20" Wheels? What's the Point?

[emcmtony]

20 inch Pros:
- looks (completely subjective)

20 inch Cons:
- heavier (all other factors held constant)
- larger polar moment of inertia (slower in every aspect)
- more expensive
- smaller tire selection
- tires are more expensive

The ONLY reason to get 20s over 18" or 19" is if you think they look good (they don't)

Just curious. Using this train of thought, do you think 18s are the wheel size of choice? So you would take an 18 over a 19? Just curious.

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[Paul@PKAUTODESIGN]

I would jump in and say 18" is typically beneficial for this car for Tracking honestly.

19" is a sweet spot for looks and performance even though the 20" market has greatly improved in regards to weight reduction for performance as well.

 

[Ewheels]

Just curious. Using this train of thought, do you think 18s are the wheel size of choice? So you would take an 18 over a 19? Just curious.

100% yes. Obviously, if a wheel size doesn't fit over your brakes, that's a different issue.
Only reason I don't have 18" Apex wheels now is that I'm a cheap bastard.
Also for racing / track driving, there is 100x better selection for slicks in 18" size

 

[emcmtony]

100% yes. Obviously, if a wheel size doesn't fit over your brakes, that's a different issue.
Only reason I don't have 18" Apex wheels now is that I'm a cheap bastard.
Also for racing / track driving, there is 100x better selection for slicks in 18" size

I would say to each his own. For me, the 18 inch tires looks lost in the wheel well. As far as tire choices, I just replaced my tires and I had a choice of the tires I was interested in and went with the BFG G Force tires which are a great tire, so if you can get a great tire, that takes away that "con". They are more expensive but the look, whether or not you agree is pretty much universally accepted as a better look by those who design and build cars. Lighter means absolutely nothing to me. The difference cannot be much more than 10 or 15 pounds which in the real world is really nothing. I would rather lose the .1 seconds going from point A to B and look better than run around with anemic 18 inch wheels.

 

[m3incorp]

OP, I think it is all about personal choices and car usage; just like almost everything else that is done to the car to change it from stock. By skinny tires, are you referring to the width of the tires? I would say the majority of the people that have 20" wheels are not running skinny tires...unless you consider 285, 295, 305, 315 widths to be skinny.

 

[m3incorp]

I don't think an OEM-sized wheel and tire will fit in the spare tire area without causing a hump under the carpet that is covering it. The spare tire well is not really that deep.

Then there's one more question I forgot to ask. If I wanted to buy a spare rim and tire to exactly match the OEM ones where would I get them other than the Ford dealer? I think mine comes with one of those crappy little spare kits.

 

[PoCoBob]

I assume the OP is referring to the sidewall when he says skinny. You can still fill the wheel opening with a 18" or 19" by moving to a higher aspect ratio. What changes with a narrow sidewall is ride comfort and with a wide sidewall you give up control as the more sidewall, the more flex it has.

 

[m3incorp]

Hmmm you may be right. I guess I've always looked at sidewalls as tall or short

I assume the OP is referring to the sidewall when he says skinny. You can still fill the wheel opening with a 18" or 19" by moving to a higher aspect ratio. What changes with a narrow sidewall is ride comfort and with a wide sidewall you give up control as the more sidewall, the more flex it has.

 

[Ewheels]

I would say to each his own. For me, the 18 inch tires looks lost in the wheel well. As far as tire choices, I just replaced my tires and I had a choice of the tires I was interested in and went with the BFG G Force tires which are a great tire, so if you can get a great tire, that takes away that "con". They are more expensive but the look, whether or not you agree is pretty much universally accepted as a better look by those who design and build cars. Lighter means absolutely nothing to me. The difference cannot be much more than 10 or 15 pounds which in the real world is really nothing. I would rather lose the .1 seconds going from point A to B and look better than run around with anemic 18 inch wheels.

We're never going to agree on this, and that's ok.

"Cool" looking wheels mean absolutely nothing to me. Filling the wheel wells is irrelevant to me. I would much rather set faster lap times by any means necessary. That being said, I know I'm in the minority on this forum

 

[kz]

We're never going to agree on this, and that's ok.

"Cool" looking wheels means absolutely nothing to me. Filling the wheel wells is irrelevant to me. I would much rather set faster lap times by any means necessary. That being said, I know I'm in the minority on this forum

Unfortunately you are. Not picking on any particular person in this thread but in general - getting "cool" (sometimes quite atrociously looking) wheels and cheapest tires they can find is a trend on what people like to call a sports care I'll never understand.

 

[emcmtony]

We're never going to agree on this, and that's ok.

"Cool" looking wheels means absolutely nothing to me. Filling the wheel wells is irrelevant to me. I would much rather set faster lap times by any means necessary. That being said, I know I'm in the minority on this forum

Understood. I don't race nor will I ever race so I don't get it. good luck

 

[m3incorp]

I am in agreement with you for how you use your car. I would venture to say that the majority of the cars never see any track time...drag or laps.

We're never going to agree on this, and that's ok.

"Cool" looking wheels means absolutely nothing to me. Filling the wheel wells is irrelevant to me. I would much rather set faster lap times by any means necessary. That being said, I know I'm in the minority on this forum

 

[Ewheels]

Unfortunately you are. Not picking on any particular person in this thread but in general - getting "cool" (sometimes quite atrociously looking) wheels and cheapest tires they can find is a trend on what people like to call a sports care I'll never understand.

I used to be part of the "park and stare" crowd when I was younger but then track life sank its beautiful teeth in and I never looked back.

Plus I'm a pretty utilitarian / objective minded person so the concept of spending thousands on bling-bling wheels who's only purpose is that of an aesthetic nature baffles me.

 

[Velgen]

Definitely a huge factor is for the bling and filling up the wheel well. We are working on bringing in more 19" wheels at the moment. We have a lot of 20".

 

[oneheadlite]

You are missing nothing. It is a bling factor and looks. Significantly less tire choice and higher weight for same or similar wheel design (yes, you can always find smaller diameter heavier wheel but other than make yourself feel good you have 20" wheels, that reasoning makes little sense).

...still, like I've said several times.
I would really like to have 15" wheels; either Cragar or Keystone Klassics w/
BFGoodrich Radial T/A's.
Extra sidewall for a little smoother ride and 'killer looks'................

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