socal

I was just curious if 20's on a Turbo SC3 is going to slow it down that much over 18's? 1/4 or 0-60. Thanks

lex400sc

20s will give you a lot less contact and the more powerful your car is, the more chirping it will do off the line. 18s are a lot better if you're into dragging, 17s even better. Also keep in mind that 20s will crack and bend a lot easier than 18s, plus tires will cost a grip, and the bigger your wheel diameter gets the more screwy your odometer gets. They will look really nice though. It's a balance between performance and image. I would throw dubs on an SC-400 since they are not meant to be fast cars anyway, but for an SC-300TT, I'd go no bigger than 18.

amati5

One thing for sure, it'll be much heavier. 20s will require wider tire and therefore, gives more contact. With more contact, i am not sure if it will help with your 0-60 time, depends on the power of the car, i guess. If you keep your over all diameter the same, it won't affect the odometer and yes, it will bend easier.

You can also forget about quietness of your Lexus

machinegt

anyone did this when they were a kid? :

take 1 radio control car
put car on thick carpet

try to make it go

it gets stuck because the engine is too weak
since its got these wide rubber tires on thick carpet

take the wide rubber tires off wheels and put a rubber band
around each wheel.

try to make it go

the car goes with no problem.

i remember doing this when i was a kid, the more contact you have of the rubber and the road the more you have to overcome that friction.

trebien

Um, yes, and no. With 20's, you will have less contact with the road for off the line grab. You will also have more weight on each corner to overcome.

With 18's, you will accelerate faster off the line, and have less rotational mass to accelerate. If you are really that much into performance, then the 18's would be a better choice.

But again, we are talking about maybe half a second in the 1/4 or to 60 MPH difference. Unless you are racing, these amounts don't mean much to the average driver.


But they do to me!

5sp4banger

You don't much about wheels do you....its a combination of plus sizing your rims and the width. The widths will increase your contact patch, in your case possible 10'' widths if you shave or roll the fender. The negatives are that you need the horse power in order to push the larger rims, rotational force, greater inertia. Sometimes people dont get the right combination of plus sizing to equal the stock diameter (rims plus tires) which leads to speedo problems. If you want a good combo of speed and looks just get some 18x8's in the front 18x9s in the rear, and make sure they are of the light weight variety, no chrome. Also driving style plays a big part in bending rims, whether they be 18's or 20's. Types of tires, some come with a small lip to help protect the edge of your rims. Buy better quality rims, preferably forged, alot stronger, made better.

lex400sc

Did you not ultimately say what I just said in different words??? I guess we both don't know anything about wheels then. Ceteris Paribus, 18s are better (faster) than 20s, 16s better than 18s. The extra surface area of a 20x10 compared to an 18x10 is outweighed by the additional rotational weight (inertia) of the 20s, which is increased by a factor of roughly 6:1. And in order to maintain the same diameter in 20s from the stock 16s, I believe you'd have to go with something like 25 series tires, which don't help drag performance either. Again, ceteris paribus, a 20 inch wheel will bend/crack much easier than an 18 and it doesn't matter as much with your driving style unless you drive like a maniac. A pothole on the freeway is going to do it's duty on your wheels whether you hit it at 65mph or 90mph---how much damage it inflicts depends much more on how big your wheels are. The one thing you did add that I forgot to mention is no chrome, chrome is a big no-no for performance cars. BTW, when I said "contact" above, I meant "contact pressure"