Wheel change 16" to 15" what's best?

[Silvia]

As said on Feb. 2 .....after weighing up the 15" or 16" issues and some great contributions from forum members I decided that the best course of action was to stay with my stock 16" wheels (at 15lb.quite light, good looking) and fit 205/45 series
tyres (KU31's - close to 15" 45 series price) as this got me about the same result - but without having to change wheel size and the hassles and cost involved with changing.
Job done......but it's great the tyre talk continues....

[93_Clubman]

...after weighing up the 15" or 16" issues and some great contributions from forum members I decided that the best course of action [for me] was to stay with my stock 16" wheels (at 15lb.quite light, good looking) and fit 205/45 series tyres (KU31's - close to 15" 45 series price) as this got me about the same result - but without having to change wheel size and the hassles and cost involved with changing.

Fixed

[NitroDann]

And what's acceptable in terms of steering & ride differs from person to person depending on their priority.

Perhaps so...but for road use, never met anyone who likes a banging hard suspension and everyone seems to like a good response to steering input...

We're not talking suspension, we're talking tyres. And just because you haven't met them doesn't mean they don't exist, i.e. absence of evidence, isn't evidence of absence. Again, what's a good ride & good steering varies from driver to driver. A variation on the fast, reliable or cheap, you can only have two, rule applies.

Hi, My name is dann and I think stock commodores, XR6s etc are uncomfortable because they feel like ill get seas sick in them.

Also, I dont exist apparently.

dann

[Silvia]

That might explain the continuous incoherence perhaps?
Or is it simply age and alcohol...

[deviant]

And what's acceptable in terms of steering & ride differs from person to person depending on their priority.

Perhaps so...but for road use, never met anyone who likes a banging hard suspension and everyone seems to like a good response to steering input...

We're not talking suspension, we're talking tyres. And just because you haven't met them doesn't mean they don't exist, i.e. absence of evidence, isn't evidence of absence. Again, what's a good ride & good steering varies from driver to driver. A variation on the fast, reliable or cheap, you can only have two, rule applies.

Hi, My name is dann and I think stock commodores, XR6s etc are uncomfortable because they feel like ill get seas sick in them.

Also, I dont exist apparently.

dann

There is another like me! The pitch, wallow and bounce of the big sedans makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable...the wobbly tyres and sloppy steering which always fidgets around makes it worse.

[project.r.racing]

They had a few things they skipped over, but I don't know it well enough to explain it. Any chance you can project r?

Project r?
The article is certainly food for thought in the light of "fatter is better" thinking.
But when it says a lower profile means "lower sidewall stress", I can't help thinking it means more sidewall stress ,because the distortion of a higher sidewall profile is being reduced by less flexing - there is less sidewall to allow flexing so it's taking more lateral stress in staying rigid.

I'm no expert, and without diagrams of contact patches, it is really difficult to explain. Let's keep it super simple:-

Wide or skinny tyre may have same area contact patch, but will be a different shape.

Wider tyres = better heat resisence due to cooling longer per each rotation.
Lower aspect ratio = better heat resistence due to less flexing.

Both of those = softer compound can be used (due to less heat stresses) to same effect compared to harder compound on skinny tyre.

Softer compound = more grip.

---

I think if the author of that article worte, "Wider tyres does not automaticly mean more grip, but in most cases it may." It would've made more sense or been more truthful to the subject. 99% of wider tyres are performance tyres, and use a softer compound compared to regular street tyres. But not always the case, ie:- Nankang NS-IIs that use a rock hard cheap rubber that offer little to no extra grip.