In a message dated 7/8/05 10:23:40 AM, jeffg@MIKOEXOTICWEAR.COM writes:

<< what is the benefit if any with changing to 15" >>

Not much.  Some say that fifteen inch wheels allow for a greater selection of
tires from which to chose and they give the van a more macho look.  But . . .
if the fifteen inch tires are chosen to match the stock specifications for
revolutions per mile and load capacity (in order to maintain the overall gearing
and speedometer calibration), the field of possible candidates quickly
shrinks.  Also, on the pocked roads which I drive, I like the Kewpie Doll effect of
the additional compliance of a taller sidewall.

I once replaced the slushbox in a car with a 4-spd stick.  As lazy as I am, I
reasoned that I didn't have to change the final drive because the auto rear
dropped the revs by only a couple of hundred at 60 MPH and that particular car
with a stick was really a 3rd gear car around town.  Perhaps if I lived in
Salt Lake City or the Tidewater area of Virginia, I would not have minded how the
car drove but, that lack of gearing became really noticeable at the first
stop light on a grade.

I have yet to see any properly done alteration of a car from stock which did
not require far more work than just the switcheroo of a component assembly.

George