Upgrading to 20"

NVP

NVP

NVP

Soldato
Joined
6 Sep 2007
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How would upgrading from 19" to 20" affect the performance/grip/ride of a car?

I was browsing M5board and saw this:

6208440457d4dcd48489b.jpg


They look quite nice, I think I prefer them to my 19" Double-spoke style 167M although I'm no where near deciding to change at the moment, just flirting with the idea.

Anyway back to the question, are there gains from upping the size or is it a hindrance?

To me 19's are more than adequate in the looks department and encase the large brakes sufficiently, so without the need to upgrade to even larger brakes I was wondering if there were other benefits to a large wheel?
 
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Other than increased tyre cost, assuming the width stays the same, then the contact patch increase will be negligible.

If the style you want is available in 19", I'd stick with 19".
 
Gangsta-tastic! (I actually quite like the car in the pic)

Unless you go very light weight I can only think of downsides to larger wheels, I.e: worse ride, worse handling due to the increase of unsprung weight, more expensive rubber etc... But the 5 series is big enough to pull 20s off... Just.
 
The main performance gain with wheel sizing is unsprung weight. Smaller wheels would mean less heavy metal wheel + more light tyre = weight saving.

The pro for running big wheels on a great big lardy car is you can fit bigger brakes behind them (touring cars, super saloons, etc), but on small light cars that's pointless.


The ones in the OP - I quite like them :).
 
Thanks guys. Most of the nice ones are available in 19" which has my vote anyway, but I saw some which were only 20" plus I was wondering why this guy chose to go for 20" rather than stock 19". If there is no advantage then I can't see the point either, although some do look nicer when they fill the arches but that could just be the pictures.

Even though I made it my preference to buy an M5 with them I think I'm bored and slightly annoyed seeing my Double-Spoke 167M on every chav'd BMW around now, so fancy a stylish change.
 
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I should think if the 19" had a slightly larger sidewall the actual rolling radius would be pretty much identical anyway? (I.E fill the arch just as much)
 
Phil W said:
I should think if the 19" had a slightly larger sidewall the actual rolling radius would be pretty much identical anyway? (I.E fill the arch just as much)
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Yeah you have a point. Either way I think I'd stick with 19" as the size looks more than fine as is plus I keep the manufacturers sizing recommendations which won't end up affecting performance in any way.
Dr House said:
they look horrid sorry
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Haha no need to apologise, each to their own and all. I've seen quite a few different styles and these are quite near the top of the list, if you happen to find some which are more to your liking then please share as I'm open to opinion.
 
Wouldnt it have other knock on effects like faster wear on the wheel bearings, lower arms and track rod ends?

It sure did when I went to a silly size wheel on my old escort, but the offset was wrong and I was on spacers so I guess that wouldn't have helped.
 
[TW]Fox;20386995 said:
You promised us this car wasn't all about the bling :(
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I made no such promise :p It is not, however, I'm just getting slightly annoyed seeing every ****** little tarted up BMW having the same alloys that I actively sought out when buying the M5 :( Then when these alloys on M5Board caught my eye it's got me flirting with the idea of an upgrade.

I don't see how that makes it about bling however, more about my preference. Same with you changing the interior of your car from plastic to wood.

Do you not like this style alloy then?

VinceB1 said:
Wouldnt it have other knock on effects like faster wear on the wheel bearings, lower arms and track rod ends?

It sure did when I went to a silly size wheel on my old escort, but the offset was wrong and I was on spacers so I guess that wouldn't have helped.
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I have no idea, surely 1" can't cause too much of an issue. But like I said, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to the mechanics of cars.
 
Hmm... yeah they're not too bad, very similar to the ones on at the moment. Actually, I have a voucher for something like 20% off BMW accessories from Elms which could come in handy. Will take a look at what BMW have to offer.

EDIT: Maybe not... poor selection :(
 
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