[DML] Re: after market wheels [longish]

[William T Wilson <fluffy@xxxx>]

On Mon, 19 Jul 1999, DMC Joe wrote:

> Comments like that will make you very unpopular on this list. BITE YOUR
> TOUNGE !

Awww. It isn't as bad as all that. Let the guy express his opinion; like
the Lucas alternator, we need all the options we can get - even if they
may not necessarily be good ones. It would be easier to get tires for the
larger wheels, for example.

The big problem with aftermarket wheels is that 90% of them, you see and
go, "wow, look at those big shiny wheels." They don't suit the DeLorean
with its elegant, precise styling. Most of them look right at home on a
lowered, sticker-plated Honda.

The DeLorean could probably benefit, from a performance perspective, from
15" fronts and 16" rears. Even if you can find a 16" front that will fit
into the wheel wells without rubbing (we just talked about this), if you
go 16" front, 17" rear you are probably going to have to run different
profiles on the front vs. the rear. In addition to looking a lot sillier
than you may expect, this will adversely affect your handling. Lower
profile tires only improve handling up to a point; past that point, they
make it worse again.

Also don't forget that the bigger the wheels you have, the slower you are
going to accelerate, and the bumpier your ride will be. Wheels weigh more
than tires, so the bigger your wheel, unless you buy exotic materials, the
more mass you'll have in your wheel. And, it's the worst kind - unsprung
rotating mass. The effects of mass in the wheels are multiplied many
times, and the farther the mass is from the hub of the wheel, the worse it
gets.

So, all I ask if you are going to change the wheels, is to do so in a way
that does some good, and not change them just for the sake of changing
them.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address moderator@xxxx