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Originally Posted by Gene
Dear Hamann!
Please, don't call my car a "PIG". 
Best regards, Gene.
PS Would you guys stop personal attacks?  |
Compared to the W463, the M5 is indeed a lightweight.
In NYC, the M5 is a perfectly fine sedan and a great highway monster. For me, I commute up and down on a twisty mountain road. If you did the same, you might agree with me too.
It was never my intention to start engaging in personal attacks, but I am so sick and tired of Johan's abrasive and condescending attitude towards me.
In regards to the topic at hand, of course the M5 with 20 inch wheels will be slower. However, part of this is due to the fact that you are increasing the rolling diameter of the wheel by going to 20".
I have not measured if the rolling diameter on my 19" wheels are significantly different than my 18", but I was told it is not too different.
Your idea of scientifically evaluating unsprung weight on my M5 sounds interesting, but again, I think it's a waste of time.
My point can be summarized as follows.
The M5 is a heavy sedan meant for hauling 4 or 5 passengers down a highway quickly. Even if you reduce unsprung weight and cut a whopping 0.2s off the quarter mile to 13 seconds flat or even high 12's you have to ask yourself if it is worth the risk of bending a wheel. Most lightweight wheels are indeed more fragile than stock wheels, even if they are forged. I can't tell you how many times I've seen or heard of people cracking their lightweight Fikses on Porsches.
An OEM wheel is usually stress tested for everyday abuse. A lightweight performance wheel is usually designed around performance. A heavy car like the M5 needs strong wheels above all else.
If you go to 19", do it for cosmetic reasons and don't look back. The performance difference is really negligible in my opinion, because the M5 is not meant to compete with GT3's or even Z06's.
After spending a lot of $$$ on mods and having my engine throw a connecting rod, I believe that the M5 is a great package in stock form. The stock suspension sucks, but every thing else is ok. You guys should enjoy the M5 for what it is. It is not a race car or a canyon carver, so mod accordingly to enjoy your experience with the car.
In order to strip the M5, retune the chassis and suspension, redo the brakes, and put enough engine parts to make it as fast as a GT3 around a track, you might as well just buy the Porsche as a second car.
Think about this for a second. How would you guys respond if someone wanted to put BBS magnesium race wheels on a Maybach? Or ceramic brakes and lightweight forged 17" wheels on a Rolls Royce? Don't you guys think that's at least a little retarded?
Also, 18" on Porsche 996 is much better than 19", but it's not just because of unsprung weight issues. One thing to consider is that having some sidewall is good, as it actually helps you to maintain a larger contact patch with the road. When sidewalls get too thin, there isn't enough flexibility in the tire, resulting in things like unpredictable oversteer, bent wheels, etc.
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