What are the impacts of upgrading to larger rims on a car?
3 Answers
The impacts of upgrading to larger rims on a car include: 1. The tires may rub against the wheel arches and inner liners, and the wheel wells can easily scrape the tires when driving on bumpy roads; 2. Fuel consumption may also increase; 3. When turning to the limit, the wheels may interfere with the steering linkage, suspension, and other components. Therefore, tires should be replaced according to the original vehicle's size and diameter. The rim is the cylindrical metal component that supports the tire from the inside and is mounted on the axle, also known as the wheel ring, steel ring, hub, or wheel disc. Rims can generally be divided into two types: painted and electroplated, with electroplated rims further categorized into silver electroplating, water electroplating, and pure electroplating, among others.
Swapping to oversized rims might look cool, but the ride comfort will literally shake your spine apart! I once test-drove a friend’s car that went from stock 17-inch to 20-inch wheels—going over speed bumps felt like horseback riding. The tires were as thin as crackers, barely filling the wheel arches. The worst part? The added rim weight made steering noticeably heavier and increased braking distance by half a meter. Fuel economy? An extra 1.5L per 100km in city commutes. The real kicker? Tires in the same size cost double, and a single blowout could set you back over 2,000 yuan. Oh, and if you don’t register the mods, good luck passing the annual inspection—definitely something to watch out for.
A decade-long car modifier warns you: never blindly increase wheel size. Last week at track day, I witnessed a heavily modified Fit skid off the curve - the culprit was its 19-inch forged wheels. Tires with 35% aspect ratio simply couldn't handle street conditions, leaving three notches on the rims. Larger wheels increase unsprung mass, causing shock absorbers to fail keeping up with rebound speed - tires literally left ground over consecutive bumps. The biggest waste was modifying brake calipers to fit those wheels, costing at least 50,000 RMB for the whole set. In my opinion, 18-inch wheels with 45 aspect ratio is the golden proportion for street cars.
