smooth 17s?

[paddy]

evening, i recently put some bk racing 17 inch alloys on my 1.4 sx, they were second hand off ebay with goodyear tyres. Ive read lots of posts on here saying that 17s are a much harsher ride then the standard wheels but since ive had them fitted my car actually feels a lot smoother?! i was expecting it to be a real rough ride but its the complete opposite. just thought id say this as it was a pleasent surprise. Anyone else found this?

 

[Andy]

Yep mine is the same. I can't tell the difference to be honest (well not over bumps etc) but handleing around corners is obviously much better.

 

[Dan]

this is something which is said and is wrong, you are right, it isn't the putting on bigger wheels that makes the ride worse... (unless you're going a lot bigger than 17" anyway...)

what makes the ride worse (bumpier etc) is when you lower it!

feel every bump in the road...

BUT it handles like it is glued to the road - and looks the ******** cos a bravo on 17's not lowered looks like it's on stilts, so it depends what you want, comfort and looking ok-ish, or 17's, 18's, 19's lowered looking "fat" and handling amazingly!

 

[Tom]

You will get worse handling as the tyre profile gets lower.

The suspension has very little camber change with compression and as the car rolls when cornering the contact of the tyre with the road will change. If you've got a really low profile tyre that can't flex the contact patch will get smaller with body roll reducing grip.

You also have a heavier wheel which means the suspension is working harder to control it and stop it bouncing around.

 

[Anonymous]

mines alot smoother since i had the 17's on, but that has alot to do with the wheel being balanced properly, no more speed judder, and i found that the grip is much better in the dry, but im still not sure about the toyos in the wet, had a couple of moments today, and its not the first time either.

Andy_sx

 

[rsmallwo]

mine

my car seems the same comfort wise with 17's on with 205/40/17 tyres.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/thread?forumid=15639&messageid=1122151355&lp=1122307398

it aint lowered and i don't think i looks like its on stilts, looks like a car should but aint got that bad boy look which i aint going for.

you want poorer ride but better grip then go for lowering (cheers for the info Dan, i thought lowering would affect ride quality)