Staggering wheel widths

[transient]

Ok, from what I know already, it helps you get on the gas faster out of a corner, but it also promotes understeer... So what are some other reasons for or against staggering wheel widths between the front and back?

[HippoSleek]

Off the top of my head:

The reason for staggered widths are to allow a meaty contact patch for traction in the rear so that one can balance over/understeer when running lots of hp.  The understeer it promotes is designed to offset power on oversteer in cornering.  When you have the same width F/R and lots of power pushing you, the front will grip and the rears will always slip.  Staggering gives balance to the force.

The cons that I know of are 1) it takes some tinkering to get it right; 2) unless power on oversteer is a problem, it will merely turn your car into a push pig; and 3) tires become a move expensive proposition since you can't rotate anymore.

IMHO, the 240 is reasonably balanced enough to allow same size tires up to somewhere b/n 200-250 whp. &nbsp;Having driving one (briefly) at more whp than that, I can tell you that I would stagger. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/butbut.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':but:'>

...now I'm sure DSC will come in with some handy dandy website to make me look like a simpleton... &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blush.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':blush:'>

[tnord]

don't forget the added weight on your drive wheels. you can get lightweight wheels, but tires make up the majority of the weight, and i'm not aware of a lightweight tire.

[DuffMan]

This would cause the car to understeer, when not under power. Since the car already understeers without power, I would think that staggered wheel sizes would not be a great thing. The car's turning rate would be so dependant upon throttle, that it would be harder to control.

Of course if you have a lot of power...

[luke20]

i, for one, think they look cool

[DSC]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (HippoSleek @ May 11 2002,2:44)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">...now I'm sure DSC will come in with some handy dandy website to make me look like a simpleton... <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blush.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':blush:'></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'> &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'> &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'> &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/hehe.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':hehe:'> &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blush.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':blush:'>
Not this time...you got it covered &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/hehe.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':hehe:'>

Other than the post I have in the FAQ linking to the "theory of a rotating mass" I just say the n/a 300zx has the same width on all four corners but the TT has an inch wider on the back...which supports what hippo said.