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Benefits of wheel and tyre weight reduction
This is my speciality. Yes, a lighter rim and tyres is one of the easiest and most effective modifications to your car. My 1998 SS3 Celica gains another 9 HP than an FT 86 on this mod alone, as well as improved handling.
I've had and won 59 illegal road races and have beaten Wrx,s, Skylines and Evos.
Ive also written a book on how to increase power and handling from non turbo cars.
Let me explain.
Tyre and rim weight are centrifugal weight connected to your drivetrain along with pistons, driveshaft and flywheel. The more weight on the outside of the rim..the greater power needed to turn it. When i say I've gained another 9 HP on this mod than a Brx i mean I've freed up 9 HP..it no longer has to turn that weight and is now available for pure acceleration.
The first thing you need to do for your car is this. Divide its weight 1250 kg by its HP 190. This shows that each HP is pulling 6.5kg of weight..or for every 6.5kg of weight you shed 1 HP is freed up
For the wheels even more is gained. Roughly its a 4:1 ratio for rims and a 5:1 ratio for tyres. So 1 kg less on tyres weight is equivalent to 5 kg of body weight x 2 for your rear tyres = 10 kg or 1.5 HP on your tyres.
A one ply sidewall tyres is lighter than a two ply. The lightest are Toyo T1R,s. There is a reason why they used these tyres on Fast and Furious 3 Tokyo Drift.
If you run a 17" rim I'm guessing its around 9kg? A 16" Volk TE37 for around $800 2nd hand will weigh 5.3kg or 6kg for a CE28.
So now you're looking at a 3.7 kg saving for each wheel. That's 7.4kg for your front wheels and for the rear .. 3.7 x 4 = 14.8kg 1kg x 5 = 5kg = 19.8kg x 2 for both driving wheels = 39.6kg + 7.4kg =47kg or a 7hp increase in freed up HP
As for handling the lighter wheel means that your suspension rebound is able to work better at keeping that wheel in contact with the road. Heavy wheels tend to bounce on uneven surfaces.
This will be more beneficial on bumpy roads in the wet and less noticeable on freeways.
The other benefit of a light rim is a smoother ride and a quieter ride with a smaller rim
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