SSR wheels on our Miata. Both my wife and I noted a difference in acceleration responsiveness. The Miata could spin those light wheels up quicker.

So, if you want 16" wheels, and you're satisfied with the available tire options, and you do not plan to install a big brake kit, then buy these wheels for appearance, since I doubt you'll be able to discern any performance advantage, not in the affordable wheel segment.

[Porsche]

17.339 mph/1k rpm on oem tires

15.388 mph/1k rpm on 215/35-16 Toyo Proxes R1R tires turning 951 revs per mile vs. the twins OEM 844 revs per mile.

Assume a gear ratio of 1.000:1, which is 5th gear in the manual transmission model and 4th gear in the automatic transmission model of the twins.

The Toyo 215/35-16 Proxes R1R tire, turning 951 revs per mile vs. the twins' 844 revs per mile: The Toyo 16" tire would reach 113.9 mph at 7400 rpm in the twins, versus 128.3 mph on the OEM 17" tire.

That's a significant 11.2% reduction in effective gearing, but I think it would just mean I would need to shift a bit sooner and possibly more often in daily driving.

That Toyo is an unusual tire. Most tires that I found on Tire Rack in the 16" diameter range appear to weigh about the same as the 17" tires one might choose, and their rolling diameter appear to be quite close to the OEM size. So, for most tires that one might buy for the 16" wheels, the difference would be much less than this unusually small-diameter Toyo size.

That 21.9" diameter Toyo would create a noticeably larger fender-to-tire gap. Some might find that unsightly. One might then be tempted to spend money to lower the suspension, and ... well.

A 225/45-16 is a more likely size to buy. That gives us a mere 3.1% gearing difference, which is much less than that small Toyo, and not a difference that I would likely feel from the driver's seat.

The gearing change seen when going to a 16" wheel and tire combo is unlikely to make a meaningful difference in my daily driving. If I am looking to shave hundredths of a second in a racing application, then that's another matter; smaller wheels can be good there.

Otherwise, I'd suggest going to a 16" wheel just because one likes the appearance better, and/or keep the same rolling diameter via a taller aspect ratio (taller sidewall), which will yield a more comfortable ride as a general rule. (Although, my taller winter tires actually seem to ride harder than the OEM tires, but they're a different construction, of course.)

Oh, and the taller tire sidewall will better protect the rims from pothole damage if that's a big issue where one drives. In some decaying areas that's a good reason to install 16" rims. Big diameter rims with O-ring tires may result in many wheel lip dings, that then leak air, or even broken rims, which can get expensive. My friend, Damon, at Tire Rack tells me that they get lots of calls for single rims to replace broken rims in Plus-one and Plus-two applications in New York, for instance, with all the potholes. Something to consider when deciding what to purchase.

16" rims can be a good choice. Just be aware of the often limited choice of high performance tires in that diameter.

[Trettiosjuan]

I'm a firm 16" believer and if wheels and tyres were available, I'd even go 15". Light car needs even lighter wheels.

Older thread with quite a few 16", if someone cares to repost the pics here, it can look good too: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...hlight=16+inch

Here are some fitments for our cars 5x100 of really light wheels, feel free to add to the list if you know any more:
Enkei RPF01 16x7.0 +35 6,2kg
Advan RZ 16x7.0 +48 5,9kg
SSR Type-C 16x7.5 +35 5,6kg
Volk Racing CE28N 10sp 16x7.0 +42 5,4kg
SSR Type-F 16x7.0 +38 5,3kg
Volk TE37 16X7 +46 5,1kg (edit: added)
TWS T66-F 16x7.0 +48 4,82kg

[adprokid]

I wish if they also offered 16X9 and 8.5 width, they will be perfect for 245/45/16 tires

[sam69]

I have put 225/50/16's on the original rims as some of our roads where we live are
Looking at going to a 16x7.5 wheel +35 or so as there's a pretty good choice
on amazon I think it was.
More than happy with grip handling atm with this setup and looks way better than stock.

[Trettiosjuan]

People here like to go very wide and perhaps there is some value in that if in a very hot climate. But if one really wants more grip and speed, unless one drives very hard on hot tracks, a "narrower" tyre will actually heat better, be lighter and thus probably be faster.

Edit: talking NA here. FI and massive power is something else

I on the other hand don't drive on track and regret I went for grippier tyres as it kills a lot of the fun, next set will be summer touring tyres Michelin Primacy 3, quite like (in fact, successor to) the OE Primacy HP but a lot cheaper in 16" and should be less twitchy in the wet...

[Trettiosjuan]

Or as I read somewhere else. Have a look at the Honda people, they know how to stay small and light.

[kykiee]

My winter set - WRX Rims

[Wayno]

Shame there's 2 threads for the same thing. Double the 16" publicity I guess!

Wheel Directory: Racing Hart CP-035R 16x7 +45 5.0Kg/11lbs

[adprokid]

Forged SSR GT01 16x7.0J +48 Φ56xH19