Cobalts SS banner
21 - 27 of 27 Posts
well guys look at it like this... it may actually benefit the car... For instance SS Camaros had 17" wheels as opposed to the Z28s 16"... Yet they hook a hell of a lot better... So bigger wheels may not be a bad thing, is it just me or does the tire width on the CObalt not look small?
 
ThatChevyGuy said:
well guys look at it like this... it may actually benefit the car... For instance SS Camaros had 17" wheels as opposed to the Z28s 16"... Yet they hook a hell of a lot better... So bigger wheels may not be a bad thing, is it just me or does the tire width on the CObalt not look small?
215s... didn't the SS have steeper rear gearing as well though?
 
nope the only difference between the SS and the Z28 was the Cold-air, exhaust, and spring rates... Also I've known people to throw SS wheels(and Ws6 wheels on Trans Ams) on a Z28 and pick up a little bit in trap speed... Its no "huge" difference but it does show that the extra inch does not hamper performance in any way...
 
There is some company called AutoVelocity or somethin like that and they are making custom carbon fibre wheels. They say that their wheel featured in the PHR mag was an 18"*10" or 10 1/2" and it only weighed 8.5lbs!!!!! :eek:
And they say that they are at LEAST TWICE as strong as a stock Z06 wheel. They claim they will custom make each wheel for any vehicle....
for the LOW LOW price of $1500 PER WHEEL!!!

I'll be getting some :D ...when I win the lottery :(
 
CoBIZZLE said:
There is some company called AutoVelocity or somethin like that and they are making custom carbon fibre wheels. They say that their wheel featured in the PHR mag was an 18"*10" or 10 1/2" and it only weighed 8.5lbs!!!!! :eek:
And they say that they are at LEAST TWICE as strong as a stock Z06 wheel. They claim they will custom make each wheel for any vehicle....
for the LOW LOW price of $1500 PER WHEEL!!!

I'll be getting some :D ...when I win the lottery :(

wow, 9lbs... :eek: , thats pretty crazy, but the price is gay :mad:
 
Yeah thats what I thought. They actually look pretty good.
But who can afford that????
I'm gonna try to see if I can scan the article and post it up...
Not that it will do any good cause the only people who can afford to have them made are people who own Ferraris and the like and ummm... they just probably aren't on this particular site much. LOL
 
That doesn't mean they're the same diameter, it's just as wide and has as an equally sized sidewall. See here (1010Tires.com) and here (tire calculator). So it looks like both the tires and wheels will be heavier on the Cobalt SS.

Anyway, there's a lot more to the rotational mass/unsprung weight issue I'm not qualified to answer. I'm no physicist/engineer (although my work title claims I am an engineer. hehe). It's very possible that a 20lb 16" wheel will spin much more easily (and faster) than a 17lb 21" wheel.

You've got to make a compromise/sacrifice somewhere. Looks vs performance. But I see a problem. I think downsizing the wheel size of the Cobalt SS while keeping OEM diameter will make the tires look crazy fat. It may also hurt handling because your sidewall will allow for more flex. Not using OEM tire circumference will throw off your speedometer/odometer readings.

If you want your speedometer/odometer to remain correct, one possible solution I can see is using the ION RL's OEM tire size and (if interchangability allows) swap out the Cobalt's vehicle speed sensor for the one in the ION RL. The difference may be as simple as a gear used to adjust for the tire size. But sometimes these things are in your differential and you may need to crack open the tranny for this. Keep in mind this is all speculation. This should not be attempted until someone confirms this is possible.

From all the reviews I've seen (not always the best source but anyway), they believe the Cobalt SS is slower than the Ion RL by ~0.2 sec.
From what I understand both the speedometer and the odometer are determined by the pulse signal sent by the speed sensor at one of the wheels. The vehicle computer basically is just using the number of rotations of the wheel, the factory wheel circumference and gear ratios to determine the speed and mileage of the car.
 
21 - 27 of 27 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top