New Festiva, New Wheels

[BUSTIVA]

sorry to interrupt this battle between you too, lol, but Bustiva, since the wider rims n tired add more traction, how much hardher is it to turn the wheel with no power steering?

wouldnt it wear the tires down quicker?

and wouldnt that be A LOT more stress on the steering rack?

There hardly is a difference in steering input. And it is only noticable while sitting still. Tear wear is not effected at all. No extra stress on the rack either. I would switch to rio top hats, and it will feel like you have power steering lol. I have a 10in steering wheel and have no problems driving around at all.

The only negative thing wider wheels will do is put more force on your wheel bearings, I haven't had any problems in six years of my wider wheels, but then again my festy only has 40k miles.

[Advancedynamix]

Wider contact patch doesn't mean more traction. This is a common false conception. Wider contact patches are often more stable under lateral force ( cornering) but traction is is more affected by the pressure being applied to the contact patch, the properties of the tire being used and of coarse the surface conditions that the tire is riding on. Too wide of a contact patch can actually reduce traction by reducing contact pressure.
Pressure is measured in units of weight verses area. If you increase the area without increasing the weight applied then the pressure is reduced. Furthermore, too much contact patch will add rolling resistances and eat up horsepower. No hating at all here, just stating the facts. I have 15x7s on my car and 13x7" wheels on their way for my Hoosier slicks. I really like the stretch look and enjoy Bustiva and Ghosts cars.

[bmun90]

by traction and grip, I mean that for the festiva it must add both due to the fact that the festiva isnt putting out nearly enough power to spin, skip, chirp, or burn the wider tires. ALSO must state that i will only be using my festy for daily driving. no racing!

winter time i will be going back to the stock rims for better traction in the now. the thinner wheel and tire would most likely cut through the snow as opposed to wide flat tires. too much surfce area wont grip in wet nor frozen condition.

so wide wheels n tires for spring summer and fall.

stocks for winter

[zoom zoom]

Sir, I think you need to google what the term "offset" means, if you look at berts' post, you will see what I mean..

The 14" tires are only 155s but that extra 3/4 inch outward really does change the look of the car. And nothing rubs.

Good luck sir! And Godspeed! (stolen from another ff.com member who I don't recall the name of..!!!?!)

[zoom zoom]

oh, aspires have the ability to roast tires up to third gear as far as i KNOW due entirely to the lack of weight in their front end, the same should be true of lower/taller geared festivas am I right? Just gotta get that rpm to 35-4k before you let the clutch slip and rip?!