looking into getting some rims for the summer time looking to get a set of lightweight gunmetals fivestar nothing fancy, was just wondering what ill find to give me better track times 16's or 17's from what i understand 16's is like having better gear ratios i dunno though im new to this, they will also be for every day use to any feedback would be greatly appreciated thx
Getting the correct sized tires for everyday driving, both will be the same size so it's got nothing to do with gear ratios. Get whatever you can get lighter. You'll probably like light 17's more in the long run. Better cornering and nicer look.
If you were buying tires strictly for drag racing, you'd go with the lightest 16's you can afford and some slicks or street legal drags that are a bit smaller than the stock size. That would give you the gear ratio advantage you're referring to but if you drove them on the street, you'd have all sorts of issues from inflated mileage readings to bad fuel economy and accelerated engine and tranny wear.
In a recent article in SCC i have , they say that 1 pound of unsprung weight is equivalent to 1.4 pounds of sprung weight. So adding or losing 1 pound of wheel + tire weight is equivalent to gaining or losing 1.4 pounds in the cabin. If that’s the case, then it really doesn’t make that much of a difference unless you’re really investing in building a fast car where every pound counts. I guess you should ask yourself is paying for a lighter wheel all that important to you?
going to a smaller or larger diameter wheel is going to make a difference. SCC here says that going from say a 17 to a 16 inch wheel is like shaving 10% of the weight off the 17 inch wheel. So if you really wanted to optimize your cost + weight savings, get a lighter, 16 inch wheel with a 7.5 or 8 inch width.
