78
Can we please just go back to using smaller wheels and tires? (arstechnica.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/cars@lemmy.world
29 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

“And now, a rant about wheels and tires that are too big.”

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] -1 points 3 years ago (2 children)

No it's not.

The dimensions are almost the same between the two...

99 Forester Length: 175.2 inches Height: 65 inches Width w/o mirrors: 68.3 inches Rim size: 16 inches

23 Forester Length: 182.7 inches Height: 68.1 inches Width w/o mirrors: 71.5 inches Rim size: 17 or 18 depending on trim

They are less than 10 inches different in every aspect.

I keep hearing people say cars are getting bigger bigger bigger, but they aren't. There are still plenty of normal sized cars out there. People just have this strange perception of them.

Yes, in absolute fairness there are some cars that are bigger, like they do seem to be marketing larger trucks and less of the really capable small trucks like the S10 or in nowaday terms a Ford Maverick. But this whole consensus on how cars are just getting so big is a stretch.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 8 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    By 'modern one' I wasn't necessarily specifying the same model but I definitely should have been more clear. It's small compared to many of the new models I see on the road.

    Also just comparing the totals like that isn't exactly a clean comparison. The whole car sits lower to the ground, it's actually low enough it doesn't have a "Risk of rollover" warning on the windshield. Also the design of the hood and windshield itself push further back than newer cars with sleeker designs, it's more space efficient in general, just ugly.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Haha, I agree with you on the height difference, I have a newer one but prefer the low stance of the older ones.

    I do appreciate your opinion on it as it is a fair take and not to the extent that I perceived it.

    I just feel like people tend to generalize something that, while in some aspects is true, but not to the extent that some people express.

    That being said, I'd be much happier taking a train or bus provided we had better services for it. I lived in Japan for some time and I loved it, it was so easy to get anywhere and I got much more exercise out of it.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago

    I'm stuck in small town nebraska unfortunately, there's no bus service, the trains shut down decades ago, and the nearest airport is an hour drive away.

    And most of the roads here are in disrepair, so much so that the sidewalks became lawns, you can still see the bricks of when they originally paved it 100 years ago. And forget about bike lanes, a couple of our towns are only accesible off the highway.

    I would kill for a bus to take me from the town over and back, it would save an hour of driving each day and lots and lots of gas money

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago

    Ten inches bigger realistically feels a LOT bigger when it comes to something like a car. If you park a first gen and last gen forester next to each other the new one looks huge in comparison. Just a few inches wider or longer can make a huge difference in how you fit into narrow streets or parking spaces.

    As another example, I drive a 90s Land Cruiser. By 90s standards it was a BIG full size SUV and the “small” body on frame option was a 4Runner.

    94 Land Cruiser: 188x76x73 94 4Runner: 176x67x66

    It’s only ~10” in each direction but the Land Cruiser looks and feels much larger. I parked next to a new 4Runner the other day and it is noticeably bigger than my Land Cruiser

    2023 4Runner: 191x76x72

    Meanwhile the 300 series Land Cruiser has continued to grow.

    2023 Land Cruiser: 195x78x77

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent