weight of aftermarket rims

[gmader2001]

I dunno if this is a stupid question or not but im going to give it a try. I have some aftermarket rims that in my opinion are rather heavy. My question is, if i put a rim on that is heavy will if affect the electric steering? I never had a car before with this type of steering and was just wondering if it would have any effect on it with the rims, thanks for any info

[bikeman]

I wouldn't expect an aftermarket rim to weigh more than the steel rim found on the S.

David

[NewToVersa]

Rule of thumbs 1x inch wheel + 2 pounds = max weight per wheel... so 16in = no more then 18 pounds, 17in = 19 pounds...

[gmader2001]

ok, so it just must just be me bein wired its a 16in rim so of course its going to be heavier, i just worry about little things like that, lol I had a 2000 Hyundai Elantra that i bought the rims for and when i had them on the car it would vibrate at highway speeds and someone told be it was because the rims were too heavy for the car. So i was wondering about this car because i dun wanna go out and by new tires just to realize that they are doing damage to the car.

THANKS!!

[Ever Victorious]

If a car's vibrating at high speed, it's not the weight of the rim that's the problem, it's the balance. If you have a rim (or even tire) that's out of balance or damaged, it'll do that. It can also do that if you're driving with your lug nuts not completely tightened, or if one is missing.

What a car WILL do if a rim is too heavy is accelerate very slowly, and get really bad gas mileage.

[manvan]

i doubt the your 16's are heavier than the stock ones, the stock rims i heard wiegh like 20+ lbs could be wrong though, some one will correct me

[biggie]

Its very common for an aftermarket wheel to weigh more than a stock one, usually because its bigger and wider. Unless you are paying $$$$$ for forged or special lightweight wheels that is.

It should not affect the steering though.

Could affect acceleration and braking but probably so little effect that its really not noticed.

[gmader2001]

thanks for all the input everyone i just worry about little things like that im also going by what other ppl told me but it seems to me that you guys know more then the ppl I know

[scissors4hands]

My wheels are stock and they weigh 10 pounds each.... woot woot

Its very common for an aftermarket wheel to weigh more than a stock one, usually because its bigger and wider. Unless you are paying $$$$$ for forged or special lightweight wheels that is.

[gmader2001]

I'll post some pics when I get the rims on in about a month or so, Im just waiting for all the snow to melt first.......might be longer then a month b/c of all the snow we had this year, lol

[NewToVersa]

+1 for the f*****g snow. We are at 11.78 ft usually get 6.5ft...

[bikeman]

+1 for the f*****g snow. We are at 11.78 ft usually get 6.5ft...

Ya beat us this year. Doesn't happen often. Congrats.

David

[daan]

Wow I didn't mean this to sound like a lecture.... sorry.http://www.miata.net/faq/wheel_weights.htmlI came from the Miata world. Those cars (really any light car like V's though) are really sensetive to how much your wheels weigh. "Rotational mass" is what you are dealing with, so more RM=less steering response, slower acceleration, longer braking distances, etc. Plus then you worry about curb rash, scraping the tires on the insides of the fenders, bad guys taking your shiny new wheels, etc. I had bought a set of fancy, expensive wheels for my car years ago, and ended up selling them again because the car just wasn't as fun to drive with the heavier wheels. Sure, it looked better with the bigger wheels, but the change wasn't worth it because the car drove worse. So if you do get different wheels, try to get the lightest ones you can find. The rule of thumb is "Strong, light, cheap PICK TWO". http://www.tirerack.com is cool because they post the actual weight of wheels when you look at stuff there.Good luck!

[manvan]

how much do our wheels way exactly? EV, Bulldog, anyone?

[scissors4hands]

i think its funny becuase with the miata your bragging rights only come from how light your car is, doesnt matter if you have sunken ugly wheels or a beater.

ask any person who drives a miata, any real person ....it doesnt matter if your lighter by a ounce or a pound ....

LIGHTER IS LIGHTER!!!

[daan]

Yeah I know Miata-Versa is apples-oranges. (That and most Miata people are kinda opinionated about modifying things...I'm trying to get better ) I just meant that I tried a bunch of different wheels and ended up going with the lightest ones just because of the way they felt. And there's one of those UPS stores by my place. I was gonna take a wheel off and have them weigh it, but they won't do it unless I clean it off first. "We don't want some dirty old tire on our clean scale"...

[bulld0g]

how much do our wheels way exactly? EV, Bulldog, anyone?

The stock SL wheels and tires weigh 35lb each....I weighed them when I put the 18's on.....BTW the 18"s I have.....55lbs each RIM & tire

[manvan]

those big chrome ones, thats not too bad

[scissors4hands]

Yeah the miata people get all anal if you try to say something about there cars or wheels.

On my rx7 the stock BBS mesh rims only weigh 10 pounds, and they also look good

[daan]

THose BBS'es were the lightest (stock) rims for Miatae, which is why they cost the same used, as new custom rims.

ANd is the 35# weight, is that the steel/hubcap wheels, or the aluminum ones?

[bulld0g]

ANd is the 35# weight, is that the steel/hubcap wheels, or the aluminum ones?

that was the aluminum SL wheel and tire combo weight

[scissors4hands]

I was actually talking about ther bbs's on my rx7, i wasnt aware that the miata came stock with mesh rims...

[QUOTE=daan]THose BBS'es were the lightest (stock) rims for Miatae

[daan]

Only a couple Miatas came with the BBS wheels. THey looked just like the ones for the RX7's though. The center caps would interchange, and for whatever reason the RX7 ones were cheaper even though they were identical.

[scissors4hands]

hmm maybe there lug pattern had too do with it, they have the same pattern as hondas leaving them with the worst selection of wheels evar!