Weight of wheels

[dan_lee]

Just wondering how much difference the weight of wheels makes a difference on a cars performance.

Does it provide that much more benefit having super lightweight wheels?

[integral90]

Seeing as rims have the same sort of effect on power as a flywheel, yeah, weight matters a bit. You won't notice the difference accelerating from say, 80km/h with different weight rims, but flooring it at low revs in 1st you would probably notice some small difference. It's all about momentum, so if a lighter rim will spin quicker than a heavier one then a positive has been achieved.

hope this helps

[dan_lee]

ah that makes sense.

so it sounds like its about the effort (power) that the engine has to put in to get the wheel rolling under acceleration, and a heavier wheel would be obviously harder to spin than a lighter one.

[dsp26]

^^^as above like the effect of flywheels... its called "Rotational Mass".

in terms of noticeable i beg to differ though, going from 14s to non lightweight chrome 17s SEVERELY affected acceleration for me... it sooo noticeable hence why i'm looking for light weight 15x7s....

[integral90]

yeah, it's all about inertia, a heavier wheel will have a tendancy to require more power to get it rolling, hence the slower it will accelerate, making the car slower to accelerate. Like, over-all the feeling will be miminal, but it will be there.

[Q_ball]

Just wondering how much difference the weight of wheels makes a difference on a cars performance.

Does it provide that much more benefit having super lightweight wheels?
it really depends on what you intend to do with your car as well.
if you're strictly concerned about the effects of having bigger wheels on for daily driving, it wont affect things too much, mayb a slightly less efficient fuel consumption, but thats about it.
also recommended that you get a wheel alignment and adjust the speedo if u do tho!
it's only when you start gettin involved with drags and tracks with ur car should you worry about the performance variations.

[DreadAngel]

Lightweight rims will also (no big differ for daily driving as mentioned by Q) but I'd say apart from fuel comsumption slight less than the norm and maybe feels slightly quicker in acceleration, I think it'll also effect the handling of the car, after all the heavier the rims are as the front, the more work you need to do to get the thing turning (I don't know if power steering effects this much but its something to think about)

[|N|]

IMO.. light weight wheels means alot...

each kg u take off on wheels is equal to abt 15kg u take off from the car....

hence u get better acc. and brake power. coz there is simply less strain.

[EK9_boi]

on that subject, does any1 here know how much each of the 06 Civic stock rims (16") weigh? just want to compare with the one I may be ordering. thanks.

:cool:

[integral90]

i'd say around 7-10kg a rim, cause honda rims are generally quite light.

[type one]

7-10kg isn't considered light for a 16" rim - i would expect the honda rim to be in the vicinity of 6.5-7.5kg.

having said that IMO lightweight rims are the BEST mod you can get for a small capacity engine... 1.6 to 1.8... dun forget handling not just acceleration, lighter rims are more nimble and offer better more direct turn in as well.

[iamhappy46]

Speedy wheels make some fantastic lightweight 17" rims, 8.3Kg for 17" and 9Kg for 18" rims...

Can be seen here (http://www.speedywheels.com.au/images/zoom/lite-7-gunmetal.htm)...

Of course, a lightweight 15" rims with 205/50 tyres will perform a little bit better.

[dsp26]

having said that IMO lightweight rims are the BEST mod you can get for a small capacity engine...

lol i disagree :p

Solid Prothane engine mounts all around for ~AU$150ish and instant torque transfer hehehehe. of course light wheels + flywheel with this mod would be awesome

[integral90]

yeah don't stray off topic here, lol.

close this thread, the answer has been given