alright, i hope this doesn’t seem like a retarded question but i was walking back from class just now and i saw an integra with 15 inch wheels on it. so i got to thinking of getting bigger wheels for mine and then was thinking what would be better to use when autocrossing. as of now i have 14 inch azenis’s. i know having the 15’s would give you more rubber, but it takes less power to more the 14’s.
anyway, i was just wondering if anyone had thought of maybe putting 15’s on the rear and 14’s on the front. like i said, i have 14’s now and i might be able to borrow some 15’s from a friend to test this out. would there be any use in even testing this or would it basically be a waste of time?
hmm. i kinda had a similar question a while ago. i bought an RS, and the guy put 14s in the front and 13s in the back. I dont have any clue why.
what i’ve noticed is that driving around in this setup the tires lose air more often. i’m not sure about autoX-ing though,
just thought i’d share…
When autocrossing, you’re not as concerned about longitudinal traction as you are about lateral traction. In other words, having a “longer” contact patch wont’ help you as much as having a wider contact patch. So really, the diameter of your wheels doesn’t really matter. The three things that I would be most concerned with when selecting a tire for autocross are:
-overall diameter, but not for traction; for gearing. Smaller OD will give you better acceleration due to the gearing and lighter weight. However, if you find that you’re already hitting your limiter in 2nd gear with the stock size, you might want to consider a bigger OD to allow you to reach a greater speed without shifting into 3rd.
-sidewall height: shorter sidewall = less tire rollover, tighter steering feel
-width: wider tire = more possible traction, BUT is there such a thing as too much tire? Yes. If you’re using a street tire or even an A032R, one autocross run likely isn’t enough to really get the tires up to temperature, so you may never realize their full potential. With Victoracers or Hoosiers, you could likely go as wide as you wanted.
Right now, I’m running 185/60R14 Yokohama A032R (Soft) for autocross since I got them for free. They are slightly smaller OD than stock, but not enough to make much difference. What I would LIKE to run are 205/50R15 V700’s or something along those lines, but I won’t be able to afford that for a couple more years…
Thanks for the info, I’m hoping to pick up another DA tomorrow (fingers crossed) to do some autoX. The first thing was going to want to do is get new wheels and tires, I was thinking 17’s since my present DA has 17 inch rims, I figure, I could use the race take offs for my commuter DA. Now I’m considering the 15 inch range. Thanks!