Why the change in OEM wheel sizes 91 - 05

[32york]

I was wondering if any of you guys would know the Honda thinking behind the OEM wheel size changes over the lifespan of Gen 1. Were there design or suspension changes that made it necessary to go from a 15/16 arrangement to 16/17 to wind up with 17/17 in 2002? Or was it just aesthetics that bigger wheels would look "better"? For a car that for the most part, outwardly looks unchanged over the course of its run, the wheel size differences from the factory seem to be a major change...

 

[91 X]

I'm guessing it is all about the looks...

There were no suspension, brake or engine changes from 93 to 94, nor from 01 to 02..... The years they changed wheels.

Although I'm not sure why they went to a 17/17 set up in 02??? Kinda think the staggered set up "looks" better....

 

[britlude]

i thought there was a brake size upgrade that forced the 15/16 size to go to 16/17, and the change from the orange spare to the yellow one. the early wheel combo won't fit on later cars!

the 17/17 change was to desperately try to keep the car looking modern in a world of bigger rimmed cars!

 

[nsxter]

Larger Brakes came in 1997, along with the 3.2 liter (along with a bunch of other changes) The wheels were 16/17 long before.

 

[Brylek]

The 2002+ wheels have slightly more aggressive offsets which makes them more flush with the body, the other significant difference from 2002 facelift other that the looks was increasing the top speed with was accomplished by reducing drag.

 

[bullithollywood]

Says Honda: The 94 changes were to enhance handling while the 02 changes put wider tires on the rear and a larger diameter rim in front to clear the larger brakes.

"For 1994, the NSX features wider, larger diameter seven-spoke wheels, for even better steering response and enhanced cornering ability. The rear wheels are 8.5 x 17 inch, and the front wheels are 7 x 16 inch."

"For 2002 tire sizes were increased from 215/45 R16 to 215/40R17 in front and from 245/40 ZR17 to 255/40R17 in the rear. The increase in tire size results in a larger contact patch for even better handling."

 

[jdwelsh3]

A recent video featuring a NSX retrospective from one of the former C/D editors briefly covers this topic. The original NSX utilized smaller wheels to limit rotational unsprung mass and increase steering feel/precision. However, due to the small contact patch, very sticky rubber was required and tires (rears) were lasting less than 5K miles in some cases which was part of the motivation to move to a larger set up. I'm fairly certain that the brakes are the same from 2000 onward and increasing the size of the fronts in 2002 was purely aesthetic.

 

[solidol]

I was under impression that spring rates have changed as well. I need to look up part numbers though. Also regards use of 15s it was one of the comments CD made about need to use lighter wheel to offset heavier steel brake caliper.

 

[tof]

Didn't power steering get added to the 5-speed cars in '94? I suspect this made a wider front tread more acceptable. Anyone with a '91 and 215 or wider tires on the front knows what I am talking about.

And this was also about the time that '17s were starting to be the big thing in the aftermarket. (And now 20s are an OEM standard or option on so many "normal" cars.)

 

[nsxter]

A recent video featuring a NSX retrospective from one of the former C/D editors briefly covers this topic. The original NSX utilized smaller wheels to limit rotational unsprung mass and increase steering feel/precision. However, due to the small contact patch, very sticky rubber was required and tires (rears) were lasting less than 5K miles in some cases which was part of the motivation to move to a larger set up. I'm fairly certain that the brakes are the same from 2000 onward and increasing the size of the fronts in 2002 was purely aesthetic.

Brake sizes are the same from 1997 - 2005

 

[tof]

A recent video featuring a NSX retrospective from one of the former C/D editors briefly covers this topic. ...

The former CandD (they hate C/D and C&D at Car and Driver) editor is Csaba Csere. And the video deserves a link...at least to the Prime thread in which it is featured...for those who missed it:
http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/186970-Csaba-Csere-on-the-NSX

 

[32york]

Bullithollywood and JDW thanks for that info. So for all of us with pre-02 cars going to 17's all around is almost a recommended upgrade per Honda?