Performance benefits of fitting larger alloys...

[C.slicker]

Wondered if anyone could help...

Thinking of fitting some 17" alloys to my clio 1.2 dynamique.

If we can park peoples views on the aesthetics of 17s to one side, I am just interested in the performance aspect (cornering, handling, straight line speed).

They are wolfrace voodoo's (205/40/17 )instead of the standard 15" renault alloys (185/55/15 tyres) that come on the 2002 dynamique.

What difference should I notice?

I have read that lower pro tyres give better cornerning as less flex, yet F1 cars for example have the highest profile tyres I have ever seen!

Very confused.

Also does anyone know the sort of weight difference between the two?

Thanks in advance,

Sam

 

[Turkish]

Fit 17s and it ruins the drive trust me.

Decent set of lightweight 16s with good tyres is what you want.

 

[C.slicker]

In what way will it ruin the drive?

Sam

 

[G_F]

As in your car will feel like s**t and look s**t.

1*2 were designed with 16" wheels for a reason, not just for giggles

 

[Turkish]

They'll be alot heavier and a 1.2 lump is never going to set the world alight. Even the boys running big power revert to standard rims when they go up the strip instead of their larger show rims. More unsprung rotational mass means it's more effort to get the car off the mark and also makes it ride worse, add that to lower sidewall tyres which are a harsher ride and you get the picture. And that's before you start adding issues of different offsets which most after market wheels end up being.

 

[alexbleubolt]

stick um on kid, your car will look nicer

 

[Craig]

dont do it. listen to looooooooooony iput 17s on my old old car and it fucked up every thing you feel every bump at potholes fooking hell there a nightmare i ended up having 1 square wheel lol. but its your decision mate

 

[rustybolt]

ive gone back to 16s from 17s and the ride, handling etc reminded me why i bought the car in first place.

17s for show blah blah blah

 

[MAXIBOY]

on a 1.2 stick to 16. and drag racing small is fine. but larger wheels do have there place on performance clios. just needs the right wheels and offsets.

 

[Sy]

ive gone back to 16s from 17s and the ride, handling etc reminded me why i bought the car in first place.

17s for show blah blah blah

Snap although the 17's were on when I bought it

 

[C.slicker]

But why is the handling worse?

Surely less tyre flex would lead to increased steering feel and better turn in?

 

[CJ]

But why is the handling worse?

Surely less tyre flex would lead to increased steering feel and better turn in?

They can't turn as far in the arches.

 

[Turkish]

But why is the handling worse?

Surely less tyre flex would lead to increased steering feel and better turn in?

More likely to snap on the limit (when I say snap I mean lose traction abruptly/quickly rather than progressively) then there's the weight more unsprung rotational mass means the suspension cant work as well in terms of reacting to changes in the road surface etc. It's all well and good Putting larger lightweight wheels on racing cars as touring cars run on smooth race circuits not shitty pothole ridden public roads. Also your car does not have a set of £10,000 and upwards dampers with remote resevoirs that will also make a drastic difference. Just trust us, you'll find alot of us myself included have had 17s on their clios at some point and all changed back and noticed a massive improvement in the car when we have.

 

[fUbAr]

its mostly a weight thing.... 17's just weigh so much!

i love my 15"s and would never fit bigger on my 172

 

[Fred@BTM]

depends which 17's you have

superleggeras are lighter than 15's!

(infact a 17inch super leggera is lighter than a 205/40 17 tyre!)

 

[C.slicker]

I have wolfrace voodoo 1's.

Fred, are you saying then that the handling, cornering and all round performance would improve with 17 superleggeras over 15" standard renault alloys?

Would dynamique 15's be superior or inferior to the larger 16" 172s of the same style(the 5 spoke renault ones with like the ridges on the spokes)?

 

[MAXIBOY]

on a 1.2 your best bet is light weight 16,s. i run 18,s on a clio and it takes a lot of work to get the handling spot on with expensive dampers different spring rates and time taken with corner weights and adjustment to get the benefits over 15/16 wheel and tyre combinations.

 

[chrisn01]

I was wondering this as well. For instance, my 182 come with 16s which iv rplaced for 17s. However, the wheel size isnt really that much different because the 16s had a higher profile tyre where the 17s have a lower profile tyre almost making up for the extra inch. Didnt realy notice much differnce in handling apart from the ride was a tad more bumpy.

 

[bigmonmulgrew]

I got 15" but 1cm wider. Handling is great. I did drop the ride 40mm though at the same time.

 

[GordonD]

I have read that lower pro tyres give better cornerning as less flex, yet F1 cars for example have the highest profile tyres I have ever seen!

F1 cars are required by the rules to run 13" diameter wheels. Teams and tyre manufacturers are not allowed to fit anything else. It is one of a number of rules that now look silly and outdated that restrict the performance of F1 cars that the teams and in this case the tyre manufacturers are happy with because as soon as one team went to bigger wheels they'd all have to, so the relative positions of teams would remain exactly the same but the costs and the safety problems associated with the cars going faster and going off the road faster would affect the sport and everyone in it from the drivers to the circuit owners. If they went to 18-20" wheels with low profile tyres like sports car classes grip would be improved and braking would improve - larger and therefore better brakes could be fitted - but the cars would be so fast and their behaviour at the limit would be so hair-trigger that they'd be virtually undriveable. The cars would have to be redesigned to make them bigger crashes surviveable. The tracks would have to be re-built with bigger run-off areas. It simply doesn't help the sport or the teams if the class that's faster than any other class is faster still at a cost of more expense to everyone. And if the cars are made so hard to drive at their limit that anyone but a Schuey would be continually crashing.

 

[MAXIBOY]

yes this is why i,m running 18 inch rims. big brakes which allow for a greater performance increase than the small decrease due to rotational mass. as for weight my lightweight rims alloy callipers alloy bells etc weigh little more than the original cast iron bits and turbines

 

[Gaz_]

18"???!

 

[MAXIBOY]

yeah 18 by 8.5

 

[C.slicker]

Oh right.

Thanks for those reponses, imparticular about the F1 stuff.

I have fitted the alloys today to try myself, and I agree with whoever said the handling felt snappy...

I feel the grip is better but the margin for error is minimised. Also I feel the car lose grip round corners with rough surfaces, presumabely because the tyres are bouncing around more so the surface area on the road is decreased compared to 15" wheels.

 

[Gaz_]

18's on a clio.......... jesus lol!

i found my cup was best on 15's

 

[MAXIBOY]

yeah but its a maxi and needs something to fill the arches. is running 325mm discs and four pots and a high spec high boost turbo conversion so benefits from the extra width