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Do 24-26" wheels NEED bigger brakes?

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Old Nov 15, 2003 | 06:38 PM
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Default Do 24-26" wheels NEED bigger brakes?

Watching monster garage, jesse was capping on people rollin 24-26" wheels without upgrading the brakes.

Yes I would assume this should be done, but how big of a deal is it? I don't own a ride with 24"+ but I see 10-15 people a day around here who do, and NONE of them are running bigger brakes.

Just what I need, some idiot in a 80,000,000lb SUV rear ending me because he had to put 26's and be a balla and needs 400ft to stop from 40mph
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Old Nov 15, 2003 | 07:31 PM
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I would imagine if the OEM stopping power was probably for a 17" wheel, then a 24" wheel would take MUCH longer to stop due to weight and volume, thus creating a "accident waiting to happen" for those who assume it's the same amount of time to stop. However, if these wheels were forged and 19", I doubt there would be a problem, as most aftermarket wheels that are forged or lightweight tend to be lighter than stock even though they are bigger.

EDIT: Has anyone ever thought about Limo's? They have stock brakes but weigh much more and need more stopping distance. Very interesting

-Anthony

Last edited by Captain Bone; Nov 15, 2003 at 07:59 PM.
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Old Nov 15, 2003 | 07:36 PM
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i would also agree that it would probably b better if they did......
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Old Nov 15, 2003 | 08:06 PM
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Originally posted by Captain Bone
EDIT: Has anyone ever thought about Limo's? They have stock brakes but weigh much more and need more stopping distance. Very interesting
Fortunately limo drivers are usually very careful and drive defensively.
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Old Nov 15, 2003 | 08:29 PM
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speaking of breaks, ever driven next to a semi truck going down a hill or when he downshifts and you have your windows down. man that scared the living crap out of me.
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Old Nov 15, 2003 | 11:10 PM
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Default Re: Do 24-26" wheels NEED bigger brakes?

Originally posted by jpa2400
Watching monster garage, jesse was capping on people rollin 24-26" wheels without upgrading the brakes.

Yes I would assume this should be done, but how big of a deal is it? I don't own a ride with 24"+ but I see 10-15 people a day around here who do, and NONE of them are running bigger brakes.

Just what I need, some idiot in a 80,000,000lb SUV rear ending me because he had to put 26's and be a balla and needs 400ft to stop from 40mph
I saw that episode (they added the StopTech BIG brake kit to the caddy).

Jesse did say that the bigger brake kit was necessary because of the additional weight of the larger wheels. It had nothing to do with the larger diameter, per se, but the fact that they weighed more than the stock wheels.
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Old Nov 15, 2003 | 11:30 PM
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I saw the episode too. Those wheels were huge 26" chunks of metal. Nothing light about em. Add the weight of those 26" tires and like Captain Bone said, that seems like an accident waiting to happen if you don't upgrade the brakes.

These are the wheels are on the Escalade tailgate machine-

liquid forged 26x10 model 357 $2200

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Old Nov 16, 2003 | 12:20 AM
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I thought that if your wheels are very large the diameter would reduce the stopping power because more force is needed to slow-down the car since the larger rims act as a longer more powerful lever, which requires more force to counter-act it and to stop.

Last edited by LB Lex; Nov 16, 2003 at 12:22 AM.
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Old Nov 16, 2003 | 05:23 AM
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I thought that if your wheels are very large the diameter would reduce the stopping power because more force is needed to slow-down the car since the larger rims act as a longer more powerful lever, which requires more force to counter-act it and to stop.
That is exactly correct. The fact that most of the wheels are also heavier (and remember that most of that mass is concentrated at the rim, where it's contribution to inertia is HUGE) makes a bad situation worse. Obviously, the effects are just as detrimental to acceleration..................
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Old Nov 16, 2003 | 06:35 AM
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Default Re: Re: Do 24-26" wheels NEED bigger brakes?

Originally posted by BuyERTS
I saw that episode (they added the StopTech BIG brake kit to the caddy).

Jesse did say that the bigger brake kit was necessary because of the additional weight of the larger wheels. It had nothing to do with the larger diameter, per se, but the fact that they weighed more than the stock wheels.

Man did you see those brakes? They are HUGE

Then again you have all these crackheads tossing $2000 24's on these trucks with no money left over to upgrade the brakes.

On the other hand if your dropping 7000-8000 on wheels, whats another $3000 for brakes.... IF you have 50k for a truck and 7k for wheels, you should be able to afford the brakes.

Last edited by jpa2400; Nov 16, 2003 at 06:37 AM.
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Old Nov 16, 2003 | 11:37 AM
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Originally posted by mooretorque
That is exactly correct. The fact that most of the wheels are also heavier (and remember that most of that mass is concentrated at the rim, where it's contribution to inertia is HUGE) makes a bad situation worse. Obviously, the effects are just as detrimental to acceleration..................
Two words: Flywheel Effect Have fun getting those 76lb wheels up to speed I'd love to see weight numbers for some of the cheaper, cast 26" wheels.
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Old Nov 16, 2003 | 11:42 PM
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20" wheels plus require brake upgrades, IMO.
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Old Nov 17, 2003 | 12:24 AM
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I think some of us with 20s on our GS & LS need big brakes too. Not that our brakes are bad but I do feel the braking distance has increased with my 20 inch BRABUS (my LS has 2 piston calipers up front.) I also drove my friend's GS400 with 20 inch AutoCouture Supreme, and the brake was mushy
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Old Nov 17, 2003 | 05:04 PM
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I'm glad this topic came up... This year at the SEMA show Manaray and I noticed many SUV's with 22" wheels and up rolling on stock brakes. However, all the import cars with 17" wheels and up, upgraded their brakes and rotors. It goes to show you that the "bling" factor is more important than the saftey factor. Scary IMO....
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Old Nov 18, 2003 | 04:02 PM
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With my 19's, upgrading my front brakes (to StopTechs) has made a HUGE improvement in brake feel and responsiveness. The brake pedal feel was definitely mushy before. No more!
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