Does the top speed of a car change when bigger or smaller wheels are put on it?

Answer

Hi Michele,

I’m no car expert, but I see your question has been open for a while.

The maximum speed of the car is determined by the power of the engine. The faster the car travels, the more resistance it will encounter. So the power of the motor will determine what the maximum speed will be. By enlarging the wheels, the car will drive faster at the same number of revolutions per second, but will also experience more air and rolling resistance.

Because the maximum power of the engine depends on its speed (at a certain speed the engine can deliver maximum power), and the gearbox converts the speed of the engine into the speed of the wheels in 6 ratios, there will therefore be a different maximum speed for each engine/wheel/gearbox combination. The size of the wheels will also play a part in this with a limited influence, so theoretically it could also be that the maximum speed will be lower with larger wheels.

Kind regards,
Luc.