AWESOME WHEELS!!!!

No, No they're not.

I could see those on a Coupe De Ville, yo.

I have a special hatred for the whole "wheels as jewelry" movement. I still think that's why you can't get good street tires for any rim smaller than 16-17". I hate these freaks with the power of a thousand supernovas.

They should put plexiglass over the rim, and then throw a little white ball in there, so you can play burnout roulette.

Not that anything these will ever be put on will be capable of turning these monstrosities faster than about 35mph, much less doing a burnout with all that unsprung mass.

I, too, hate the big wheel movement. I especially hate the fact that every concept car is now on 20+ wheels, so everything on the road is designed for them and looks totally awkward on even 17"s. I feel that wheels should be appropriately sized for the car and have an appropriate amount of space between the fender and wheel, none of this hellaflush crap either. 15"s on a subcompact (Mazda2, Fit, etc), 16"s or 17"s on a smaller sedan or sports car (Civic, WRX, Miata, S2000, etc) and 18"s on really agressive stuff. (M3, Porsches, maybe STi, etc.)

Big wheels are OK. Cartoon wheels on anything but Bennie the Cab are not OK.

bennie the cab had balloon white walls.. those are cool

Is it weird that his spare is a black wall, but his feet are white wall?

BAMF wrote: Is it weird that his spare is a black wall, but his feet are white wall?

I believe that's a cover over the spare tire.

jimbob_racing wrote:

BAMF wrote: Is it weird that his spare is a black wall, but his feet are white wall?

I believe that's a cover over the spare tire.

Is it weird that the car talks, changes shape and generally is a cartoon?

Max_Archer wrote: 15"s on a subcompact (Mazda2, Fit, etc), 16"s or 17"s on a smaller sedan or sports car (Civic, WRX, Miata, S2000, etc) and 18"s on really agressive stuff. (M3, Porsches, maybe STi, etc.)

Back in 1984, a base Rabbit or Civic had 13". If you moved up to a GTI or CRX then you got the upsized, aggressive 14". In the serious stuff like a Porsche 911's and Lamborgini Countach you got staggered widths but still just 15" rims. There was some wild stuff like the then new Corvette C4 that ran 16" steam-rollers.

Interesting how the perspectives have changed over the years. I think the MINI was a big culprit with some really big sizes offered on what is supposed to be a small car.

jrw1621 wrote:

jimbob_racing wrote:

BAMF wrote: Is it weird that his spare is a black wall, but his feet are white wall?

I believe that's a cover over the spare tire.

Is it weird that the car talks, changes shape and generally is a cartoon?

no, no it ain't

Yeah because automotive tires started in the 13"-15" range.

jrw1621 wrote:

Max_Archer wrote: 15"s on a subcompact (Mazda2, Fit, etc), 16"s or 17"s on a smaller sedan or sports car (Civic, WRX, Miata, S2000, etc) and 18"s on really agressive stuff. (M3, Porsches, maybe STi, etc.)

Back in 1984, a base Rabbit or Civic had 13". If you moved up to a GTI or CRX then you got the upsized, aggressive 14". In the serious stuff like a Porsche 911's and Lamborgini Countach you got staggered widths but still just 15" rims. There was some wild stuff like the then new Corvette C4 that ran 16" steam-rollers. Interesting how the perspectives have changed over the years. I think the MINI was a big culprit with some really big sizes offered on what is supposed to be a small car.

you figure the M3 of the E36 era ran 17s.... now it comes on 19s

Some trucks can be ordered with factory 22's. Insane.

And the worst part? People can barely afford their car payments so when it comes time for replacements they're unable to buy anything so they drive around on bald 20" tires in a snow storm and bitch about how their vehicle sucks.

Tire technology has come a long way since when 14s were the standard. You just don't need as much sidewall anymore.

I'm not a fan of huge bling/bling wheels, but so long as I can get 17s for a good price, other people can do what they want.

Max_Archer wrote: They should put plexiglass over the rim, and then throw a little white ball in there, so you can play burnout roulette. Not that anything these will ever be put on will be capable of turning these monstrosities faster than about 35mph, much less doing a burnout with all that unsprung mass. I, too, hate the big wheel movement. I especially hate the fact that every concept car is now on 20+ wheels, so everything on the road is designed for them and looks totally awkward on even 17"s. I feel that wheels should be appropriately sized for the car and have an appropriate amount of space between the fender and wheel, none of this hellaflush crap either. 15"s on a subcompact (Mazda2, Fit, etc), 16"s or 17"s on a smaller sedan or sports car (Civic, WRX, Miata, S2000, etc) and 18"s on really agressive stuff. (M3, Porsches, maybe STi, etc.)

I agree. There is no reason to ever have larger than an 18" wheel, in my opinion. Even then, it should only be on larger sports cars, like M3s, Mustangs, etc.

ReverendDexter wrote: Tire technology has come a long way since when 14s were the standard. You just don't need as much sidewall anymore. I'm not a fan of huge bling/bling wheels, but so long as I can get 17s for a good price, other people can do what they want.

True.. 14s are only needed for true economy cars.. and even most of them are not running those anymore. You need enough tyre/rim to keep the car up off of the groun with some decent ground clearance without having the suspension "droop"

I wonder if one of the reasons we are getting such big rim/wheel combos is due to our larger modern cars to keep their suspensions set properly, yet still have ground clearance.

Modern cars are also a LOT larger and heavier than they used to be. They need bigger brakes, that means bigger diameter rims... which means heavier suspension, which means a heavier car.. which means bigger brakes..

DoctorBlade wrote: Some trucks can be ordered with factory 22's. Insane.

Semis have been driving around on 22.5" for years. Is there anything insane about that? I don't know why people care so much about wheel size. The only thing that sucks (and what I actually care about) are tire prices for the 'unique' sizes.

RossD wrote:

DoctorBlade wrote: Some trucks can be ordered with factory 22's. Insane.

Semis have been driving around on 22.5" for years. Is there anything insane about that?

Might have a lot to do with the 40 tonnes of stuff they have to haul around and still get some decent life out of the tyres

jrw1621 wrote: In the serious stuff like a Porsche 911's and Lamborgini Countach you got staggered widths but still just 15" rims.

Where do people with Countaches find 345/45-15 tires anymore?

Not that I want to know for personal reasons* or anything.

(*) I want to know for personal reasons.

RossD wrote:

DoctorBlade wrote: Some trucks can be ordered with factory 22's. Insane.

Semis have been driving around on 22.5" for years. Is there anything insane about that? I don't know why people care so much about wheel size. The only thing that sucks (and what I actually care about) are tire prices for the 'unique' sizes.

Light trucks. Not semis, although you can order those rims for your 3/4 ton truck.

DoctorBlade wrote:

RossD wrote:

DoctorBlade wrote: Some trucks can be ordered with factory 22's. Insane.

Semis have been driving around on 22.5" for years. Is there anything insane about that? I don't know why people care so much about wheel size. The only thing that sucks (and what I actually care about) are tire prices for the 'unique' sizes.

Light trucks. Not semis, although you can order those rims for your 3/4 ton truck.

I hate it when people put semi-truck wheels and tires on 3/4-ton and 1-ton pickups. It just looks silly.

The other day I saw a bubble at Wally World with 24's (had it on the fenders in rhinestones, yO) and it had '22's are so 2010' on both sides.

I am waiting for the day the 'ballers' get tired of those monstrosity wheels. It's one of those things that bug me because it is done strictly for the sake of 'style', it does not add anything to the acceleration/braking/steering of the car and actually screws it all up. That means one of these fools is liable to lose control and plow into my oh so plebian vehicle. Since it's very likely they will have spent their insurance premium money on 'rimz' to impress the 'ho's', then I will be 'screwed'.

there is a guy down the roard (about 5 miles) who seems to build bubbles as a living. he always has a couple of unmolested ones in the driveway and one or two done bubbles that disappear within weeks of completion