Does wheel weight matter THAT much?

[crzycav86]

Also, if you're in a light(read: gutted) 240sx, unsprung weight makes a much bigger difference in performance.

[nismofly]

and also very few of us are going to be worried about acceleration

if the difference mattered that little, formula 1 cars wouldnt be running $15,000 sets of wheels that weigh about 3 lbs. a piece

i for one have never set foot anywhere near a drag strip, and never intend to, unless theres a road course attached to it, which i know several id like to visit

i didnt really feel a difference in accleration when i got my new wheels, but it felt a lot better when i took it through some twisties the first time

i dont actually have a database for tire weights, youll find those on the manufacturers website, just look at the specs of the tire

for wheel weights though, go here:

http://www.wheelweights.net/

[Q45tech]

Normally one uses half the weight of all suspension arms, tension rods. sway bars, shocks, springs, etc in totalling up the unsprung weight since half the weight is connected to body, half to unsprung hub/arm.

It is more than most think...........why the recent changes to aluminum suspension arms, hollow sway bars, etc.

A 10% [10 lb] reduction can be easily felt. The trick is to not get things so weak that they bend [wheels] suspension arms.

Rotor weight is dictated by car weight and tolerable rotor temp rise.

Consider that braking takes less than half the time of accelerating so brakes need 4 times the horsepower rating of engine....rotor temp rise.

[McRussellPants]

if the difference mattered that little, formula 1 cars wouldnt be running $15,000 sets of wheels that weigh about 3 lbs. a piece/

Ugh, stock 240SX doesn't equal a formula 1 car.

A flywheel will matter more than wheels since its spinning faster in every gear except 5th.

Wheel weight doesn't matter as much as people who just glanced at "how to make your car handle" make it out as.

The real funny people are the ones that actually know their physics that worry about tire weight. Thats right, get that soft sidewall since its light.

Stay away from Mustangs and steel. anything less than that is golden.

keep it under 25 and your car will handle fine. Nobody on this board is gonna spring for 16lb Buddy Clbs (18x10!!!?!?!!?!?) so they'll all weigh over 20.

[nismofly]

ok then, find me any racecar for that matter that isnt running the lightest wheels they can on their budget, for the sizes they have to run

personally, the class ill be running is limited to 15x7 wheels, and although i wont be able to at first due to budget most people running 240s have te37's, which weigh 9.2 lbs. in this size...you can bet ill have 3 sets of volks as soon as i can

in a class like mine where the mods are so limited you can bet wheel weight matters, adding 60 lbs. to the wheels when youre trying to eek 10ths of seconds when lap times are close to 2 minutes, bad idea

and everyone runs hoosier slicks so dont worry about tires

the buddy clubs actually arent the lightest wheels until larger sizes, hence everyone running volks if they can afford it

[Dori Dori]

A caliper + rotor + spindle/hub is probably around 30 lbs.

Yeah, I'm an idiot. I thought he said just the spindle and hub. With a caliper and rotor, probably every bit of 30lbs.
Modified by Dori Dori at 12:44 PM 2/28/2006

[Dori Dori]

the buddy clubs actually arent the lightest wheels until larger sizes, hence everyone running volks if they can afford it

My 17x7.5" P1 Qf's weighed 12lbs each. They are not the lightest wheel since I believe the magnesium volks are lighter, ce28n's are almost as light, and I'm sure there are other exotic wheels out there that are lighter too, but they are really freakin light.

[Dori Dori]

^Oh and to add a little bit of fuel to the fire, I didn't notice any handling difference going from Rota's (with the same tires) to the Buddy Clubs. I was stuck in a "my wheels HAVE to be light" state of mind. The rota's weren't all that heavy though (I think they were a hair under 18lbs for the subzeros in the same size). Tires were S03's. The car saw auto-x's on both setups. The wheels were uber high quality though compared to crappy, break-on-the-track Rotas and I got a sick deal on them...$400/wheel shipped from Japan, brand new. :P

FN's are pretty light, even the cast versions. Forgot about the forged ones though...they're light mang.

[nismofly]

in 16" sizes and below the volks are lighter

in 15x7 theyre like 1.5 lbs. a piece lighter than the P1 QF's

i felt a difference going from stock to my koseis, p1 racing with different badging...but i dont have a lap timer in my head so i couldnt tell you how much

[Dori Dori]

First off, according to wheelspecs.com you're wrong...sometimes. The weights fluctuate within ounces of each other (depending on offset) and that only takes palce for small sizes. At this point, we're splitting hairs anyway.

I have a question for you. When you replaced your stock wheels with Koseis, were the sizes the same? Were the tires the same make/model/size? Are you even sure the Koseis were lighter? Or are you saying the other way around?

[nismofly]

because i didnt know of any wheel weight sites when i bought them, i put the stock wheels on a scale and they were something like 19 lbs., put the koseis on the scale and they were 14.9 lbs.

the stockers are 15x6 of course, koseis are 16x7.5

the stockers had 205 UHP tires on that were worn pretty well, i think they had about 9k miles on them, i put 225 tires on that were similar in performance

its not that they felt faster really, it felt more stable, which im sure helps time overall...

im not saying wheel weight is the sole variable in the equation, some of the feel could have come from wider tire, lower offset, smaller sidewall yes, but to say that it makes no difference i know is wrong, because i have personally seen that when the same car with 225 hoosiers is running 13.2 lb. team dynamics pro race 1's (the wheels ill be running until i can afford volks), then switches to the volks which are 4 lbs. lighter a piece, still same tires and everything, the difference was consistently around a second less with the volks, over a track normally lapped around 2 mins.

now you may say 1 second doesnt matter, but in ITA where theres 20 or 25 cars prepped nearly identical youll take every second you can get

for example, hoosiers are overall about a second a lap faster than r-comps like toyo ra-1's but everybody that can runs the hoosiers, theyre willing to cough up the extra $150 for a set

ive been looking at this from a "all other things equal" standpoint, in which wheel weight will make a difference...if you get wheels that are a pound heavier but then install coilovers, put slicks on, and up the boost for another 50 hp, sure it will be minute compared to the other changes

i never saw anyone say that though, just "does wheel weight matter," and the answer to that would be yes, if thats the only thing changed

[Dori Dori]

I know what ITA is. Helped build my friend's ITA 240 3.5 years ago. I know how much of a difference -.1 seconds makes to a lap let alone 1.

I know wheel weight does make a difference.

The point is, how much of a difference will it make to the everyday driver (like you, me, and the thread starter) and do they - the everyday driver - have to worry about it? My answer would be not mutch if any and no, they (to an extent) need not worry about it.

I've tracked, I auto-x, I drift, I kart (well, haven't in too long unfortunately) and I've had plenty of other much better drivers coaching me through the years. I'm no ricer fool str33t r4c3r. I couldn't feel a difference in 5lbs per wheel. Your personal experience on your car is the worst example ever since you upped your wheel size (width and diameter), tire size, and tire type ("similar" in performance doesn't cut it...just look at your own RA-1 and Hoosier example).

You want to keep arguing a moot point? Be my guest...I'll be over here.

[Juujai]

chromoly hubs? light weight rotors? chromoly axles? aluminum lug nuts? that'll shave a ton! of weight at a fair price.

kei office and regamaster both "made awesome" light weight wheels sometimes even lighter than ce28n but both went bankrupt or whatever. i have a set of regamasters but it'll suck if i ever curb one =/.

i see wheels as either for looks or for race. so either 3 piece deep lip wheels for looks or like 1 piece solid face wheels. but since lightweight wheels don't weigh any different compared to heavier wheels why not. but i'd be more interested in design+weight together over just an ugly light wheel. if budget allows one of each set would be awesome.

[norikumiin]

wheel weight doesn't matter at all... if youa ren't worried about accleration, ride, handling and braking. reducing unsprung, rotating weight is equivalant to removing 4 times that weight from something that isn't unsprung/rotating. also improtant is how the weight is distributed on the wheel/tire combo...there would be a noticable difference between a wheel/tire combo with 90% of its weight right by the hub and a wheel that is really light and a tire that is really heavy. unsprung weight really sucks because all of that weight is preventing the suspension from moving. so if you are concerned about performance over looks always by the lightest wheel/tire combo that is in the right size, is strong and you can afford

i really hope that that made some sense...

[mmm240]

For every 100 pounds of unsprung weight that is removed, you fee up hp. This could equal as much as -.1 et times. Of course, lowering rim weight and increasing diameter is kind of a push due to additional rotating mass.

it is easier to drop from 17's to 16's than it is to drop from 12's to 11's so you can't just say for every 100lbs you drop you drop a 10th of a second

weight will always make a difference, but is the difference worth it is the question. dropping a 100 pounds for 100 bucks is great, but dropping 50 pounds for 500 bucks may not be, its all what you are looking for, the best or just good enough for you.

take a look at tirerack.com they will give weights for most wheels and also tell you how the wheel is manufactured with description

for instance i just purchased some kosei racer wheels for 139 a piece at i beleive 18.5lbs a piece they are gravity cast and shot peened, from what tirerack says gravity is one of the cheepest, but not the lightest

pretty much search

i hope this helps you in your choice