slawkins31 said:
why put 20s on the car, or 22s? b/c people want to, atleast you could have an open mind about it. I thought I would share it since some people might want to put 24s on their car, is that ok with you all?
Cars have always been influenced by what you see at the race track. Race cars tend to have bigger wheels because they are necessary to clear bigger brakes. So the "sport" models of many passenger cars came with bigger wheels in order to look more like the racing versions, often despite having the same brakes as the non-sport models. Of course, the aftermarket started providing even bigger wheels, because it became a contest - bigger meaning sportier and more like a race car.
From a pure performance standpoint, you want the smallest diameter wheels possible to clear the brakes in order to minimize weight and polar moment of inertia. But as with many things aftermarket, the original intent of bigger wheels was lost and people starting pursuing them simply for their own sake. Now, you can often stick your fist in between the top of the brake caliper and the barrel of the wheel!
Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and others have been building 200 mph supercars for a while with huge brakes (and wheels just big enough to clear them). A surprising percentage of my customers are buying bigger brakes to emulate those supercars, even if they never track, let alone drive aggressively. I'll even get calls from someone telling me they want the biggest calipers possible and don't care about the performance, just as long as it doesn't make the car dangerous to drive! Brakes, just like wheels, have become jewelry. Certainly not what I had intended when I started up Zeckhausen Racing.
But getting back to the original question. People who are actively involved in racing (or avid fans) tend to have a negative view toward wheels significantly larger than needed to clear the brakes. They have spent their adult lives doing whatever is possible to improve handling and acceleration and the larger wheels do exactly the opposite. It can be jarring to them to see a car based on a Mercedes E-class chassis with world class performance, handling and ride comfort "downgraded" in every one of those categories with the addition of 24" wheels.
Those of us in that, often intolerant, group of performance car enthusiasts for whom it's all about the driving, need to be more understanding of the phenomenon of wheels as "jewelry." Not everyone shares our priorities and some are willing to give up a certain amount of the characteristics that we value, in exchange for aesthetics. The same can be said about lowering cars to (in our view) ridiculous levels. This also came from racing and has been carried far beyond the point of performance improvement by those doing it purely for aesthetics.
It's one thing to explain to someone who may not know any better the negative consequences of 24" wheels on ride, handling, and acceleration. But we should not be judgmental of those who know all of this and still chose to take the 24" wheel route. Clearly, they have a different set of priorities and goals for their ride. By criticizing their choice, you are attacking their values and that's why these wheel discussions can become so passionate and degrade into name calling so easily.
and you know how that xxx debate ticks me, HEMEEE.
