Planing to go handling route, and getting some new wheels, hopefully some TE37s...

Im wondering if 18"s delivers better handlin than the 17"s....... Other than your tire's
width, does your wheel size affect your corning abilities??

 

IMO,17s, the tire sizes you run with the 17s will be the best handling. with 18s the sidewalls are too small and you wont get the stiffness you'd want.

 

17's, maybe 16's (depending on how much rubber you want/need in back).

I'm considering 275's on 17s and 245's on 16s next year.

FWIW, I run 225/50-14's on my 240Z. Outhandles not only the big guns, but also Spec Miatae in the corners.

 

For handling, 17s are a better choice. I've had both on my car and the ride w/18s is rougher and the car a bit more unsettled w/18s. The contact patch w/17s vs 18s is basically the same and all 18s add is more weight and less sidewall.

 

:bs
Higher profile tires have a disadvantage of not deflecting side loads and the car will be worse turning around curves. Lower profiles tires are stiffer, adding to corning force and stability. I have 18's on my S2000, low profile Pirelli P-Zeros.

 

Check out the latest EVO magazine tire test and Grassroots motorsports (and the last 15 years of SCCA results). Yep, taller rims OFTEN decrease handling. 2 sec a lap on the Evo test, might as well put an anchor out.

 

Frequently, on lower-profile street tires they make the sidewalls more flexible to maintain ride quality. And I guarantee your PZeros sidewalls aren't as stiff as my taller-profile track tires.

Come on down to Lime Rock in a few weeks and we could compare notes on how your '01 on 18" PZeros (Neros, Rossos, or "plain" PZeros?) handles versus my '01 on 16" Hankook RS2 street tires. http://www.comscc.com/
Theoretically, you should have a width advantage (assuming you're on 225/40-18 F, 255/35-18 rears versus my 205/50-16 F, 245/45-16 R), but I'd be interested to have another stockish(?) S2k on track to compare against.

I wouldn't dispute that there was a huge handling benefit going from 70% - 80% aspect ratios of the 70s down to ~45%-55%. But it seems to me the rage for super-ultra-low-profile tires on as-big-a-diameter-as-you-can-get-em wheels is driven far more by fashion trends than by performance benefit.

I've tracked a 240Z for years, and I go quicker on the 14's than on the 15's I have for it.

 

If it was true, then SUVs with 24" wheels would be outhandling everyone.

 

And F1 cars w/13" wheels would be in the weeds.

In my previous post, I'm not saying that an 18" wheel can't deliver good handling but rather if comparing the same wheel in a 17" and an 18", the 17" is a better choice if handling is a primary concern.

 

17s would handle better. I'm using my oem 16s for the autox/track. My 18s for the street. Now these would be killer.