wheel weight performance question?
 

okay..i'm confused as to this whole thing with your wheel weight and size.I hear one thing from one person then something else from somebody else along with the facts i know. Now this whole thing with wheel size and weight.This is based on 15 and 16 inch wheels. Facts:1.less rotational mass is always good 2.Most 15 inch lightweight setup is lighter than a 16 inch light weight setup.3.Less weight frees up more engine torque?(how true is this one?) This is what i really wanna know, do you feel the difference? for example if i ran 15 inch gsr hammerheads w/ 195/50/15 rubber(these rims are 16lbs w/rubber) versus running 15 inch 12lb rims would i notice a difference in acceleration? if so,how much difference in 4 lbs? now lets compare 14/14.5 lb 16's? will these yield better performance over the 16lb 15" gsr wheels? but wait...more rotational mass and since it's 16" the tire setup once on the wheel will be heavier than 15's according to a reputable wheel shop?:shrugs: . I really wanna know about this wheel thing and if it's worth it to invest in a lightweight set up for like 1000-1400.I just wanted to know cause i could get hammerheads for like 450-500 w/rubber or whether or not i'd be much happier some lightweight 15's or 16's.i run 16's currently,not lightweight ones. Oh the wheel setup is for a b16 incase that has anything to do with it and yes i did a search on "wheel weight" and found nothing.

peace to all
B

I don't think the difference between a 15 or 16 wheel would be that noticable. But to go from a 15 to a 17 or even 18 you would notice. Remember that its not only the wheels that increase in weght with size, but the tires also. My old 17" Konig wheels weighed 19lbs, but the tires (Kumho712) were 21lbs. You could spend the money on very light 15's, but then put heavy tires on them and thus negate the whole purpose.

Don't notice much difference, really. On a track, it might be a few seconds of difference, but in real world, it means nothing.

Well maybe not a few seconds.... That's a bit much. But honestly 17's to 15's you will feel the difference. I can't say that it frees up tourque, but since it will take less energy to move the tires at startup with lighter smaller rims and tires then definetly off launch it feels like you have more power. I notice a big difference going from my 17's in the summer to my 15's in the winter. Only off launch though.

i experimented with 2 setups. i kept the tires (yok's es100) constant but only changed the rims. both sets were 15s at 10.8s and 18 lbs per rim (over 7 lbs difference per wheel). the most noticable difference was torque, some steering and a bit better braking. if you have a heavily modified engine with lots of power i don't think you'll notice too much of a difference in wheel weights.

What about gas consumption? Do you see a difference with bigger wheels and tires?

Gas consumption is minimal. From 14 to 15, I can't tell. I am getting 600km per tank, on average. And prior to that, roughly the same.

Buy what you need to use, not what you think is good. Sometimes, good products don't necessary mean they are suitable for your use. But, if you have money to spend, sure go ahead.

Thanks Charles and everyone else that contributed. Helpful comments and suggestions

yeah, gas mileage suffers a lil bit, performance suffers a lil bit too.

I've had 14s, 15s, 16s and 17s.... to be honest, the difference is quite minimal.

my stock steel 15" rims with 195/55/15 OEM winter tires and they weighed 44lbs total (bathroom scale, so probably not exact) and my 17" konig heliums with 205/40/17 toyo's weighted 38lbs (same bathroom scale), so not always is 17" heavier. but obviously, if you compare a light 15" to a light 17" the 15" will be like 4-7lbs lighter.

i put my stock 15" winters back on now that my heliums are sold...and the car feels less peppy!

that said, the improvements in acceleration are minimal so SIR rims, etc will easily do the job. its not worth $1000+ more just to save 4-6lbs per wheel unless your hardcore racer or something...but not all rims are expensive, konig heliums for example are not too bad in 15" and weigh 10.8lbs for example. add 20lb tires and thats a 31lb set-up...pretty light weight.

Rim weight isn't the only factor, to turn a larger wheel requires more energy. An increase in rim size, increases tire size which will increase weight. Also, the lighter the unsprung weight the more responsive your suspension will be.

15" rims with 195/55/15 is 23.5" in overall diametre. 17" rim with 205/40/17 is 23.5" overall diametre, so its turning the same diametre wheel. the 17" is 10mm wider per tire if your comparing 195 vs 205, but thats the only difference. overall diametre is the exact same.

205/50/15 is 23.3" vs 205/40/17 being 23.5 so at worst its 0.2" more diametre if a 205/50/15 is used.

^^ good info :thumbup:

For Every 1lb of Unsprung weight(weight not supported by suspension) its equal to adding approx. 4lb's to the car!!!!! Plus the extra mass as mentioned before dull's response and take's more energy to accelerate and decelerate. Not that noticable in day to day driving but if your not aware than all that crap add's up. 17" wheel's, 2 10inch sub's in the back. Skirt's and a wing. All the Sudden your civic is Slower than stock. And civic;s are pretty slow to begin with. Id spend the extra money and get the Lightweight rim's. I stayed with 15's because I can't afford anything Lightweight.

WOOHOO, another 15 incher :rolleyes: :marchmell

That's good info. Thanks gents.

i wanted konig heliums a while back. They're back ordered and most likely discontinued according to everywhere i've checked