GS Wheels?

[squriellord]

The GS wheels are 16'' right? Compared to the standard 15'' wheels, they effectively make the gearing 'taller' IE a greater ratio which would have less acceleration but greater top speed...more importantly they might give (minuscule) greater MPG as for each rotation there is that extra bit of wheel covering ground. c=piD, so there is ~3.14 more inches of wheel rotating per rotation of the axle compared to the normal 15'' ones.

I can't find the specific weights of the 15'' many-spoke standard LS wheels versus the 16'' 5-spoke GS wheels. I know that there is a list of components weights somewhere, but it eludes my google-fu. I imagine the 16'' weigh more, though.

Is there any noticeable advantage to the extra 1'' of wheel? (Besides GS wheels looking mad sick, that is.)

In terms of aerodynamics, it seems an even trade off, as while the standard wheels are more 'flat' the many spokes create turbulence, whereas the 5-spokes have larger gaps but more curves between them.

I'm fixed on getting the GS rims anyways, but want to hear the advice from the experts. What is a good asking price for them?

[Roger]

better handling with a larger wheel that is if you keep the same overall diameter

[Alperovich]

um. your completely wrong. i mean, ur calulations aren't.

what u are wrong is, is the extra 1".

THE WHEELS are an inch size different. however the overall diameter of the 205/65/15 and 215/55/16 tires is almost identical.

which pretty much throws ur theory out the window.

[squriellord]

Originally Posted by Alperovich

um. your completely wrong. i mean, ur calulations aren't.

what u are wrong is, is the extra 1".

THE WHEELS are an inch size different. however the overall diameter of the 205/65/15 and 215/55/16 tires is almost identical.

which pretty much throws ur theory out the window.

Oh snap, I should have looked at the tires. Thanks for catching me on this. Ah...215 is not much greater than 205. Oh well. It was worth a shot.

[Dethred]

Still confused? He's referring to the lesser tire wall height. You just quoted tread width, which is irrelevant for wheel/tire diameter.

[SickSUN71]

Originally Posted by Alperovich

um. your completely wrong. i mean, ur calulations aren't.

what u are wrong is, is the extra 1".

THE WHEELS are an inch size different. however the overall diameter of the 205/65/15 and 215/55/16 tires is almost identical.

which pretty much throws ur theory out the window.

I was gonna say the same thing..

[Captain Slow]

I notice the difference. I've got the same exact tires too so the only difference is the rims. My GS rims are the tiniest bit harder over bumps. They'd probably responder a bit quicker to hard steering input too but the tires on my GS rims are oversized(225 instead of 215). I'll never do that again. There should be a difference in fuel economy due to the extra rubber touching the ground but its so small its negligible.

All these differences are so small I wouldn't let it bother you. The tire you buy will have a much bigger roll in ride quality, fuel economy and sidewall flex. I had kumho ecstas for a while and they made for an awefully hard ride and didn't flex at all in hard corners but somehow had a low rolling resistance making my fuel economy jump a MPG. These yokohama avid's I have now on the other hand have a very soft ride quality that I can feel flex in hard corners. Bottom line: buy the rims if you like them and read a bunch of reviews on tirerack.

[Roger]

Originally Posted by Pinyix

I notice the difference. I've got the same exact tires too so the only difference is the rims. My GS rims are the tiniest bit harder over bumps. They'd probably responder a bit quicker to hard steering input too but the tires on my GS rims are oversized(225 instead of 215). I'll never do that again. There should be a difference in fuel economy due to the extra rubber touching the ground but its so small its negligible.

All these differences are so small I wouldn't let it bother you. The tire you buy will have a much bigger roll in ride quality, fuel economy and sidewall flex. I had kumho ecstas for a while and they made for an awefully hard ride and didn't flex at all in hard corners but somehow had a low rolling resistance making my fuel economy jump a MPG. These yokohama avid's I have now on the other hand have a very soft ride quality that I can feel flex in hard corners. Bottom line: buy the rims if you like them and read a bunch of reviews on tirerack.

Blame the flex on the 225 tires, I did the same thing a few months ago!!! big mistake once they wear out going back to 215. I felt the difference immediately bigtime tire flex with a 225

[Captain Slow]

Originally Posted by Roger

Blame the flex on the 225 tires, I did the same thing a few months ago!!! big mistake once they wear out going back to 215. I felt the difference immediately bigtime tire flex with a 225

Its noteworthy that the kumhos ecstas I have are 225s on GS rims and don't noticeably flex. They're awful tires but I'm currently putting them to bed auto-xing and flex is minimal.

[Legend-Coupe]

When you go up in wheel size you go down in tire wall size so the effect is very minimal if any although you speedo will go off and your acceleration might be a bit less. (although light weight wheels would compensate the acceleration)

Overall cornering will be improved since there is less rubber that can flex.

I'd also agree with 225 being at the max of what's good for a GS wheel.
A mistake i have often seen is that people put as big a tire the can possible fit on a wheel which will make the tire rounder (thus less road contact) which can be very dangerous