ANCL

What purpose does it serve? Is it strictly for looks?

KA8

iTrader: (1)

Some people do it for looks. I've seen it on TL's, hondas, scions and other fwd cars. For me i love the looks and better traction on dry pavements.

ANCL

So there is no 'cons', per se for doing this right? With the bigger rims, does this mean it will stick out of the side of the car? I was thinking of getting new tires and rims and figured a lot of people talk about getting staggered wheels but I never saw any reason for this over the same tires all around.

maxx430

if you are a regular driver then it does not matter.

Quik208

iTrader: (7)

Cons are you can not rotate tires ( front to back, back to front) . No just because you go with a wider rim does not mean it will stick out. (assuming its a 12"+ rim). It really comes down to the offset of the rim.

ANCL

Thanks, what do you mean by rotating tires..?

zig@tr

Most do a staggered setup for the esthetics. However, with a rear wheel drive vehicle the extra contact patch helps keep the car from breaking loose too easily under heavy acceleration. Also, with the wider rear you will gain a moderate amount of lateral grip for cornering due to the wider tires. On a front drive vehicle the wider rear tire is just along for the ride and you really only benefit under extreme cornering circumstances. The draw backs to using a staggered tire size on a vehicle that would typically run a square setup is; decreased fuel economy (Wider rear tires provide more rolling resistance and decrease MPG), inability to rotated the tires front to rear (the very wide rear tires can not be rotated to the front to maximizes tire life) , and an increase in road noise. (more tire on the road=more road noise).

zig@tr

Tire Rotation Instructions

ANCL

Thank you, that was very informative.

I guess I will be doing all-around same tires as I do not think staggered wheels impress me that much (not that I ever notice it from the shared pictures I see).

Mike552

It is important to understand what this means exactly, as some people may get confused by this statement...

While, technically, you will "gain... lateral grip" from having wider rear tires, keep in mind that your RWD car will probably handle WORSE, assuming that the staggered rear wheels are now sticking out MORE than the front.

What you want to do is, if you have to run a staggered setup, is to run a higher offset in the rear (or a lower offset in the front) so that the rear track width will be the same, or less than, the front track width. This will maintain/improve your handling around the track because the chassis of the vehicle will "pivot" at the rear while maintaining a firm cornering grip up front. Think of your car as a V shape where the front wheels are at the widest part of the V, and the rear wheels are at the narrowest part.

It's confusing, I know.
Here is a picture of a Ferrari F1 race car to show you what I am talking about. Look at how the rear wheel track width is actually narrower than the front track width, even thought the rear tires are actually bigger.