Why doesn't tire weight get more emphasis?

[turtl631]

Everyone is anal about wheel weights, but tire weights seem to get ignored, and tires are more significant in terms of weight because the weight is located further from the hub. For example, I just looked up 235/45/17 and 255/40/17 in Kumho MX: 25 lbs, 20 lbs and Yoko ES100: 27 lbs, 26 lbs. I'm not sure how accurate these weights are, but they are from the manufacturers web sites. Anyways, this would indicate that the MX would be a way better choise for pretty much everything but price and treadwear: its got dry grip, wet grip, light weight. I've also noticed that Falken tires are really heavy compared to most. So, any thoughts about this?

[aither]

I wish tire weight was listed with the other specs. Edge racing lists tire weight, but I don't know how accurate they are. Michelin and pirelli tires tend to be pretty light (PS and PZero tires in particluar. P7000's felt pretty light, too). I think a lot of it has to do with the width (obviously) and sidewall construction. Thick, steel filled side walls are heavy, whereas expensive, strong, synthetic crazy sidewalls are pretty light.

[Grant@tirerack]

You guys should check out one of the Miata boards I'm involved with. They talk about tire weights all the time. On lighter cars it can a big difference on the track. We try to list the tire weights under tire specs when ever they are available from the manufactuer.

[turtl631]

so why is it that all the nissan guys on this board dont seem to care about weight? I guess this kinda goes alogn with everyone getting the widest wheels possible, deffinitely no weight savings there unless you go for really expensive forged wheels. I mean, 17x9 f and 17x10 rear might look cool, and with stretched tires you'll have little sidewall flex, but couldn't one just get narrower/lighter wheels with nice lighter tires that have a stiffer sidewall and get great response and good turn in response?

[Grant@tirerack]

Amen to that

[chmercer]

well, for me, i really dont care about the weight of my car all in all. you can only notice it when you gut the hell out of it. if you take the back seat out, so what. you would never be able to tell the difference. you will only notice a difference if you go full monty. id rather have a wider wheel and tire that weighed like 4 more pounds, feels more stable, and [rice]looks better[/rice].

[aither]

true, light's cool, but so is wide. If I can keep my wheel/tire combo at or under 40lbs, I'm happy enough. Also, Overal tire diameter can make an impact on intertia and all that jazz as well. Where you distribute the weight matters, which is why heavy tires can suck. Unsprung and rotating mass make so much more difference than removing the spare tire and jack, or whatever, IMO.

One thing I have noticed is that making your tires/wheels/brakes/suspension durable and tolerant of really high heat, usually means more mass. Brake fade? More massive brakes. No room to fit bigger brakes? Bigger wheels Tires over heat? Make them taller and wider. Giving your suspension set up more mass can make a difference in dealing with heat. Also, reducing the car's total mass can make an impact on the heat generated as well.