downsides of larger (than front) diameter rear tires

[klohiq]

I'm thinking about running 18" tires in the back of the car and 17" in the front...other than being SOL with tire rotating are there any draw backs...I understand 18" tires are heavier and that 16 or 17" provide a little more performance, but purely as a question would it be a bad idea? Like would the weight balance or dynamics while cornering really change much?

[SR20DETpower]

other then your SOL rotation part thats about it.


I believe the new Toyota MR-s and Corvette C5 use different size wheels front and back from the factory, and thats just the two cars I know about.

[Mayday0017]

Off set tires are good for drag and strip use, because you have less friction on the front tires and more traction (friction) in the rear, it is also better to get a good BITE in turns however not as well for drifting, so more or less it just depends on how you want the car to handel and what you plan on useing it for. But my MR2 turbo is use to have came stock that way and of course I went from the standard 205's on the back up to some 255's in the back and widened the front from 195 up to 225's just have to get your offsets correct the mr2 handeled like a dream after that, felt like you were riding on rails.

[klohiq]

I knew there were some cars that came stock and a decent amount of people do this to their cars (not just hotrods and muscle cars) and was wondering what the side effects were, if any...

More bite in the rear huh?....maybe 15" in the front and 16" in the rear or something would work out good in the winter up here...though I'd be more likely to push through turns...but even with FF I get oversteer in the winter pretty easily with my driving style...so I doubt that will be a problem...and if it becomes one then I'll just do what tsucheya (sp? lol) says "just pull the ebrake"...lol

[Miata Master]

Just my personnal opinion but different size rims would look kind of strange but that's just my personal opinion. I would just get 16's all around and do different tire sizes. But I like being able to rotate tires so I stick with them all the same size. and if you do do that and you dont want your car nose diving you need some adjustable suspension.

[nissanfanatic]

You probably wouldn't even notice unless you measured them. It will only be a .5" difference in height given you use the same size tires all the way around.

[brocoli]

16's? ok you want one size all around, but if your going to do that get 18's. i work a at tire place and all i do is tires all day. trust me 16's look shit. my buddy has an Impreza 2.5rs (2004) and got 17's and now is kicking himself in teh ass cause the 18's would have looked soo much better. always get big. they make the car look cleaner and fill up the space nicely.