I've been thinking the same thing. Unfortunately it's getting hard as hell to find the load rating we need in a 14" tire. Took me 2 weeks to get tires a few months ago and had to settle for a tire that was less than exciting. I think the next time I need tires I'll be upgrading to at least a 15" rim just so I can have more choice. Now if I can put in a chipped TDI with euro injectors etc I won't have to worry about the power loss. Everything's a compromise I guess... Chris 85 GL On Sep 23, 2004, at 09:57, Dennis wrote: > An interesting side effect (no pun intended) of larger rims and tires, > seldom discussed, is rotational inertia. One of the Canadian autosport > type shows "Sports Car Revolution", did up a road racing Acura. When > they > fitting larger rims, and lower profile rubber, they stayed very close > to > stock rolling diameter. They found however, an 11 HP loss to the > wheels > when dyno testing. The reason? The larger rims and brakes added more > mass, farther from the center of rotation, and thus required more > power to > accelerate. Granted, once accelerated, the main issue is driveline and > aerodynamic loss, however most of us don't drive very often in a > steady - > state situation. > > Being that HP is at a premium in most vanagons, it's got me thinking in > favour of just keeping LT (truck) tires on my 14" alloys. Food for > thought? > |
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