Should I upgrade from 18" to 19" on Zed DD

[Zikim]

I currently have 108's on my Zed which I use daily (15,000 miles a year). I want to change from the 108's which I think now look dated. Do I upgrade to 19" wheels and if I do how will the ride be affected or should I stay with 18" wheels? I currently have non-run flat tyres.

Like to hear experiences from owners who have upgraded to 19" and what are the downsides? Are there any positives other than looks?

 

[mr wilks]

Get the tyre sizes & brand right & you will have no downsides on the ride front & only upsides from a looks point

 

[ben g]

I used my Z4 as a daily with 19's and didn't like it. It's far more compliant with 18'' wheels.

It's not worth sacrificing driveability just to have wheels that look good.

 

[cj10jeeper]

Looks are of course better but ride will be harsher and risk of pothole damage higher.

Here speaks a man on 20" rims on my Jag. Look awesome but boy they feel like rubber banks not tyres on rough roads

 

[mr wilks]

I used my Z4 as a daily with 19's and didn't like it. It's far more compliant with 18'' wheels.

It's not worth sacrificing driveability just to have wheels that look good.

Its a rounded reply but maybe the details would tell the story Ben , any mods on supsension & what profile tyres ?

 

[ben g]

I used my Z4 as a daily with 19's and didn't like it. It's far more compliant with 18'' wheels.

It's not worth sacrificing driveability just to have wheels that look good.

Its a rounded reply but maybe the details would tell the story Ben , any mods on supsension & what profile tyres ?

225/35 and 255/30 Goodyear eagle f1's, lowered on eibachs. It was just far too bumpy a ride to enjoy the rural roads of Essex. I also have polybushed ARB's front and back and RTAB'S.

Looked great, but in the end I realised I wasn't happy with it as I like to drive my cars, rather than just cruise around.

 

[mr wilks]

I used my Z4 as a daily with 19's and didn't like it. It's far more compliant with 18'' wheels.

It's not worth sacrificing driveability just to have wheels that look good.

Its a rounded reply but maybe the details would tell the story Ben , any mods on supsension & what profile tyres ?

225/35 and 255/30 Goodyear eagle f1's, lowered on eibachs. It was just far too bumpy a ride to enjoy the rural roads of Essex. I also have polybushed ARB's front and back and RTAB'S.

Looked great, but in the end I realised I wasn't happy with it as I like to drive my cars, rather than just cruise around.

That was my original point Ben , if the OP (if on standard OEM spring set up) goes from 18s on 225 40/255 35 to 19s 225 40 19 / 255 35 19 then he shouldn't notice any drop in comfort especially so if going with a tyre choice such as Uniroyal Rs3 which is known for a softer quiet ride

 

[Zikim]

Its a rounded reply but maybe the details would tell the story Ben , any mods on supsension & what profile tyres ?

225/35 and 255/30 Goodyear eagle f1's, lowered on eibachs. It was just far too bumpy a ride to enjoy the rural roads of Essex. I also have polybushed ARB's front and back and RTAB'S.

Looked great, but in the end I realised I wasn't happy with it as I like to drive my cars, rather than just cruise around.

That was my original point Ben , if the OP (if on standard OEM spring set up) goes from 18s on 225 40/255 35 to 19s 225 40 19 / 255 35 19 then he shouldn't notice any drop in comfort especially so if going with a tyre choice such as Uniroyal Rs3 which is known for a softer quiet ride

If moving to 19"s the tyre size should be 235/35 & 265/30 to keep the correct speedo speed,
ride height, etc or is this not so?

 

[ben g]

235/35/19 on the front rubs the plastic wheel arch liner if your Z4 is lowered. 265/30 is ideal for the rears, but my wheel offset and width made it a no go.

 

[mr wilks]

If moving to 19"s the tyre size should be 235/35 & 265/30 to keep the correct speedo speed,
ride height, etc or is this not so?

Depends how you interpret "correct" ? Tyre choice obviously has to suit the actual wheel widths you choose
OEM factory set up speedo reads a few MPH over if you check against GPS
Ive changed alloys upsize 3 times now on 3 different Zs & each time the speedo reading is more accurate when checked against a TomTom gps or similar device
i personally would never run a 30 profile tyre on a rear 19inch Z wheel sat over the rears you are gonna feel everything
Im currently running 8.5j 235 40 19 fronts & 9.5j 255 35 19 rears but will be switching those to 265 35 soon
Ran similar on my ///M roadster again no issues & more accurate speedo reading

 

[Yorkie Z]

Simple answer....

18's look crap

19's look great

 

[ben g]

Simple answer...

18's drive better, handle better.

19's drive worse, handle worse.

:lol:

F1 car's use 13'' wheels if I remember rightly.

 

[A1GSS]

I've just gone to from 17" (albeit RFTs) to 19" non-RFT and it's way better; lost all the jittery noise, steers more sharply, grip is better and feels (and looks) more planted. Also looks 1000 times better.

 

[A1GSS]

Simple answer...
18's drive better, handle better.
19's drive worse, handle worse.
:lol:
F1 car's use 13'' wheels if I remember rightly.

That's a ludicrous generalisation.

 

[MrPT]

Like to hear experiences from owners who have upgraded to 19" and what are the downsides? Are there any positives other than looks?

In my opinion, no (for a given tyre/suspension setup). But the ride and handling compromise isn't huge if you pick your tyres carefully.

Size-wise, popular choices are:

235/35 and 265/30 - same % stagger as stock but uneven front/rear rolling radius and tiny rear sidewalls
235/35 and 275/30 - even front/rear rolling radius and a little more comfort, but more stagger (understeer-inducing)
235/35 and 265/35 - substantially more rear tyre sidewall (better ride) than a /30 and similar stagger to stock, but visually uneven sidewall heights between front and back
225/40 and 255/35 - closest to stock rolling radius and stagger, and decent sidewall height, but mildly stretched on 8.5/9.5J rims

That's just to give you some idea of the trade offs - obviously shape of the tyres etc come into play too. All involve at least 1cm less sidewall height that 18" stock, which is significant from a visual and comfort point of view. 265/30 is 2cm less!

 

[cj10jeeper]

Simple answer...

18's drive better, handle better.

19's drive worse, handle worse.

:lol:

F1 car's use 13'' wheels if I remember rightly.

Indeed they do and were planning to move to 18" but they increased weight and reduced grip, so the move was scrapped in 2015.

They actually tested them in Maonaco on a GP2 last year.

 

[Yorkie Z]

Simple answer...

18's drive better, handle better.

19's drive worse, handle worse.

:lol:

F1 car's use 13'' wheels if I remember rightly.

Exactly nobody even watches F1 anymore due to those little wheels

 

[mr wilks]

I don't see the major hypercar players looking to drop wheel sizes :wink:
Eg £200k MacLaren P1 700+bhp running 19s front & 20 rears so throw those figures into the calculations imagine that on 17s or 18s

 

[cj10jeeper]

I don't see the major hypercar players looking to drop wheel sizes :wink:
Eg £200k MacLaren P1 700+bhp running 19s front & 20 rears so throw those figures into the calculations imagine that on 17s or 18s

Looks sell more hypercars than pure track performance
Also remember F1 use energy harvesting not giant disks so it's a much more complex answer

 

[Steve84N]

They still used 13" wheels and small discs before energy harvesting, the difference is the composite material used that only works at high temperatures. Road cars will need bigger discs for their heat capacity though. In an F1 car the tyres actually form a large part of the suspension so a move to low profile requires a complete redesign. They would have seen less grip with thinner tyres as it would have skipped around.