Lude Wheels

For a 5th gen lude, which size wheels would be good size for racing on a strip? 16? 17? 18? i dont even kno


peace and ty

drag strip, the smaller the diameter of the wheel with the widest possible tire that will fit on that wheel. that's the general rule of thumb with any car, not just preludes

yeah, large diameter tires(the ones for show) are usually heavy ones.

its not the weight that is the problem with the larger wheels, its the fact that it would take more power to get going because of the larger circumfrence of the wheel. a smaller wheel will let you accelerate faster while a larger wheel will give you a higher top speed.

I meant adding more rim and reducing the amount of rubber, thus over all dimensions of the tire would remain the same.

you mean to say that increasing the overall diameter would decrease the torque produced by the tire. I am aware of that, so I'm assuming stock overall diameter, kind of like 205/55-15 stock tires and swapping them with 205/45-16. same over all diameter, just more metal and less rubber

are you sure those are the same diamater? i always thought it was 205/50/R16 (not /45/ ) that was the same diameter as 205/55/R15.

just checking though...i could be wrong

yeah, I think you're right. I was just fiddling around with this cool calculator. It seems that every 5 units of profile that is changed is equal to the change of 1 inch of the tire diameter

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

so, 205/55R15 and 205/50R16 are pretty much similar except the 0.86% diameter difference.

best one would be 215/40R17, 0.42% diameter difference.

if u want to keep the overall diameter the same then pretty much the biggest wheel you could go with would be about 17 inch because they just dont make rubber that low in profile, and if they do, it would suck if u hit a bump.

Rubix777, you were originally right. going from a 205/55R15 to a 205/50R16 is actually a 3% (1.56 inch) difference in diameter and to a 215/40/R17 would be a 4.2% (2.12 inch) difference. to keep it basically the same you would need to go with a 205/45R16 or a 205/30R17.

i dont understand now
i got 16 inch rims with some rubber
will it make a big difference if i were to add on 18 inch rims dragging the car?? because i notice the aftermarket is in to selling 17-18 inch rims, like racing brand rims enkei, motegi, tenzo R...
from wut i read about...
what im asking is... for ex.
---> is 16 inch rims + thick rubber = greater diameter
compared to 16 inch rims with thin rubber = smaller diameter
does this mean that the 16 inch with thin rubber withh perform well better when draggin?
please help and clarify my knowledge

thanks for everyones help! :)

ignore last post, calculation error...sorry

i dont understand now
i got 16 inch rims with some rubber
will it make a big difference if i were to add on 18 inch rims dragging the car?? because i notice the aftermarket is in to selling 17-18 inch rims, like racing brand rims enkei, motegi, tenzo R...
from wut i read about...
what im asking is... for ex.
---> is 16 inch rims + thick rubber = greater diameter
compared to 16 inch rims with thin rubber = smaller diameter
does this mean that the 16 inch with thin rubber withh perform well better when draggin?
please help and clarify my knowledge

thanks for everyones help! :)

usually when someone increases their rims size, they decrease the thickness of the tire in order to compensate and keep the overall diameter. If you mess with the overall diameter your speedometer will be off(your tach will still be right though).

let me define one thing, profile, the number after the width of the tire, ex P205/55R15
205mm, 55mm thickness(aka profile). thus 45mm thickness is referred to as having lower profile than 55mm thickness.

I think thin rubber(aka low profile), would be better for dragging because the tires would be stickier and harder. Take for example cornering with stock tires, during hard cornering, the tire would tend to fold over itself(sorry I couldn't find another way to describe it). With lower profile, the tire is harder, so during hard cornering, the tire doesn't deform as much as the stock tires.

It would be better if you could find low profile tires that are lighter than your stock tires.


I think the stock overall tire diameter would perform the best. I would think Honda experimented with all sorts of thicknesses and diameters in order to maximize torque and horsepower without sacrificing acceleration, while maintaining optimal RPMs.

the second number isnt exatly the profile of the tire as many might think, it is the ratio to the width of the tire. in your example of 205/55/R15 the acual profile would be 205mm X .55 = 112.75. and just divide that by 2 to find the profile on one side of the rim. It would be a little more than 56mm. it seems pretty much the same in this situation, but when you get to tires like 305/55/R15, the profile of the tire is no where near 55 mm.

I think thin rubber(aka low profile), would be better for dragging because the tires would be stickier and harder. Take for example cornering with stock tires, during hard cornering, the tire would tend to fold over itself(sorry I couldn't find another way to describe it). With lower profile, the tire is harder, so during hard cornering, the tire doesn't deform as much as the stock tires.

dragging and cornering don't really mix.. there are certain distinct properties of a tire in relation to its purpose; drag radials are built for straight line performance, and track tires are built with an emphasis on handling/braking/acceleration. also, solely from observation, it seems that most people do not want a low profile tire for drag since they are harder. i claim this from seeing people deflate their tires below reccomended tire pressure in order to acheive a better launch. also, if you slow down say.. a top fuel drag car launch, you'll see the tire folding over itself a little instead of spinning. i don't know if that's what you meant..

also, sticky and hard? seems like an oxymoron. i think you meant sticky tread compound with a hard sidewall, though, since you were talking about cornering.

to answer the question posed, i'm agreeing with del. the less rotational mass you have to turn, as well as the less unsprung weight, the better.

i can input this much...

when i drag with my 215/40r17's, i lose about a tenth (or more), as compared to my 205/50r15's (slightly smaller than stock)

lose a tenth as in slower or faster?

I took it as meaning slower..