ZED02 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Hi, Can someone explain me why some R300/400's are equiped with 13' wheels while others are with 15' wheels (standard size)? What would be the advantages/disadvantages of both options? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheds Moderator Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 13 foot wheels? Wow. I didn't know they were into earthmovers. 😳 You want 13" not '. Joking aside, the short explanation is that 15s are heavier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannonball Bob Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Depending on tyre choice and set-up, the smaller wheels will have deeper side walls to to the tyres for the same rolling diameter. All depends how it's set up and what the car's used for as to the advantage/disadvantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZED02 Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 At Caterham I see some R400 to be sold with 13" wheels, others with 15" wheels ... what should have been the reason fitting 13" on one of these cars? Would it be better for racing and why? What about using 13" on the road? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 The taller tyre profile on a 13" wheel would absorb some of the bumps on the road, and reduce the risk of rim damage from potholes. Bigger choice of tyres too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gundersen Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Quoting ZED02:Â At Caterham I see some R400 to be sold with 13" wheels, others with 15" wheels ... what should have been the reason fitting 13" on one of these cars? There are numerous reasons for fitting 13" tyres. 1) The weight is lower 2) There are more tyre types available 3) With a high profile tyre (for example A021-r 185/70-13) you get a more absorbent tyre than low profile 15" tyres 4) The price is usually lower 5) ... Quoting ZED02:Â Would it be better for racing and why? Probably on account of the saved weight Quoting ZED02:Â What about using 13" on the road? What about it? As both Bob and M25 says, 13" are excellent for road use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 And the list of reasons for using 15 inch wheels: 1) They look more "fashionable" to people brought up on 19 inch wheels and wafer-thin tyres on tin-tops 2) err... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclefester Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Or, you have an SV and a nice set of 15" John Brown wheel replica Minilites from Demontweeks makes the car look just like a normal Seven only bigger! To my eye, 13" wheels on an SV look ridiculous, they make the thing look overly slab-sided and out of scale. Ours is on 14" at the moment, I sold its OE 15" Prisoners.  Seriously, I have noticed the JBW minilite reps are the only ones I've seen which look just like the original Minilites. They seem to have the ridge on the spokes just right, and also the centre boss is correct. Most of the other makes are just "vaguely like" a Minilite.  Edited by - Unclefester on 20 Jan 2012 12:20:50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted January 20, 2012 Member Share Posted January 20, 2012 Ground clearance? Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky Mark Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I went last year from 15" to 13" on my R300 and it just felt more agile on the track and absorbed bumps on the road better, so I don't regret down sizing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Ground clearance? Generally the rolling circumference is the same, so no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavin H Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I'm sure there have been threads on this before and the conclusion was that the 13" wheel/tyre combination is better on track; 15" better on the road. Unfortunately I cannot remember the logic / science to the conclusion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheds Moderator Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 The last debate I read here on the subject concluded that 15 was prettier and the difference in handling and ride was acceptable for a road car. 13s gave better handling as a result of lower weight, so were preferred for track use, given that they were being driven at 10/10ths all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 13 inch wheels should be better on the road and track as they are lighter. The suspention can do its job better with ligher wheels and tyres as the inertia of the wheels bouncing up and down is considerable and the more this is reduced the better and the tyres will stay in better contact with the road. Acceleration and braking should also be better as there is less weight to be accelerated and decelerated (rotational) - same as lightening a flywheel but to a lower degree. Higher sidewalls work very well on a 7 and on the road absorb the imperfectios of the road. There is also a great choice of tyres for 13 inch rims. Larger rims fill the arches better so look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 What I never quite understand about this regular debate, is the view that larger wheels fill the arches more. Roughly speaking (not based on actually measuring anything). If you've got, say, 195/50/15 compared to 195/70/13, is that not, about 30mm difference in circumference, so 15mm around the wheel arch? Surely, that's hardly noticeable. Anyway, I run 15" with Prisoners, which some people will bury their head in their hands about, but my car is planted, and it ain't slow!   Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I think what they mean is the wheel itself looks a bit small in the middle of a taller profile tyre, rather than the rim filling a lot of the arch ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racing Snake Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 13's = 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuffer Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Very interesting piece on tyres and wheels here  Edited by - oldbuffer on 20 Jan 2012 18:34:26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keybaud Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 edit: update Managed to navigate the english version and find the article. The website doesn't always keep the English language as you navigate, so I've copied it here. Tyres Extensive testing on both road and track has enabled us to gather definitive results regarding tyre recommendations for the Caterham Super 7 SIII und SV. We prefer radial tyres, driven with camber.  Top performer for the more sporty everday allrounder is without a doubt the Yokohama A 048. Especially on the Nürburgring Nordschleife there is no better alternative!  Best results were achieved when using the following tyre/rim combination:  Front axle using 7,0 x 13" offset 21 rim with Yokohama A 048 R 185/60 R 13 in S-Compound (Soft). Rear axle using 8,0 x 13" offset 9 rim with Yokohama A 048 R 205/60 R 13 in M-Compound (Medium).  Yokohama offers sufficient ground clearance with excellent grip and comfort. The rear wheel drive causes the rear tyres to warm up much faster than the front tyres, thus developing much better grip in a shorter time. The colder front tyres are therefore prone to understeer, which not only limits driving pleasure, but also increases the risk of an accident. Often enough the results are costly flat spots on your tyres.  Yokohama is the only semi-slick tyre manufacturer, which supplies the commonly used tyre sizes in various compounds. By using the soft S-Compound of Yokohama on the front axle and the M-compound on the rear axle, the imbalance between the axles is equalized.   For the ultimate experience in both fun and performance, we recommend Kumho Ecsta V70A.  With this tyre the sky is the limit and we are able to fully exploit your wildest dreams. The amount of grip offered by this tyre is such that it should actually be forbidden for road use!  We differentiate between the following tyre / rim sizes:  175/60 R 13 on rim 7,0 x 13" offset 21 215/50 R13 on rim 8,0 x 13" offset 9 235/45 R13 on rim 8,5 x 13" offset 15 or 9,0 x 13" offset 21 or 9  For vehicles up to 150 bhp the best combination is a 175/60 R 13 for the front axle 215/50 R13 at the rear and especially for high performance engines up to 300 bhp, the combination 215/50 R13 (front) and 235/45 R13 (rear) is highly recommend. You will also get best results here if different tyre compounds are used on the front and rear axle. We also offer wider cycle wings in both standard and CSR design for the broader 8" rims in the front. In combination with our ultra light cycle wing brackets in aluminium, this is really the ultimate!  Tried and tested best performer for the race track are definitely Michelin slicks, which are usually used in Formula Renault and Formula BMW.  Here our recommendation for rim / tyre size is as follows:  16/53-13 on rim 7,0 x 13" offset 21 20/54-13 on rim 8,0 x 13" offset 9 22/54-13 on rim 9,0 x 13" offset 9 or 9,5 x 13" offset 15 23/57-13 on rim 10,0 x13" offset 21 or 9  The weaker K-Series Caterham up to 140 bhp runs best with a combination of 16/53-13 on a 7,0 x 13" offset 21 rim (front) and for the rear a 20/54-13 on a 8,0 x 13" offset 9 rim.  In the class of 150 - 200 bhp, you are quickest with 20/54-13 on a 8,0 x 13" offset 9 rim and the rears with 22/54-13 on 9,0 x 13" offset 9 or 9,5 x 13" offset 15 rims.  Stronger cars run best on 20/54-13 on a 8,0 x 13" offset 9 rim in the front and 23/57-13 on a 10,0 x 13" offset 21 or offset 9 rim in the rear. For the 10 x 13" offset 9 we offer wider wings as well.  Of course we also offer the original Avon tyres, which are fitted as original equipment.  Edited by - keybaud on 20 Jan 2012 19:14:09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Hatter Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 So all that = 13" then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keybaud Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Quoting Hell Boy: So all that = 13" then And offsets and tyres, so not 'just' 13". Edited by - keybaud on 20 Jan 2012 19:16:46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 OMG..., am I the only one here who has 16 inches...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Well hello Big Boy 😬 Hi Ahmed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Hi, Ian... I'm talking about my wheels... 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuffer Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Quoting Glasgow: OMG..., am I the only one here who has 16 inches...?  16inch's on a Caterham = Bling 😬 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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