I still don't get why wheels are so big and the profiles of the tires are so low. Old man yelling at cloud

I agree, but this is easy to change. Immediately after buying it, I sold the atrocious 18” wheels that came on my CX-30 and went with 17” aftermarket wheels and light AT tires.

The guy who bought them had a base model CX-30 and was delighted to buy them. He thought they looked great. Sure. Whatever does it for ya I guess.
 
Pterostylis said:
Not sure how valid it is, but I’ve been told that low profile tyres have a lower rolling resistance and help manufacturers squeeze just that bit extra with their emissions targets.
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The tires themselves may have lower rolling resistance due to less tire sidewall squirm, but the accopmanying larger/heavier rims make things worse, plus those higher profile tires are usually also much wider, so the end result is actually just the opposite. Those combos with larger rims and lower profile tires reduce fuel economy due to higher unsprung weight. Take a look at MPG ratings for Camry Hybrid for example. The LE has 205/65 tires with 16" rims. The others have 18" and 19" rims with low profile tires.

If I were to get a Camry Hybrid, I'd probably get an XLE model, and ask the dealer to swap the wheels from a lower end model, although I'm not sure many dealers would be willing to do that these days. For god's sake, these are A-to-B appliances with focus on fuel economy (hybrids!!!), not sports cars with big brake kits.

camry.jpg
 
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andyd said:
This for a turboed Suburu? four 245/50/20s, 1000 and change out the door.. How much clearance do the calipers have?. Where do you drive this rig that it requires such a big contact patch? If its a dedicated rally car. OK. If it is your daily driver, you are a drain bamaged victim of a ridiculous fashion craze. My driveway is through the Senior Ctr parking lot so I see all sorts of cars. I'm looking for a good used 4x4 pick up truck 1/2 ton. extend cab/6' bed. Several Dodges caught my eye, Wheel pkg is a deal breaker. 20" wheel 245 50. Rotors look like they'd clear a 16" wheel. Rant over
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Agree with the title - soon to put 315’s on my 17”s -
Maybe Discount Tire yelling at the clouds 😵‍💫
 
Quattro Pete said:
The tires themselves may have lower rolling resistance due to less tire sidewall squirm, but the accopmanying larger/heavier rims make things worse, plus those higher profile tires are usually also much wider, so the end result is actually just the opposite. Those combos with larger rims and lower profile tires reduce fuel economy due to higher unsprung weight. Take a look at MPG ratings for Camry Hybrid for example.
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It’s funny that you mention Camry, the guy that told me that did his placement at Toyota well over 20 years ago and then on to either Ford or Holden before they also closed local manufacturing.
 
JimPghPA said:
I get a good laugh when I see one of these clown cars. One good pothole and they start to learn their lesson. Most have to ruin a few before they figure it out.
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99.9% of exploded tires from potholes that come through my shop are low profile. Very expensive, easily destroyed, and to top it all off they have horrendous ride quality. Most of these cars do not have big enough brakes to justify them either. Just a dumb fad if you ask me.

I've hit so many massive potholes on my 175/70/14 tires and never once had a blow out. Even hit a foot deep pothole at 65mph, took a chunk out of the hubcap but the tire was unphased.
 
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37x12.5 - 17 on my F350, brakes barely fit.

The ride is awesome.

I can hit curbs without worrying about the rim.

And looks better than most of the trends I see now like 24s, 26s with 37” tires on a lifted truck.

I might be biased because I do travel a lot with it off road but the ride and durability is most important for me.
 
If trends keep going the way they are, a lot of people are going to have some serious back problems when they get older. Maybe at that point we'll start making cars that are comfortable again (I hope). The roads we have in my area are terrible. It's not even potholes that are the worst. Roads that are well traveled by semis get these little dips that you can barely see but they feel like land mines with modern car suspensions and modern cars having no padding in the seats and they drive my back insane. I try to find a small rim as I possibly can with as big a tire profile as I possibly can. 16 was the peak of what I wanted. 17 I tolerate. 18s I hate. I don't know why anybody wants these ridiculously sized rims anyhow. It has never made any sense to me.
 
Enthusiast said:
If trends keep going the way they are, a lot of people are going to have some serious back problems when they get older. Maybe at that point we'll start making cars that are comfortable again (I hope). The roads we have in my area are terrible. It's not even potholes that are the worst. Roads that are well traveled by semis get these little dips that you can barely see but they feel like land mines with modern car suspensions and modern cars having no padding in the seats and they drive my back insane. I try to find a small rim as I possibly can with as big a tire profile as I possibly can. 16 was the peak of what I wanted. 17 I tolerate. 18s I hate. I don't know why anybody wants these ridiculously sized rims anyhow. It has never made any sense to me.
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Trains have steel wheels.
 
When I saw this today I was reminded of this thread.
I didn't realize that the tire's sidewalls were made this narrow.
Probably a poor choice for California potholes.

Tire Size.jpg
 
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