Changing the wheels/tires to non stock size? (vehicles, braking, engines)

[The Continental]

I've heard 59-61 Impalas referred to as bubbles too

Those 13/14 inch spokes don't even look like they have enough room to get lug nuts on, so do they require some kind of spacer or converter?

I definitely like those kinds of wheels more than the huge donk ones, but nothing wrong with a regular sized wheel or hubcap.

[SportFury59]

There must be a liability issue too. One of my son's put larger tires on his Silverado. He had to take old tires/wheels off truck himself and have new larger tires mounted by tire shop on his rims and then put tires/wheels back on truck himself.
In other words, local tire shop would mount new larger size tires on his rims but would not put them on truck. Happened to another guy I know too.

[seven up]

Be prepared to run tubes inside the spoke wheels if they start leaking. Some do. Some don't.

Originally Posted by The Continental

I've heard 59-61 Impalas referred to as bubbles too

Those 13/14 inch spokes don't even look like they have enough room to get lug nuts on, so do they require some kind of spacer or converter?

I definitely like those kinds of wheels more than the huge donk ones, but nothing wrong with a regular sized wheel or hubcap.

[us66]

Originally Posted by SportFury59

There must be a liability issue too. One of my son's put larger tires on his Silverado. He had to take old tires/wheels off truck himself and have new larger tires mounted by tire shop on his rims and then put tires/wheels back on truck himself.
In other words, local tire shop would mount new larger size tires on his rims but would not put them on truck. Happened to another guy I know too.

Costco won't do it at all. Discount Tire and Pep Boys will, as far as I know, as I've had some experience with this with both and never had trouble:

-1986 Escort, stock size 165/80-13. Replaced with 185/70-13 at Pep Boys, no issue. Car sat quite a bit higher on these.
-1990 Prizm, stock size 175/70-13. Also replaced with multiple sets of 185/70-13 (including a set of Pirellis mounted by mistake when I paid for Generals) at Discount, no problem.
-2002 C-1500 pickup, stock size 235/75-16...hard to find size. Replaced once with stock tires (Goodyear Wrangler ST...awful tires and sure overpriced- GM must have saved a penny a tire on these) but have gone with multiple sets of 255/70-16 at Pep Boys, no problem. (This size also costs less as low priced tires are easily available, had Continental Contitracs that were great for the price, now have the cheapest truck tires from PB, again okay for the price.)

My Aura, however, rides on 225/50-17s, and has a pogo stick ride and has bent multiple steel wheels. If I were driving it and not the wifey, I swear I'd put 15s on it, with wire wheel covers . I don't think I'll ever again buy a car on low profile 17s.

[Merc63]

Originally Posted by The Continental

I've heard 59-61 Impalas referred to as bubbles too.

Different thing. Certain of the early Impalas had a more rounded coupe roofline, commonly referred to as the 'bubble top' Impala/Biscayne:

Bubble top:

http://www.chevypic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/1961-Chevy-Impala-Bubbletop-010.jpg (broken link)

standard roof:



Compare the bubble top to the '62-up roofline, which is more formal:



"Bubble" in the Donk world is specific to Donks made from rounded '90s cars (vs "boxes" which are made from square late '70s-80s cars like the square Caprices).

[Merc63]

Originally Posted by Eastern Roamer

What about horse power? Don't you loose hp with bigger wheels by effectively changing the gear ratio? And wouldn't that mean that those stupid-looking little tires makes a car faster? (I have no idea what donk, box, or bubble means.)

Again, if your wheels are noticeably taller or heavier, they will reduce accellerative power, and if they are noticably smaller diameter or lighter, they can increase accelerative power. In both cases, it's relative to how much power you already have, so a high power car will be affected less than a low power car.

And on modern cars, where normally a lower profile tire will ride harsher, modern suspensions are better able to cope with the reduced sidewall, as they aren't relying on the sidewall to provide as much of the ride compliance to start with. I went from 16" wheels to 19" wheels on my BMW 7 series, and the ride didn't change at all. Untill I put in the shorter sport springs, which ARE stiffer).

[Tourian]

Box.

[Tourian]

Bubble.



Donk refers to donkey which is slang for what the Impala emblem looks like but now I believe is a generic term for any vehicle set up like this.

[M3 Mitch]

Do most "Donk" builders change the rear end gear to more or less match the huge wheels? You could change to something in the 3.73 to 4.56 range (I'm guessing, not calculating) depending on exactly what the diameter of those wheels and tires are (and I don't know, that's why I'm guessing, not calculating...). The right rear gear set would put the speedo back correct, and would give more or less stock levels of acceleration. Putting a more powerful engine in would be a waste though, as I guess these things are top-heavy and prone to rolling if cornered hard.

Likewise, the brakes would need to be uprated in size to match the change in lever arm due to the big wheels.

Unsprung weight would be way up of course, not much you can do with that.

[HemiCoupe]

Originally Posted by The Continental

I've heard 59-61 Impalas referred to as bubbles too

Those 13/14 inch spokes don't even look like they have enough room to get lug nuts on, so do they require some kind of spacer or converter?

I definitely like those kinds of wheels more than the huge donk ones, but nothing wrong with a regular sized wheel or hubcap.

With knock-off daytons, the most common type for lowriders. The adapter is bolted to the hub and then the wheels are held on by the knock-off.


http://www.wheel-whores.com/classifieds/data/4/25521_380610567076_535892076_4447926_3472269_n.jpg (broken link)