Is It UNWISE to put 16" Rims on an '89 2DR Cav. coupe?

Young Chuck D · 09-10-2005, 12:21 AM

cuz i'm lookin @ a really good deal on some used ones and i wanted to know if there will be inaccuracies in my speedometer and i wanted to know if i should expect the ride to be affected by the skinny-ness of the tires..?

Jonn · 09-10-2005, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Young Chuck D

cuz i'm lookin @ a really good deal on some used ones and i wanted to know if there will be inaccuracies in my speedometer and i wanted to know if i should expect the ride to be affected by the skinny-ness of the tires..?

Bigger rims will not effect the car speedo if you use a tire that has about the same diameter as original tire, but in doing that you decrease sidewall height, and when you decrease sidewall height, the ride smoothness goes down as well. Its a tradeoff of smoothness against better handling. shorter sidewalls mean better handling (less tire sway and squirm) but more road feel.

01Cavy · 09-10-2005, 12:56 PM

My ride stayed about the same for me with 18" rims. Of course Cavy's never offered the smoothest of rides to begin with in my opinion.

Thor06 · 09-10-2005, 01:12 PM

When I got my 17's I got tires that were the same height so the ride height was the same, but you feel the bumps more. At tirerack.com you can find the formula to find the hieght of the tire as long as you know the size, so you can compare the heights of tires without having to track them down and tape measure them.