17"s or 15"s for drifting?

[Craftsman]

Alot of the big time drifters use 17"s to drift. But they have tire sponsers so they never really have to worry about blown out tires.

I already know what I think about tires to use. I just want to see your opinion on what size tires to use for drifting.

Matt.

[ProjectS15]

i got 8 15's and 4 more on the way to use

[initial what?]

im gonna use 16" se wheels......i depend on good tires....not much the size
and im poor

[silverline]

im gonna use 16" se wheels......i depend on good tires....not much the size
and im poor
then maybe ill get mine back

[Unclemax]

See the reason I ask is because with 15"s you get alot of tire flex with the tires. They accelerate faster and respond faster than the 17"s, but the 17"s have much less tire flex. And from what I have heard and read, less tire flex is very important. So important that alot of drivers (from drifting) use uber high tire pressures.

This is not my opinion, just what I've heard and read. Anyways, your input further... If you think I'm wrong, correct me. Please do... I would like to know what your thoughts are...

Matt.

It depends on how long you've been drifting really. Lower profile with less flex will cause the car to snap around quicker thus requiring you to have the skills to controll the car when it snaps back really quick.

taller tires have more flex but the car will rebound slower giving you a chance to react a bit slower. Just depends what works for you/your skills and the length of your car. A long boat will take longer to come back around than a corolla or an MR2 with the motor in the rear. Trial and error, that's all there is.
Practice, practice practice.

[Ripcurl]

depends on your power too.

i run 16's all around but woulda been happy with 15's.

[Projext D]

I use 17x9 w/ Falken 215/40R17 in the front and I use 18x10 w/ Falken 235/35R18 in the back.

[NiS13]

haha alex's car looks mean as hell with his 18's in the rear with his wagon wheel 14's..? i think in the front thats one mean looking bitch

[Unclemax]

haha alex's car looks mean as hell with his 18's in the rear with his wagon wheel 14's..? i think in the front thats one mean looking bitch

It's my 70's hot rod look. lol It's more like I'me too lazy to take them off look.

[Ris4Drift]

im using a bunch of 16'' crap wheels i got for cheap now. my car might actually look somewhat pretty next time with mad ricer tyte black wheels and polished lips on every corner :shock:

[NismoFreakS14]

It depends on how long you've been drifting really. Lower profile with less flex will cause the car to snap around quicker thus requiring you to have the skills to controll the car when it snaps back really quick.

taller tires have more flex but the car will rebound slower giving you a chance to react a bit slower. Just depends what works for you/your skills and the length of your car. A long boat will take longer to come back around than a corolla or an MR2 with the motor in the rear. Trial and error, that's all there is.
Practice, practice practice.

It all boils down to load rating.

A tire's friction curve is directly related to the tires compound (coefficient of friction) and the load (force). Let's take two different sizes of tires for example:

Tire 1: 205/55/16 90W Yokohama ES100
Tire 2: 215/40/17 83W Yokohama ES100

Tire 1 has a load rating of 90, which states it is rated to 1323 lbs.
Tire 2 has a load rating of 83, which states it is rated to 1074 lbs.

Now Alex stated that the shorter profile tires break away faster, here's why.

The entire slope of the tires friction [stickson vs slip angle] vs load is not linear at the bottom 15% nor above some point say 73% of max load.

Apply that to the tires:

1323 x .73 = 966 lbs.
1074 x .73 = 784 lbs.

Now assuming a perfect distribution in your average 240SX you get roughly 750 lbs. per corner (2900 / 4 = 750).

Meaning the 215/40/17 tire has a 34 lb. reserve when the car is at rest. However what happens when you turn?

Typically we can assume a 7 - 10% weight shift with most cars, it's related to track width, CoG, and a number of other factors, but for ease lets call it at 10%.

3000 x .10 = 300 lbs.

Your outside loaded tires now have 1050 lbs. worth of load on them. So what happens to the tires?

966 / 784 - 100% = 19% difference in load on the tires.

Result:

The 215/40/17 will break away about 19% sooner than the 205/55/16.

Moral:

If you want a good drifting tire that will break away quickly ... then get the lowest load rating possible. Be forwarned that this is an un-safe practice and I do not suggest it.

Drift away :)

[initial what?]

^^^ so what ur really trying to say is the only way to become the best drifter is to take lots of math in school? :thumb:
i didnt even know there were solutions to figure out what tires work better with your car.

[John]

As a beginner you're going to go through a lot of tires learning so, in my opinion, the cheaper the tire the better. As you progress you can move on to stickier, bigger wheels/tires but unless you have a good budget you should go cheap.

[Flores]

^^^ so what ur really trying to say is the only way to become the best drifter is to take lots of math in school? :thumb:
i didnt even know there were solutions to figure out what tires work better with your car.


Mmmkkk.. I guess your think people at car companys just pull stuff out of a bin, and hope it won't fall apart or be unsafe when you buy it?

:D

[NismoFreakS14]

Mmmkkk.. I guess your think people at car companys just pull stuff out of a bin, and hope it won't fall apart or be unsafe when you buy it?

:D

You mean they don't :eek3:

My counter arguement: Ford.

[hatchynos91]

i say 15's thats juss my opinion