Quote:
Originally Posted by n2oinferno
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but changing the wheels and tires aren't going to put a lot of stress on the suspension. They're unsprung weight.
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Um, unsprung weight is most important to how the suspension reacts and it's wear, it creates the force that acts on the suspension from the road surface: sprung mass is what really doesn't affect the suspension if the springs and dampers are chosen correctly for vehicle size by the manufacturer. Increasing +8 lbs a corner of unsprung mass is a
huge increase and the ride quality will very noticeably suffer (not to mention fuel economy) if nothing else is changed suspension wise. A 2 lb increase or decrease is noticeable in the suspension...
Think of a paddle ball setup...with the much heavier weight of the paddle compared to the weight of the ball. Increase the ball mass more and it will start throwing around the paddle and damaging it more easily...
I'm still running the stock Primacy HP tires but mounted on 3.5 lb lighter Enkei Fujins (17x7.5 +40mm offset)...very noticeable increase in ride quality and how it responds to the road. Not quite as noticeable as the difference in handling from the fuel level being full to going below 1/2 full level though...
There's no need to change the tires from the stock size...if you want better performance go with better tire compounds in the stock size on lightweight 17x7.5 or 17x8 wheels...increase in responsiveness and grip with no increase in tire weight if you choose tires wisely.