Low profile tires and big wheels, Like or dislike?

[jamesG]

Let's hear your opinions on those big wheel and nearly nonexistent tires.

Personally, I can't stand them on just about anything. On classics and muscle cars they destroy the entire look. It would be like a pro bodybuilder that never did any leg work. Trucks, no, just no. Modern cars, might as well paint " Fisher price " on the thing while you're at it. The only thing they seem to work on for me is supercars. 

This is by no means meant to discourage anyone from putting them on their builds, by all means build what you like.  

[styromaniac]

Hate them. Absolutely hate them...friggin wagon wheels.  But I'm just an aging old curmudgeon Baby Boomer who loved the look of Bigs and Littles w/ wide whites.

[TransAmMike]

Let me be the first to agree with you James.  Huge wheels with rubber band tires on older cars are a turn off for me.  But I do agree about modern supercars. They would'nt look quite right without bigger wheels and low profile tires

[Rob Hall]

It depends on the vehicle, and the specific tires and wheels.  I think they can look great on vintage cars or trucks built in a restomod/Pro Touring/G-Machine style.   And modern performance cars would look strange with wheels smaller than 18-20 inches because of the large wheel wells and large brakes.

I like the look of these '69 Mustangs w/ modern wheels and tires.  Or this truck.

Edited October 5, 2020 by Rob Hall

[stitchdup]

It really depends on the car, they look good on street rods but would be completely out of place on a 50s style rod (an exception would be the wheels with built in whitewalls ala kindig). They work on pro touring cars but some of them aren't the style of wheels I would use but thats personal choice and not criticism. The cars do need to be lowered if they have bigger wheels though otherwise they look almost lifted. One thing that looks odd to me though is big spoked wheels with tiny brakes or drums behind them. That makes the car look unfinished to me.

[Jon Haigwood]

Not a fan 

[Jantrix]

I'm not a fan of anything larger than 17's on any classic vehicle. 

[Snake45]

39 minutes ago, styromaniac said:

Hate them. Absolutely hate them...friggin wagon wheels.  But I'm just an aging old curmudgeon Baby Boomer who loved the look of Bigs and Littles w/ wide whites.

You just saved me some typing. Well, except for the part about wide whites. Can't stand wide whites, either. 

 

2 minutes ago, Jantrix said:

I'm not a fan of anything larger than 17's on any classic vehicle. 

Same here. And even then, the 17s have to be carefully selected. 

[ksnow]

I can't stand them. Not just looks either. They ride like lumber wagons. They are hard on vehicles and suspension. They handle very poorly. And try to replace low profile tires. They are a real pain.

[ranma]

45 minutes ago, styromaniac said:

Hate them. Absolutely hate them...friggin wagon wheels.  

I also agree 100%  dislike them like H E double hockey sticks!!!!

[afx]

Not a fan for the most part but on some big cars I like them. 

An example:

[SCRWDRVR]

54 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

 

Same here. And even then, the 17s have to be carefully selected. 

Me 3, I've seen a few cars where bigger looks ok but the older cars really don't look good with them and really most newer cars too.

[RichCostello]

Hate them on anything!

[SfanGoch]

They're O.K. on clown cars.

 

[RichCostello]

4 minutes ago, SfanGoch said:

They're O.K. on clown cars.

 

Nope, don't even like them on clown cars. Actually anything you put them on becomes a clown car.

[Richard Bartrop]

They look good if you're going for a high tech look.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Well it is all about personal preference. We all like different stuff. But, I have never liked the big rims and low profile tires personally . I have seen a handful of applications where they looked okay, but as for me, I like the old school look of smaller rims with some offset and some sidewall. Low profiles ride like a wagon too. They just aren’t for me.

[Plowboy]

Yeah, big wheels and little tires are pretty goofy looking.

[Joe Handley]

4 hours ago, stitchdup said:

It really depends on the car, they look good on street rods but would be completely out of place on a 50s style rod (an exception would be the wheels with built in whitewalls ala kindig). They work on pro touring cars but some of them aren't the style of wheels I would use but thats personal choice and not criticism. The cars do need to be lowered if they have bigger wheels though otherwise they look almost lifted. One thing that looks odd to me though is big spoked wheels with tiny brakes or drums behind them. That makes the car look unfinished to me.

I think that’s what bugs my Dad the most, huge diameter wheels and stock sized brakes. My 200 with the oem 18” wheels looks a bit goofy with the also stock 11.6” rotors and single piston calipers, even though I wouldn’t go bigger than 18”, even after I get the bigger Euro market from brakes on it (13.4” rotor and 2 piston calipers from the bigger cars) on it. Anything bigger just looks off to me. I kinda feel the same about other vehicles, I’d rather have wheels no taller than I need to clear the calipers of a big brake kit.

[Joe Handley]

4 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

Yeah, big wheels and little tires are pretty goofy looking.

Yeah, but that still has some usable sidewall to it!

[stitchdup]

3 minutes ago, Joe Handley said:

I think that’s what bugs my Dad the most, huge diameter wheels and stock sized brakes. My 200 with the oem 18” wheels looks a bit goofy with the also stock 11.6” rotors and single piston calipers, even though I wouldn’t go bigger than 18”, even after I get the bigger Euro market from brakes on it (13.4” rotor and 2 piston calipers from the bigger cars) on it. Anything bigger just looks off to me. I kinda feel the same about other vehicles, I’d rather have wheels no taller than I need to clear the calipers of a big brake kit.

The best brake fitment I've seen on a vw was porsche 911 brakes and wheels on a mk4 golf, it just looked right with the 1/2 to 3/4 inch gap between the brakes and wheel rim and the caliper just barely tucking in behind the rim. Most of the conversions I've seen just have a slight look of being further back in the arch than the hub of the wheels but they may have been running spacers or the wrong offset.

[SfanGoch]

7 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

Yeah, big wheels and little tires are pretty goofy looking.

 

They are if the rims look like giant thread spools with black magic marker lines for tires. At least the spoked rims found on autos which they were originally designed for are aesthetically pleasing and fit within the design of said vehicles and they aren't even within the same category or types being discussed. What you're attempting to do is conflate this discussion by entering into evidence an example which is, according to Perry Mason,  irrelevant, incompetent and immaterial.

[Classicgas]

5 hours ago, styromaniac said:

Hate them. Absolutely hate them...friggin wagon wheels.  But I'm just an aging old curmudgeon Baby Boomer who loved the look of Bigs and Littles w/ wide whites.

X2. 

[Lorne]

Depends on the ride!! LowRider wheels (and killing a classic car by making it bounce) not for me! GIANT wheels,.... what??? get me a step ladder!! But,.... a classic pro touring or pro street car,.... OH YA!! 18" and 20/22" on the back,... that is sexy! Don't get me wrong original hubcaps with spinners and white walls ROCK! 

Wheels/colour/stance - all day long make the car/truck!! (1959 IMPALA FOR ME PLEASE)

[Joe Handley]

To me, the wheels on that Impala are too big too, I’d go at least 1-2” smaller and have a little more sidewall for comfort.