Hacura

I've read instances of this on the internet while researching Coilovers. I had my TL road force balanced by an upscale shop that works on race cars and high end stuff and both their technicians said the same thing. Is there any validity to it?

kingkong_dav

iono wat u r saying?

Jackass

Tires/Wheels have no bearing on how much power your car has. They only have the potential to transfer that power to the ground.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Maybe, they were talking about weight.
Putting heavier wheels on the front might mess up the handling characteristics of the car.

AcRightLINY

I don't really think that there is that much of a difference in power if your running a staggered setup. That is unless your runnning ultra heavy steel chrome wheels or something. Other than that, you dont notice

JDiMage

Alot of rwd ppl think it's stupid to use staggered on fwd, it sounds like propaganda to me.

csmeance

it is possible but it really depends on the wheel setup you are going for, let me explain:

1. The big issue right of the bat is handling. A staggered setup induces understeer which is great for a RWD car that tends to oversteer. However on a FWD that tends to understeer naturally, it can cause a bit more understeer when you are pushing the car hard.

2. Power loss (wheel/tire dependent). On any car, FWD, RWD, AWD, etc you will expereience a power loss or gain depending on the tire size, tire brand, wheel size, and wheel weight.

The larger a tire's and wheel's overall diameter is the slower your car will become! I'm using rounded numbers here, but the TL's rolling tire/wheel diameter is around 21 inches If I remember correctly. Putting on larger wheels like 22's or a wheel such as a 19 with an oversized tire will make your car slower!

Also weight is a large factor; if the wheel is heavier than the factory wheel (and same diameter) you will surely loose power as it'll take more of the engine's effort to spin the wheel. If the weight is the same as a factory wheel but the diameter is larger, you will STILL loose power as the radius of the weight has increased!

The only way you can gain power or maintain power is to stick with the lightest weight wheel you can get!

veggiemonster

iTrader: (1)

you can not 'gain power'. you can only reduce parasitic draw and rolling inertia. which in the end doesn't do much.

that's why it's called 'reverse' staggered. this right here is the foundation of 'function over form'


fyi OP this is not true at all, most people who do your alignment don't know jack shit about modifying things, and can barely do a good job with stock parts.

murph145

i dont care if i lose power lol i love the look of a staggered set up when properly done~!

Hacura

Csmeance's response is in-line with my research here regarding aftermarket wheel setups. I just didn't know if staggering added extra variables as the F/R wheels are different so one would need to be extra careful with that sort of setup.

I appreciate the help.