Wheels Ever Fail?

1970Duster said

Something else you have to think about is both brake clearance and tire selection. Lets face it here guys, 17 and 18 offer the most tire selection out there (at least in my area).
Also to point this out to everyone, for every 1" increase in wheel/rim size you lose just a 1/2" in sidewall (stiffer sidewalls handle better). So lets say your car has 15" wheels on it and you go to 17" wheels, you've increased the wheels size by 2" and decreased sidewall by 1". Just something to think about. Me I'm going either black chrome or Gunmetal center and spoke with the lip being chrome or polished aluminum in 17 or 18 (depends on which I fit the widest tire in my wheel wells with).

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Last episode of Motor Week included a segment about the differences in yesterdays car / tire and todays car / tire. The taller side walls absorbed a huge amount of pavement roughness to improve the ride which sacrificed traction and stability.
To place the short sidewall tires on modern passenger cars they first had to make major advances in other suspension parts, i.e. struts and independent corners.
From the wheels and tires on the model A to those on the new Ford ( and everything else ) produced today has been a evolution that in appearance seems to have come full circle. There is a lot more than appearance involved.
That's the jest of what I learned watching ETV :)
I dont expect to ever go beyond a 16 inch wheel under my ol' Plymouth.