Ride comfort
- Thread starter angel
- Start date
James1500
Well-Known Member
Re: Ride comfort
I recently changed my 17" stock rims to 19". In addition, I changed out both the upper suspension bushes and 2 x lower arms. I believed I did all these because I am not used to 19" rims with 30/35 profiles. Pretty used to 16" and max 17" inch for my Hyundai and Merc previously.
However, this is a trade off for the car to be more outstanding albeit with higher fuel consumption and "feeling more of the road" while driving.
To date, I am still getting use to the 19".
I recently changed my 17" stock rims to 19". In addition, I changed out both the upper suspension bushes and 2 x lower arms. I believed I did all these because I am not used to 19" rims with 30/35 profiles. Pretty used to 16" and max 17" inch for my Hyundai and Merc previously.
However, this is a trade off for the car to be more outstanding albeit with higher fuel consumption and "feeling more of the road" while driving.
To date, I am still getting use to the 19".
Re: Ride comfort
What upsizing means:
(1) to ride comfort - on low profile (and wider) tyres, you will lose ride comfort but gain surface traction (assuming better tyres such as PS2 or RE11) vis a vis your stock RFTs. As with all handling enhancing mods (coilovers, ARBs, struts, control arms, bushings, cambers, wheels, tyres), you risk comfort in exchange for better handling.
(2) to acceleration response and fuel consumption - a myth. It all depend on the weight of aftermarket wheels and tyres. From 17" set up to 19", the rolling radius (wheel's radius plus 2 times tyre's (aspect ratio times width)) increases slightly. But the weight of the aftermarket wheels plus aftermarket tyres might be much more lighter than stock wheels plus RFTs. This applies to many lightweight forged wheels.
The most important aspect is the weight distribution of the wheels/tyres combined weight - the RFT means greater centrifugal force is required to move the wheels (heavier outer weight) as well as braking . Try to visualise heavier weight on stock + (heavier) RFT set up, versus larger but light aftermarket wheels and lighter tyres. Similar rolling diameters, but which set up takes require more energy to spin?
What upsizing means:
(1) to ride comfort - on low profile (and wider) tyres, you will lose ride comfort but gain surface traction (assuming better tyres such as PS2 or RE11) vis a vis your stock RFTs. As with all handling enhancing mods (coilovers, ARBs, struts, control arms, bushings, cambers, wheels, tyres), you risk comfort in exchange for better handling.
(2) to acceleration response and fuel consumption - a myth. It all depend on the weight of aftermarket wheels and tyres. From 17" set up to 19", the rolling radius (wheel's radius plus 2 times tyre's (aspect ratio times width)) increases slightly. But the weight of the aftermarket wheels plus aftermarket tyres might be much more lighter than stock wheels plus RFTs. This applies to many lightweight forged wheels.
The most important aspect is the weight distribution of the wheels/tyres combined weight - the RFT means greater centrifugal force is required to move the wheels (heavier outer weight) as well as braking . Try to visualise heavier weight on stock + (heavier) RFT set up, versus larger but light aftermarket wheels and lighter tyres. Similar rolling diameters, but which set up takes require more energy to spin?
