Pros of Plus Sizing
- Aesthetics. Putting on larger wheels and lower tyres looks really cool.
- Better handling and cornering due to a wider thread and stiffer sidewall.
- Greater contact area. Plus sizing usually means putting wider tyres, thus the increase in contact area.
Cons of Plus Sizing
- Cost. Larger wheels and tyres tend to be more expensive.
- Bigger wheels means more weight which can adversely affect fuel economy, suspension, braking system, durability and even performance.
- Speedometer error. If tyre circumference (outer diameter) is different from that of the original tyre, there will be a difference between real speed and speedometer reading. This can affect the proper functioning of modern systems such as ABS, ETC, ESP, and TPMS.
- Lower driving comfort. Since plus-sizing usually means fitting a tyre with shorter sidewall which leads to lower shock absorbtion, driving may become less comfortable.
- Increased noise. Decrease in shock absorbtion due to the shorter sidewall will lead to increased noise.
Obviously tyres for plus sizing need to be chosen carefully so that you do not loose performance only to gain aesthetic appeal.
Related articles:
- What is plus sizing? - Find out more about plus sizing and plus sizing methods: Plus Zero, Plus One and Plus Two.
- Tire plus sizing calculator - Tire Plus Sizing Calculator helps you to find optimal tire size when you install larger wheels on a car, so that you don’t loose performance.
- Tire size for rim size calculator - gives you an answer to the question:"I'm going for 6.5 x 15j rims. What's the best tire size?"
- Tire width for a wheel/rim size chart - When replacing a wheel with a wider one, one could ask: what tire widths fit to my wheel? See the chart.
- What is the Measuring Rim Width? - Each tire size has a rim width range on which the tire can be mounted.