Wheels update

[BobV12]

Hi all, hoping the finish my V12 OTS rebuild by early summer, last expense will be the road wheels and tyres.
Standard tyres have quite baloony side walls, and as I’m hoping to stiffen the drive a bit, I thought 7 by 16 wheels with lower profile tyres might be a good idea.

MWS and Turing do them but the offset is all important, the MWS ones are 2mm meaning they hit the inner arches on cornering or heavy stuff in the boot, I don’t know what the Turrinos are except that I gather they aren’t a problem on this car.
If anyone has recent experience of this area I would be very interested in their thoughts.
Bob

[madjack4]

Hi why spoil the ride the s3 rides great on standard tyres and wheels have u had a drive in a standard car plus it to me looks perfect so again why spoil it

[lowact]

These wheels
https://www.imagewheels.co.uk/db3-alloy-wheel/
In 17x7 size with 215/55 tyres would be perfect for S3E imo; is what my car will be getting.when everything else is done ...
And yes they will fit (perfectly)
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=20264&p=164586&hili ... ls#p164552

[Cavern]

Hi, I’ve had my s3 2plus2 for 12 plus years, running on standard wheel and tyre set up which is the best option for road comfort as the tyres take so much vibration from the road surface (particularly on uk roads now!) imo.
Lowering the sidewall on the tyre with bigger rims will always reduce comfort/vibration damping, so any bumps in the road will go through both tyre, wheel rim and subsequently the suspension components & steering.
I have adjustable shock absorbers which work well and can be personalised to what you want.
Big wheels and small tyre walls won’t stiffen the ride, the suspension will do that.
Look at the e-types racing at Goodwood etc, they don’t run big wheels rims and low profile tyres and these vehicles are stiff as a board.
Practicality over vanity I guess and just my opinion.
Hope that helps
Ps I’ve driven a s3 ots with Turrino 16”s, it did look lovely but it just wasn’t for me.

[Gfhug]

Look at the e-types racing at Goodwood etc, they don’t run big wheels rims and low profile tyres and these vehicles are stiff as a board.
Practicality over vanity I guess and just my opinion.

A similar thing with all road cars vs the racing version. Look at the racing Porsches all have smaller diameter wheels and larger profile tyres than the road going car. The manufacturers even insist on putting lower and lower profiles on the higher power road cars. Definitely vanity there!

My opinion, that’s all.

Geoff

[BobV12]

Thank you for all the differing views! Will decide when car is ready- June this year I hope
Cheers
Bob

[HarryFD]

Look at the e-types racing at Goodwood etc, they don’t run big wheels rims and low profile tyres and these vehicles are stiff as a board.
Practicality over vanity I guess and just my opinion.

A similar thing with all road cars vs the racing version. Look at the racing Porsches all have smaller diameter wheels and larger profile tyres than the road going car. The manufacturers even insist on putting lower and lower profiles on the higher power road cars. Definitely vanity there!

My opinion, that’s all.

Geoff

FWIW, Racers are always concerned about reducing unsprung weight. Lowering unsprung weight drastically improves handling, braking, and suspension responsiveness, as lighter wheels react faster to road imperfections.

In our cars, that is the reason the rear brakes are inboard.

As the wheel diameter increase, so does the weight of the tire/wheel combination hence increasing unsprung weight. From a performance standpoint, the only reason to increase wheel size is to accommodate larger brakes.

[lowact]

Which is also why alloy wheels are superior to steel rimmed, wire-spoked wheels, the latter being ludicrously heavy. So best to use a Balance, not a ruler?

Low-profile tyres steer more responsively. The tread turns more immediately with the hub, less initial flexing/twisting of the wall. Overall, the overwhelming safety and efficiency benefits of low-profile tyres would be is why almost all modern cars weighing over a tonne have 18-inch wheels?

I guess there was this same opinionating when Jaguar moved from 78 to 70 profile tyres.

It seems 18" the limit, not only for comfort reasons. Note how EVs are predicted to have less range when optional (>18”) wheels are selected?

E-types have relatively stiff suspension (sports cars) Also they use torsion bars, no progressive springs so they are also stiff when they don’t need to be. Big soft balloon tyres might help with this.

[BobV12]

Hi all, I have just acquired 6 by 16 Turrino wires which use stainless spokes and alloy rims which feels significantly lighter than a standard wire/tyre. I can buy tyres 195, 205, or 215, which appropriate aspect ratio to maintain rolling radius as standard, and I am assured that none of these options will foul the bodywork.

Series 3’s, concentrating on the US market, were softer sprung than earlier models, as road testers stated in period- more of a GT than a sports car and not what I want. So I have made some minor changes to improve the handling and feel, without hopefully too much impact on ride. In addition to the 1” wider wheels and lower aspect ratio tyres, I have fitted slightly harder Polybush to the front suspension and steering rack, and Gaz adjustables all round, standard springs.
We shall see how that combination works out.
Bob