Wheel performance question

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birtchetg

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I have seen thread upon thread of who thinks 18s and who thinks 20s look better but cant really seem to glean a general concensus of performance. Are 20s so large on an LS that traction and handling is negatively affected? I was all set to order 20s because IMO I think they look better, but I want to keep the performance level the same or better. The car is a stock 02 LSE and handles like its on rails right now. Your input is very much appreciated as I plan to order my wheels in the next couple of days. By the way, thinking about Baccarat Synch in black. What do you guys think?
 
larger wheels, unless you buy very very expensive, ultra light weight wheels... will usually weigh more. That's unsprung weight, which has a serious effect on handling. The main emphasis is weight of the wheel. Side wall height, after you hit 17-18"... really, you won't find any improvement in performance; the flex is already so minimal.
 
There are two ways that larger wheels can hurt the performance of your LS. Bigger rims will usually weigh more then your stock wheels. This will increase your unsprug weight, so as you go over bumps and drive the car, the suspension has to work harder because it is dealing with dampening the forces of heavier items. Secondly, bigger wheels will increase the rotational mass of the wheels, so it will take more to accelerate and stop the wheels from spinning. If you ask me, 18s are a good compromise between looks and performance.
 
Looks nice, what color is your LS? I have 18s, here is a picture. Before I had 20s. They look great, but you get bad MPG, and the car gets slower.

DSC04453.jpg
 
I went with 19's. I got the stance and look I wanted. I am not a big fan of 20's. Seems EVERYone does 20's.:rolleyes:
 
Im with RollinLS. I have 19's as well, but got the 18" Jag S Type R Wheels and cant wait to put them on soon as the are SOOOO much lighter.
 
I have 20's and i like the way it looks handles great and really havent noticed a big change from the stock 17's but 02sports car is one of the nicest ls'es ive seen and its on 19's i think it just comes down to your own prefence on size.
 
Hyelife that is a sharp car. I have a 2002 LSEV8. Its black. I will get some pictures posted up after the exhaust and wheels go on next week.
 
Just some comments, to add to the good advice already given. Be advised if sporting organizations limit the size of wheels used in competition there is a pretty soundly based reason, not that I'm assuming anything of your intentions, it's the reasons behind those limitations that you should consider in your choice.

Besides the low profile tires/large wheel diameter makes driving on regular roads with the regular types of hazards there quite risky business. 18's allow for a 40 profile and some good compromise between low profile and some sidewall protection for your wheels. It also allows for 'some' resemblence' of a decent ride as well.....the large wheels whilst not necessarily riding like a truck, will degrade with 35's, 30's etc......

Besides, check out the shot of HyeLifeLS's car, why do they need to be any bigger than that? Those are happenin.....
 
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I went with 18" for the balance between looks and performance. I also like seeing a little meat on the wheels and a 30-35 aspect ratio tire just doesn't make for me on an LS. On the topic of unsprung weight, my 18" wheels & tires are 10 pounds heavier each than the stock 17".
LS3.jpg
 
20's are the way to go... bigger is better... muahahahaha..lol
 
You should go really big....
infinity.jpg

midweststreetryders


I bet these cars are really fast!
 
birtchetg said:
I have seen thread upon thread of who thinks 18s and who thinks 20s look better but cant really seem to glean a general concensus of performance. Are 20s so large on an LS that traction and handling is negatively affected? I was all set to order 20s because IMO I think they look better, but I want to keep the performance level the same or better. The car is a stock 02 LSE and handles like its on rails right now. Your input is very much appreciated as I plan to order my wheels in the next couple of days. By the way, thinking about Baccarat Synch in black. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

The Lincoln suspension engineers used to participate on a separate board/forum, and once stated that the LS suspension was designed specifically for a 17 inch diameter wheel/tire assembly. Using 17 inch lightweight alloys with OE spec tire sizes will get you what the engineers considered optimum balance of ride quality/handling/performance. For each inch above 17, you alter that balance. They once stated that the largest they would recommend going, was 18 diameter.

With regards to 20's, all you have to do is take a look around this forum on the number of members that went with 20's, then ended up selling them 3-6 months later for various reasons. Also issues like rubbing, shredding fenders, etc..won't occur if you stay within a reasonable wheel/tire diameter.
 
I just want to add another aspect of 18s vs 20s. The problem with 20s on an LS is the tire size required to make them fit. There is a point in a tire where the sidewall is too short and will hinder handling performance. When cornering hard there has to be some give in the tire. This is usually accommodated through the sidewall. When you have a tire that does not have enough sidewall to give then the tire will end up cupping in the center of the tread. This is very undesirable as it will cause the vehicle to "hop" around corners and provide an uneasy cornering feel. On most vehicles a 40 series tire is at the limit of acceptability in this regard. Some SUVs and larger vehicles can get away with lower profiles but only because you can run a wider tire. The sidewall profile is a percentage of the width of the tire so all 40 series tires do not have the same sidewall thickness.
 
Those wheels are certainly unique. Please start a thread with pics once you get them.
 
Wheel style is a personal preference, so what we think is actually irrelevant. (regarding style).

What's most important is ensuring the fitment (inclusive of offset and appropriate diameter) is appropriate for the car. 18 is a fine diameter, and it's what I've been running on my LSE for 3 or 4 years now. My offset is very close to stock. If yu deviate too much from stock offset, the wheel will protrude outwards too much, causing the tire to come into contact with the inner part of the fender lip during suspension travel.
 
Also a word of caution: When you see this as someones signature:

"20" DUBZ and soon monitors EVERYWHERE!!!"

Rest assured, any "advice" on actual handling and suspension performance should be treated with a grain of salt. LOL
 
I still dont understand why some people on here think this is aperformance car just because it says sport doesnt mean its a sports car. i know everyone has there own prefrence but thats the problem you guys that are into handeling and speed think that 20's are retarted but us with 20's cant say anything. Also as for 24's on donks i can asure you that 90% of them down here in miami will blow the doors off of all the ls'es on here. Just my 0.02
 
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