View Single Post
      07-01-2010, 10:26 AM   #25
NightVisitant
Private First Class
NightVisitant's Avatar
United Kingdom
12
Rep
169
Posts

Drives: BMW F10 M-Sport 2011
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: London

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by 335diesel View Post
But tell me this - other than fashion, why have wheels got bigger and bigger and profiles lower and lower on German mid sized saloons mainly made by BMW and Audi?

Other than fashion, there's no sound reason. It's not motorsport, it's not performance - it's a design trend and when will it stop? Some hot hatches now have 19" wheels as standard - they look utterly daft. Very few ultra purist performance cars have massive wheels - think Exige, Cayman, Caterham, Pagani, etc.
Performance definitely involved - factors such as increased car weight, increased hp/torque etc will change the tyre requirements quite drastically - requirements that can probably only be satisfied by increasing rim size. Bigger wheel also allows for bigger brakes, better cooling.

Styling is the other reason - but not just for the sake of fashion - simple fact is, bigger the car gets, the wheel has to get bigger too, otherwise it will look completely our of proportion. It would eventually be physically impossible to fit small wheels because it just won't have enough height to keep the car from rubbing the ground - making up for that height with rubber will not cope with the performance requirements of the car.

I'm in agreement with Sheps concerning 19s on the E60 - I myself stuck with 18s for ride quality sake, but 19s are a must if you ever want the E60 to look right.
Appreciate 0