Re: [DML] Re: Tire Replacement

[William T Wilson <fluffy@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 16 Dec 2004, therealdmcvegas wrote:

> I don't know how the lower profile tires such as these would affect the
> handling of the DeLorean. Do the improve performance, because they

Lower-profile tires basically always improve handling, all other things 
being equal.  Things that might not be equal are the quality of the tire 
used, and the weight of the new wheel.  Getting rid of 14" wheels makes it 
a lot easier to get good quality tires.  So that is going to be an 
improvement right there.

If the wheel weighs more, the suspension has to work harder to keep it on 
the road, and the engine has to work harder to accelerate it.  Because 
wheels have angular momentum (spinning) as well as linear momentum (moving 
ahead), each pound of weight on the wheel affects performance far more 
than an extra pound of weight anywhere else.  A good rule of thumb is that 
one pound on the wheel is worth four pounds on the car.

Of course, larger wheels can weigh a little more than stock wheels without 
hurting anything, because the lower profile tires make up for it by 
weighing less.  But if they weigh too much more, it starts to detract.

None of this is likely to matter if you are driving on the street in the
conventional way.  You are much more likely to notice if you have replaced
the stock wheels with new ones that have the wrong offset or backspacing.  
Then your handling would be noticeably worse.






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