Maybe this is dumb to bring up but I've never been given a clear answer... Performance wise, which works better? Also the definition of High Profile, Low Profile. Where does it start? Because I've heard that high profile starts at 18" and up. Just wondering.

 

My understanding of high profile vs low profile is the tire not the wheel. So your tires are a low profile vs. the tires on a full size stock pick-up. As far as wheel performance wise I think its more wider then bigger. The wider the tire = more rubber on the road = more grip. I can only assume that bigger wheels are better for performance since more stock performance cars have the bigger wheels. IE: the 18 inch on your SS.

I may be wrong but that's my take on the whole thing.

 

Nah, that makes sense. I knew wider was better but didn't know if the amount of tire between the rim and the road meant anything.

 

Ah! My guessing is there would be less sidewall flex with a low profile tire. So the tire is less likely to roll over in the corners, again this is just how I see things not to be taken as gospel.

 

smaller the rim, lighter the wheels, more the rubber to grip the road = more performance.

18" is probably the largest you could go without sacrificing much performance. Bigger rims are all for the looks.

high / low profile is the amount of rubber that you see around the rim.

 

Also you still want an ok amount of rubber on there because you could possibly bend the rim on high speed impacts of little things, like if you hit a rock. Thats why race cars still have a good amount of tire on them, not to mention to save a little harshness. Atleast I think of it that way.

 

It really depends what you intend to use it for.

As far as performance goes, if you want to do a lot of cornering, you're better off a larger rim; that means the tire has less sidewall to support and has less flex and roll - you're replacing the flexible sidewall materials with solid aluminum (which is good until a certain point, obviously super thin tires are not good either).

However, for straight line performance, (mainly 1/8 or 1/4 mile drag racing)- a smaller wheel with a larger tire has an advantage. With a smaller wheel- when air down the tires, you can greatly increase your contact patch (whereas you're limited with a big wheel because you don't want the rim sitting on the tread).

I wouldn't be overly concerned about the weight difference in "normal" sized wheels (ie not talking 24"s, etc)- because you can buy lighter weight larger wheels that may even weigh less than your stock wheels.

 

225-75-16

the 225 is how wide the tread will be
the 75 is the percent of the 225, how high the sidewall will be
the 16 is how big of a rim it will be going on

the bigger the first number the better traction you will get, also if there is a center rib on the tire you will get better traction but also more noise, the bigger the center rib the more traction, but also more noise

the smaller the 2nd number, the lower profile the tire will be, on most stock rims the second number will be 50 for low profile tires, anything less is getting pretty thin and also a bigger rim

the bigger the rim, the more the engine will have to work to turn the whole tire around, resulting in worse acceleration. generally this wont be too noticeable

a bigger first number does not always mean a better tire, the tires have ratings, which will tell you the speed that they can take a corner at, or go around a bend at

most tires will be good for these vehicles unless your going at speeds of 100+ around a curvy race track

when you look at tires you will notice that some are softer than others, like a michelin will be softer on the sidewall than a cooper will be, this will result in a little quicker wear in the michelin because of them being a softer tire.

a softer sidewall will also result in a little smoother and quieter ride.

i cant think of any other information right now that will be helpful to your question but if you have another question let me know

 

those numbers, by the way, will be the numbers on the sidewall of the tire, the size of the tire

 

Just a few additions to that:

Up to a certain point- given a fixed wheel width. If you get too far over the reccomended tire width for the rim width, you end up stretching the tire to fit, and you end up with less contact at the sides.

This is not always necessarily true- it is possible to get a larger wheel and have an overall lighter tire/wheel package. You have to keep in mind that the bigger wheel is offset by less sidewall; and then you have to keep in mind the various wheel designs and styles with some wheels being lighter than others.

A lot of tires have a treadwear number on them. Although I don't believe you can compare between brands- this should give you idea within a brand of how long a tire will last.