A bit ago there was a thread about the GRM article on plus sizing wheels. The
thread complained that the results were unclear due
to the fact that the larger wheels were also much wider and in
some cases used different types of tires.
Well, R&T Feb 99 did a very similar article. They used a 540i and
tested 16", 17", 18", and 19" wheels. They used Pirelli tires on
all four, P6000 16's, P7000 17's, P Zero 18's and 19's. And they
got about 1/2" wider with each increase in diameter. So, they
suffer most of the same deficiencies as the GRM article. But, arguably,
not quite as bad. For example, the 17" and 18" tires were both 235's.
The net result: the 17's performed best in almost every test.
It seemed to indicate that you can get too low profile and start losing
performance.
Interesting article,
Brian
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