Who is rolling with 18" wheels on there E-body?

[Blackcuda]

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Well, tell our "CCC-friend" why you took them off...  

Because I went with polished 18x8.5 fronts, and 18x9.5 rears. 

[Carlwalski]

It's a weird one these big rims on E-Bodies and Mopars. IMO, they look out of place but only if the rest of the car is completely stock. If you have a G-Machine, lowered, suspension work, aftermarket seats, gauges, body/aero kits, 4 big discs, aftermarket custom paint job, etc, etc, then it seems to flow with it. I'm just not liking the cars that have a stock E-Body and 2006 edition wheels, just doesn't work IMO and makes the car look cheap. Rice cheap.

The blue 'Cuda below is a nice example of making a classic into a modern cruiser. Aftermarket paint, smooth door handles, modern brakes, tasteful modern rims, aftermarket interior, nothing like stock. Now the Yellow car on the other hand, stickers and decals to make Honda owners jealous, big chrome rims, more decals and badges, it just doesn't look right, nasty IMO. Basically, if I were to join the darkside of the hobby I'd do it right or not at all. Nothing worse than a half ar$ed effort.


My 

[Blackcuda]

I like my cars to handle, brake, and corner well. And since none of my cars are original matching numbers cars or the rarest of e-bodys I go with custom wheels. I also DRIVE my cars, HARD! And don't need some skinny huge side wall low tech tires on them.
I just stepped up from 17 to 18's and a 9.5 rear wheel width on my Challenger, and the car handles amazing, nice flat cornering.

[HP2]

...but as you step up into the 18 inch plus range, you are actually giving away performance as your unsprung weight mass is increasing. You can compensate spring rates to make up for sidwall flex, but unsprung mass requires removal of 2-3 times the weight in sprung mass to make up the difference.

[Blackcuda]

...but as you step up into the 18 inch plus range, you are actually giving away performance as your unsprung weight mass is increasing. You can compensate spring rates to make up for sidwall flex, but unsprung mass requires removal of 2-3 times the weight in sprung mass to make up the difference.

Nahh, the car handles much better, trust me. I know something about unsprung weight, I've been racing a T1 Z06 Corvette for 4 years in SCCA events.
Also I didn't add anymore weight to the car, I went with a lighter polished aluminum wheel.
The unsprung weight of a wheel controls a trade-off between a wheel's bump-following ability and its vibration isolation. Bumps and surface imperfections in the road cause tire compression which induces a force on the unsprung weight. In time, the unsprung weight then responds to this force with movement of its own. The amount of movement is inversely proportional to the weight, a lighter wheel which readily moves in response to road bumps will have more grip when tracking over an imperfect road.

[Hopalong]

Thank you BlackCuda for sharing your smarts!  (Not trying to be a jerk)

[willhaven]

...but as you step up into the 18 inch plus range, you are actually giving away performance as your unsprung weight mass is increasing. You can compensate spring rates to make up for sidwall flex, but unsprung mass requires removal of 2-3 times the weight in sprung mass to make up the difference.

I guess it depends what your wheel is made out of and how heavy it is. With a lightweight wheel it probably wouldn't be an issue.

Now if the wheel were bulky and made of solid steel, yeah, that could be a bit hefty.

[Blackcuda]

Thank you BlackCuda for sharing your smarts!  (Not trying to be a jerk)

Didn't think that for a minute, I just wanted to explane why I did the change and the performace benifit I felt in handling. Just wanted to share from what I've learned on the track.

[Carlwalski]

Fair enough. I "DRIVE" my cars "HARD" too mate.

[Blackcuda]

Fair enough. I "DRIVE" my cars "HARD" too mate.

Any big fan of AC/DC is a "Hard" driver!

[HP2]

I guess it depends what your wheel is made out of and how heavy it is. With a lightweight wheel it probably wouldn't be an issue.

Now if the wheel were bulky and made of solid steel, yeah, that could be a bit hefty.

That is a big part of the equation. I think a stock steel rallye wheel is around 27-30 pounds. A steel racing wheel, like on a Nextel car, is around 20-24#. A forged 16, 17, or 18x10" aluminum wheel is around 18-24#. An aluminum 20" wheel is pushing 25-27# so while you get improved tread compounds, improved tread designed, and reduced sidewall height, your weight is back up into the stock steel wheel range, so your giving away performance compared to 16-18" wheel. FWIW, a 17" steel wheel is in the 35# range and is a dog in its ability to respond to road irregularities.

[Robb]

My DD is a 2002 Trans Am convertible with the WS6 ram air and handling package, and Id like to get some handling in my Challenger a bit closer to it.  It only has 17" wheels on it.

Im thinking about swapping over to 17" wheels on the Challenger, you can get 4 American Racing Torq-thrust in 17x7 (or on Ebay for around 750$ in a BIN auction I saw yesterday.

An example of "old school" wheels in a "new-er school" size.  If you wanted to keep the old school look, running those should be less obtusive.  Theres a good selection of 17" tires on TireRack.com that arent terribly expensive too.  Very Do-able.

[Carlwalski]

Any big fan of AC/DC is a "Hard" driver!

LOL!!  Roger that. Oh, and for the record, my first comment about ricers etc was not aimed at your car, your car is mint and although the wheels aren't MY taste I sure as hell wouldn't turn your car down, that's for DANG sure! 

[Blackcuda]

LOL!!  Roger that. Oh, and for the record, my first comment about ricers etc was not aimed at your car, your car is mint and although the wheels aren't MY taste I sure as hell wouldn't turn your car down, that's for DANG sure! 

No problem.. just a little stirring the pot...

[Carlwalski]

Yupe, I was fishing and caught me a black cuda with 18" chromes.