The diameter and width of wheels/tyres, and hence the weight, seems to be forever on the increase. I've just taken the 16" alloy wheels (fitted with 215/55 tyres) off my current car to enable me to check the condition of what's behind, and I reckon the weight has just about reached the limit of my strength and agility.
Will wheel/tyre sizes ever reach a peak, and if so what do reckon it will be?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqqZ28m8uCo
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I'm sure i saw a large saloon, might have been a Chrysler 300 for sale on 22" rims with elastic band tyres, i know some 4x4's are now running that size, 20" is just so yesterday and unbelievably can be found on bog standard Diesel Insignias for one.
Ridiculous really when most artics are fitted with 22.5" wheels all round.
Quite why people want these things i can't understand, new tyres to fit some of the now quite average 18" as found an nearly all cars C segment and above cost from £150 upwards for anything we would consider, so they instead fit cheap unheard of ditchfinders, the whole thing is bizarre.
Weight wise does it really matter though, many modern drivers are wholly incapable of even changing a wheel let alone doing any mechanical work involving wheel removal, its only the likes of us here who'll be removing their own, and we're probably the ones who investigate tyre replacement costs before buying a car, so unlikely to affect us.
I note its almost impossible to see a modern E class MB in less that 18" wheels, but if you see a foreign regd model then the wheels are noticeably smaller, probably 16", it seems to be a peculiarly British fad.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Fri 6 Sep 13 at 10:12
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>> .......... and we're probably the ones who
>> investigate tyre replacement costs before buying a car, .............
The standard tyres for my car were 215/50 R17, but I got the dealer to replace them with 215/55 R16 tyres (and wheels!) in order to reduce the tyre replacement cost as well as the weight, and to improve the ride comfort.
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Yes i remember that L'es and i think you did the right thing on both counts.
The heaviest tyres/wheels i've had on my own vehicles were the Hilux alloys @ 265/70 x 16 and similarly sized on the Landcruiser, but given how much clearance there was around the wheelarches and how easy they were to line up they didn't seem too bad at all, plus stable and chunkly enough to use a lever underneath the tyre to help offer them up to the studs for refitting if needed as the lorry/plant tyre fitters do.
Sensibly Toyota used studs not wheelbolts which make lining up and getting the first bolt in a pain on many cars.
''Not made any easier when so many manufacturers decide that we should not be trusted with a spare wheel and jack, and that a can of gunk will suffice''
Agreed, but we do have the choice to not buy into this con, if they can't sell their junk they'll have to change their policy, the car buying public seem ever more gullible.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Fri 6 Sep 13 at 11:36
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>> many modern drivers are wholly incapable of even
>> changing a wheel
>>
Not made any easier when so many manufacturers decide that we should not be trusted with a spare wheel and jack, and that a can of gunk will suffice!
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Sixteen inch alloys on new Berlingo. I hope I could handle it still, not sure if my daughter could.
Actually, I'd have much preferred the 15" steel wheels from a lower spec version whic come with a higher profile tyre so same rolling radius as 16" alloy. No 'downgrade' was available though steels are standard on XTR with certain option packs or the 6 speed EGS box.
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> >and I reckon
>> the weight has just about reached the limit of my strength and agility.
No, your strength and ability has reduced to the weight of the wheel and tyre.
>> Will wheel/tyre sizes ever reach a peak, and if so what do reckon it will
>> be?
Depends how much weaker you get.
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I actually weighed the wheel and tyre on my Defender 90, 7.5 stone! A little lady in my office weighed less or she said she did anyway.
Current silly sizes of wheels though I think have more to do with fashion and perception than any rational criteria. Michelin said they wanted F1 cars to use 18" wheels to be more like road cars (current ones are 13") but I'd be very interested in what the likes of Gordon Murray would specify if they were given a choice.
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>>I'd be very interested in what the likes of Gordon Murray would specify if they were given a choice.
"The McLaren F1 uses 235/45ZR17 front tyres and 315/45ZR17 rear tyres. These are specially designed and developed solely for the McLaren F1 by Goodyear and Michelin. The tyres are mounted on 17-by-9-inch (430 mm × 230 mm) and 17-by-11.5-inch (430 mm × 290 mm) cast magnesium wheels, protected by a tough protective paint. The five-spoke wheels are secured with magnesium retention pins."
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The T.25 uses much more reasonable wheels and tyres.
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Weight of wheel and tyre - -
