Wheel help

[GNAT87]

Before i order my new rims i just wanted to ask are "skinnies" the 3.5 width rim because thats the look im going for...my car is drove on the street often, is this a bad idea?

 

[CJ's6]

wheels

I think that the 3.5inch wheels are ok for the track. i like a little wider for the street driving. i had the skinnies on my t-type for a while and had no issues,but i think our cars are too heavy in the frontend for the skinnies, because they always looked like they needed air. Go with a bigger wheel for the front atleast a 5" for the street. (just my opinion) they do look killer with the skinnies though.

 

[matswtt]

skinnies

i bought mine with 4 in tires in the frount and the are good if you are going in a straight line and have plenty of room to slow down.......

if your street driving dont give up breaking and handling for a cool look...
i have now 6in and i can take corners at speed and break:biggrin:

 

[Rodney87GN]

I agree, on a mainly street driven car go with something a little wider.

I run 15x6 wheels up front, with 215/70R 15 radials. It gives it a taller and skinnier look but still safe to drive around town.

 

[strikeeagle]

Only idiots with a death wish run skinnies on the highway.

 

[GNAT87]

Thanks everyone for all the help, but one last question. Is it the rim or the tire that makes a difference because i was going to go with the M/T Sportsman 26/7.5-15 front which has a tread of 4.8 and fits rims from 3.5 to 6.5 so the tread would be 4.8 no matter what. Right? Sorry, Im new to the tire business

 

[Catch]

Since 70 to 80% of braking is in the front, I would not buy 3.5 inch rims.
I have weld drag-lite 15x7 4inch bs up front and 15x8 4.5inch bs out back and they look good to me .

 

[strikeeagle]

The narrower the wheel in relation to the tire, the more likely the tire to "crown", or ride on its center. This reduces contact patch - the area of contact between tire and road - which presents several problems - premature wear at best, severely compromised and thus unsafe performance at worst.

A good rule of thumb is that tire tread width should equal wheel width.

If I get your drift - no, having a wider tire on a narrower wheel doesn't make things any safer. This may not convice you to ignore the siren's song, but it really ought to.

 

[toofastforyou]

I would not use a wheel narrower that 4.5 in. for street driving. as for tires, for a "skinny" look, you could use some P205-75-15's radials...

Claude :smile: