Smaller Wheels

[jeffreyt]

got the opportunity to acquire a set of wheels+tyres quite cheap but they are 17" wheels .

They would simply be a spare set and probably only used in winter so not concerned with the looks.

I am not sure if there is any mechanical downside to fitting smaller wheels hence the post.

Any of you folks tried running this car on smaller wheels or know of any reason its not a good idea.

Thanks

[alphacat]

got the opportunity to acquire a set of wheels+tyres quite cheap but they are 17" wheels .

They would simply be a spare set and probably only used in winter so not concerned with the looks.

I am not sure if there is any mechanical downside to fitting smaller wheels hence the post.

Any of you folks tried running this car on smaller wheels or know of any reason its not a good idea.

Thanks

Two points... I don't see why a car should look worse in the winter than it does in the summer. That's the first.

and secondly its not the size of the wheel that counts its the overall diameter if the wheel and the tyre. So if the wheel is reduced to 17 inch and the car is supposed to have 18 inch wheels the tyre should have a compensating dimension.. If the tyre dimensions are the same certain parameters will be compromised such as the measured speed of the vehicles speedometer. Besides these two points there are actually more now I think about it... 3rd point why change tyres in an English winter when most of the roads are the same as summer as far as grip is concerned. In Scandinavia there is a point but in the UK there isn't, if winter tyres are used they have less grip most of the time and better grip for a limited number of winter days. So its a marketing feature that provides profits there are many advantages to global warming even less need to use winter tyres is one of them. Unless you are going to wake up in the morning and change tyres depending on the prevailing conditions a normal tyre with good wet characteristics is all you will ever need. Now to address the specific issue of reduced wheel diameter if you do this you effectively increase torque at the wheel making slip on wet or snow more likely. If a car is fitted with a 'snow' button for instance like the SC430 is it reduces throttle response to compensate and spreads the torque. Reducing the diameter of the wheel makes that less effective. If you think these wheels fitted with winter tyres are worth putting on your car I think your well mistaken. Its just not clever.

[jeffreyt]

As it turned out I didn't get these cheap wheels,at the last minute the bidding went way too high for me.

Winter tyres were never on the agenda,they are simply a gimmick for 99% of the time.

The idea of a spare set of wheels was simply to save my nice shiny newly refurbed wheels from having to go out in an English winter.

I still have the original 'dinner plate' wheels with the RF tyres on them so will probably put them back on for the winter.

I was planning to sell the original wheels ( assuming there is a market for them ) but will shelve that for the moment.

[alphacat]

As it turned out I didn't get these cheap wheels,at the last minute the bidding went way too high for me.

Winter tyres were never on the agenda,they are simply a gimmick for 99% of the time.

The idea of a spare set of wheels was simply to save my nice shiny newly refurbed wheels from having to go out in an English winter.

I still have the original 'dinner plate' wheels with the RF tyres on them so will probably put them back on for the winter.

I was planning to sell the original wheels ( assuming there is a market for them ) but will shelve that for the moment.

Take your point.. I would say however I am not sure winter in the Uk is anything to take precautions about. What gets me in North Yorkshire is the road works where they leave small stone chips in tar (we have a lot of that) they reduce the speed limit to 20mph (as if anyone takes notice) for a few days until its all set but those stone chips are a pain. Should be banned.