How much does the weight of the wheel affect a car’s performance?
Let’s say a 17x7" wheel that weighs 15lbs vs a 17x7 wheel that weighs 22.5lbs.
I know it will affect it bit, but how much?
Yeah I wondered about this too. I know there’s some kind of formula for it. All I know is there’s quicker acceleration, deceleration, braking, and probably better gas milage. I think the only downside is that you lose the momentum inbetween shifts, and going uphill…
i know with 17s u lose horsepower , thats why you see alot of car with 17s in the rear and 15 or 14 inch rims in the front , with 17s you are going to lose 2-5 horsepower ( depends on the weight of rims ) i have 17 inch rims but there not on my car there kinda heavy and i can notice the diffrence
its not only the extra wight that your engine has to sling around but also the gear ratio aspect in which the bigger rims causes …bigger rims will slow down acceleration and give a higher top end and better gas mileage…but slower acceleration…so take that for what its worth
Originally posted by 92lsR
i know with 17s u lose horsepower
Wheel size has nothing to do with the horsepower an engine puts out.:roll:
Logicaly…
The bigger and heavier the wheels are, the more the engine has to use it’s power to move them.
wheel size doesnt matter my bad , but wheel weight does matter i have seen a few dyno graphs , one of a 4dr 95 gsr with 17s , they dyno the car with the 17s , then they put the stock gsr rims that where lighter and they gained 4 horsepower , there was also a article about a year ago in importtuner magazine
“17’s look fat yo but 15’s is hella faster” an all time classic line-
leifintegra
Originally posted by AMERIKAN
Wheel size has nothing to do with the horsepower an engine puts out.:roll:
While this is true, the general public has come to accept that with bigger wheels, come heavier weights. How many 17" wheels do you see available that weigh less than 15lbs.? In any case, Sport Compact Car has dynoed a 92-95 chassis Civic with O.Z. 17" wheels. The loss was 5HP at the wheels. An AEM big brake upgrade added another 2-3HP power loss.
Regards,
Oz
Well after talking to many old g2 members, they convinced me to go with 15’s, lighter well, tires are cheaper, and more comfortable
Originally posted by The_Oz
[B]
While this is true, the general public has come to accept that with bigger wheels, come heavier weights. How many 17" wheels do you see available that weigh less than 15lbs.? In any case, Sport Compact Car has dynoed a 92-95 chassis Civic with O.Z. 17" wheels. The loss was 5HP at the wheels. An AEM big brake upgrade added another 2-3HP power loss.
Regards,
Oz [/B]
It’s incorrect to assume that a bigger wheel will weigh more. It is also incorrect to assume that a bigger wheel, though lighter than the original wheel on a vehicle, will cause an increase in straight line performance.
Wheels have a major effect on a vehicle’s acceleration and deceleration. I believe the formula for weight is for every one pound of unsprung weight removed, it’s the equivalent of removing twenty pounds from your car (or sprung weight).
Thus, a lighter wheel can potentially increase acceleration and deceleration, however, if the wheel size is increased another problem is caused. With a larger wheel, even if it is lighter, your engine is having to turn more “rotational mass” to get the car moving. The larger the wheel, the more power it takes to turn it, whether or not it’s lighter.
You can place a larger wheel on your car, and use tires to make the overall diameter of the wheel tire/combination the same as the diameter of the stock wheel/tire configuration. On my Acura, I used 16’s that were lighter than stock, then used 205/45/R16 tires. The overall diameter was very close to the overall diameter when stock, thus I did not lose much (if any) acceleration or braking performance.
Wheel upgrades can be a double edged sword. On one hand, you can put larger wheels on the back, and leave your fronts stock (or be real cool and take of the hub caps so the wheels are black) and look like a total moron. Or you can upgrade the wheels at all four corners, look good and greatly increase your car’s handling ability (but potentially lose straight line performance), or you can leave your car stock (and I think we can all agree that the stock GS alloys in 90/91 are just about the ugliest wheels ever made) and just live with it.
Have fun 
Ya… I think it affects it a decent amount… I have 18" chrome and boy oh boy oh boy… Its night and day compared to my si wheels… even though when off the car, they feel somewhat the same weight:confused: go figure!
I love the look of the bigger wheels though… but the up-keep for them BLOWS!!
ANYONE want to buy some 18" bling bling?? There Focals, G7 I think is the model… up for sale!! ne whos let a brotha know… sparks123_98@yahoo.com
Dev
Do you think getting tires that are two pounds heavier would make any kind of difference?
“I believe the formula for weight is for every one pound of unsprung weight removed, it’s the equivalent of removing twenty pounds from your car (or sprung weight).”
i believe its more of a formula than a ratio( x amount of lbs means this benefit) and depends on the curb weight of your vehicle as well as the weight of all rotational mass i.e. wheels, axels, crank etc… but you are right in that the weight taken off rotatinoal mass has a MUCH greater effect on the performance of the car i.e. power/weight ratio. I have been trying along with a physics proff to create an equation on this as well as an equation detailing performance gains on weight taken off outside the perimeter of the suspension vs/ inside the perimeter.
ARCHIVETHIS
Originally posted by Jetblackblur
I think we can all agree that the stock GS alloys in 90/91 are just about the ugliest wheels ever made
I didn’t read all the post, so excuse me if this has already been stated.
The larger the wheel, the more reciprocating mass. The smaller the wheel the less. Try this… stand up and spin in circles with your arms as close to your body as possible. Then try this again, but with your arms extended as far aways as possible from you body.
Once more try this but spin with ur arms close to you, then while still spinning as fast as you can without falling, let your arms out and see the difference you feel on your body.
You can also try this with a bucket with water in it tied to a string. Spin it around close, then far. Try this but don’t b drunk 
or if u want go ahead when ur drunk,just don’t throw up!
Well the point is, pretend your body is the wheel. When you have your arms close to you, you kind of are a 14 inch rim, then when arms are extended you have a 18inch rim. Think about it just with your car…if its hard for you to turn, or more effort has to be made while your arms are flaling out. So thus the smaller wheel will always be better in a performance setting.
just like a fat person, who would u rather have drive your car while in a drag race…the 400 pound guy in the GSR, or the 100 pound girl in her LS. The girl will probably win because of less wieght.
Hope that gives you a sense of how wheel circumference will ultimately slow you down in the long run. If you still don’t get it, go take a physics class! 
Take in a larger factor than just the wheel itself. You need to also consider the tire. Jetblackblur said it a little better by mentioning the “upsizing.” Be sure to keep your OVERALL diameter the same.
There’s a whole lot that can go into just the one simple question, but for the most part, if the new wheel AND tire together weigh less than the old wheel AND tire together, them the lesser the reciprocating mass. Now, physics will still play an even further role in it by telling you that it matters where the most weight is on the wheel/tire combo. If you have a 1lb. wheel and a 20lb. tire, it will make the engine perform more work to rotate the wheel/tire.
Hope that makes some kind of sense. It made sense to me, but then again, I know what I’m trying to say. 
Originally posted by Sargentboy
[B]Take in a larger factor than just the wheel itself. You need to also consider the tire. Jetblackblur said it a little better by mentioning the “upsizing.” Be sure to keep your OVERALL diameter the same.
There’s a whole lot that can go into just the one simple question, but for the most part, if the new wheel AND tire together weigh less than the old wheel AND tire together, them the lesser the reciprocating mass. Now, physics will still play an even further role in it by telling you that it matters where the most weight is on the wheel/tire combo. If you have a 1lb. wheel and a 20lb. tire, it will make the engine perform more work to rotate the wheel/tire.
Hope that makes some kind of sense. It made sense to me, but then again, I know what I’m trying to say. 
[/B]
:werd:
Like everyone has stated, the ideal wheel has a low mass as the distance from the fulcrum of motion (center of wheel/axle) increases. There are three problems with the examples some are using:
1.) :shy: The mass/weight of the wheel at every point (density) becomes a very large factor the farther you are from the fulcrum. A 17lbs bowling ball requires less force to overcome inertia than a 2lbs hula-hoop. The good old r x force = torque (r is the distance) definitely applies, but remember to think about it reversely as the wheel is resisting motion.
2.) 
Tires are more dense than wheels. So whoever mentioned tires having a significant effect was right. Therefore a 205/40 17 tire has more mass concentrated farther away from the center fulcrum of motion than a 205/50 15 tire. So when Johnny 18" Wheels upgrades to 20" wheels which are somehow 3lbs lighter than the 18" wheels, he will still probably require more force to rotate his wheels than before because the mass of the tires is located farther away from the center of motion.
Before anyone argues with Number 2 claiming that larger tires weigh less, please refer to Number 3 :D.
3.) 
Tires for larger wheels are often heavier or the same size than their smaller counterparts (ie. 195/55 15 vs. 205/45 16). This information I have gathered by working at a tire shop and carrying lots of tires around all the time. Unfortunately this is just empirical data I’ve collected. Though I would also think less- material = less weight, but I believe that the differences in construction have a lot to do with it as well. One exception is the Azenis which are just heavy ass tires in any size :tsk:.
So that’s all I have to say. BTW this is all just from using some basic physics and logical reasoning, so if anyone disagrees or want sto add anything, please do.
Edit: dammit…most of my points were already made. :read: :shock:
That twenty pounds is only applicable to the flywheel I believe. As far as taking weight off the wheels, it helps too, but not 25 pounds for every one pound.
Oh, and I love my 90 stock alloys. All you people can suck it. :down: