I now have standard 15" steel wheels on my S70. What will I gain, other than looks, if I put a set of 16" light metals wheels on it?

TIA,

R
'99 S70 225Kkm
'89 745 373Kkm
'82 VW Golf Cabrio 90Kkm (being brought back to life)
'87 Porsche 928S4 213Kkm (for sale!)

in my expereience (850 with 16" t5 rims..) bloody expensive tyres, a ride that is 'hard' to say the least, good handling (but it had them on when i bought it so perhaps that would be true of 15" anyway)

seriously my car rides very hard (you feel every twig and it tends to tram line on bad road surfaces..)

Persoanaly I think my 940t with 15" on it handles better (aka i can go round corners faster!) but then again thats RWD and maybe i just have more confidence in them...

all the stuff people have said is theoretically true, better brake cooling. less sidewall flex, lower unsprung weight...but can the average driver tell...hmmmm

A bigger wheel with a lower profile tyre will give better handling, primaraly in side wall stiffness, which is a huge factor in turns, and a bigger alloy wheel has better heat soak ability, so your brakes and tyres run cooler.
Going to just a 55 or 50 series tyre will not be that bad on a car with good shocks and suspension in general.
Also tyre wear is based on the tyres compound, not on size, if you don't want high wear tyres, don't buy them.
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My 85 760Ti, and her name is Veronica...

There is a lot of truth to the answer given by bru! For most folks it's just about appearance, and filling the wheel well does indeed look "better" IMHO. However there is a more important aspect and that is keeping the overall diameter of the wheel to spec when mounting low profile tires. The overall diameter of the wheel shrinks when lower profile rubber is mounted and the difference has to made up with a larger rim. Keeping the overall diameter to spec ensures that the wheel sensors are happy which control your ABS and Tracion Controls not to mention speedometer. Nobody denies the performance enhancements given by lower profile tires and that's why we are seeing more and more of them on domestic cars. Of course, performace rated tires are also mounted and they by nature are more expensive and have a shorter tread life. If you want to play, you have to pay!

stiffer ride and lower tire mileage. Helluva deal, huh?
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We have met the enemy and they is us. [Pogo] '99 S70 cop car : Rough Rider tires& suspension, Walmart fog lights, speakers by ebay, ambiance by Pall Mall, trim by Le Duc d'Tape

Thanks Bru.

Actually I would even add to that lower gas mileage and a greater risk of damaging (expensive) rims. As you can see from one of the cars I own (in my original posting) it is not like I am adverse to high performance stuff, but I just have difficulty finding a justification to add more tires/rubber on a non-turbo S70 like mine...

I guess I will just buy that nearly new set of S60 rims and tires that this guy is willing to sell cheap just because he needed to have bigger wheels on his car.

Anyone with a different view before I spend "all that hard-earned money?

R

well...u should get a better handling and better steering feel because less tirewall flex (which is translated into a mushy unresponsive steering feel)... ur car should also fit 205-50-16 AND 205-55-16 sizes no problem. keep ur 15" rims for snow tires is what i suggest, if u r inclined to go to ski areas or live in winter with snow... just be more mindful if u go on roads that are potholed and watch the curb rash when u parallel park... ur tires won't be thick enough to allow the rim to be above the curb.. with ur stock s70, 16" will not get u a harsh ride... 17" and 18" will imo