Wheel weight.. does it Matter? - Page 2 - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

DarkSunrise · 08-20-2013, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZDan

That figure is incredibly exaggerated. It's more like 1.7x for wheel/tire, nothing like 10X! I.e., Increased wheel/tire weight by 10 lb. is like increasing overall weight by 17 lb, not 100 lb.

Yep agree with this. It'll depend on the actual dimensions, but it's usually in the 1.6-1.7x range from what I've seen.

FWIW, I noticed a change dropping 11 lbs/wheel off my GTI (29 lbs --> 18 lbs). That's the equivalent of roughly 75 lbs. weight loss. But I really think you'd have to be close to that order of magnitude to "feel" the difference.

I did not notice a change on my FR-S switching from 21 lbs. stock wheels --> 18 lbs. aftermarket.

TofuDelivery · 08-20-2013, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karma003

Im looking into getting some 17x9 wheels. Been noticing all these beautiful wheels that weight 21-22lbs! Then there r some other, eh, alright looking wheels that r way expensive or alright priced that weight about 17-18lbs...

I'm curious to know, for knows of u that have both, or have had, does it really matter? Do u feel the weight of the wheels actually make it feel a lot different? Faster? Smoother? Grippier? Slipperyer? Or anything at all?

Plz be as detailed as possible w ur replies. I'd really like to make a decision on wheels & I cant afford to buy both. Thank u everyone

Can a 17x9 wheels fit properly on an 86 without any other work done to the car? I'm about to buy a set for my car now that I have started autocrossing and I was wondering about either doing a 17x8 or 17x9. If I'm going wider than stock, I'm sure the lighter wheel options would help right? Any thoughts?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4

f0rge · 08-20-2013, 11:07 AM

I went with slightly heavier wheels and tires and I don't notice the difference in the real world.

Upgrading the stock tires is such a night and day difference that even if you do somehow notice you're 0.01 seconds slower in the quarter and it takes an extra 3 feet to brake from 60mph to 0 it won't matter because you'll still have a smile on your face.

Draco-REX · 08-20-2013, 01:59 PM

Grassroots Motorsports Magazine (reminds me, I need to renew) did a comparison using the same tires but different wheels of differnet weights and they made very little difference.

OrbitalEllipses · 08-20-2013, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

I did not notice a change on my FR-S switching from 21 lbs. stock wheels --> 18 lbs. aftermarket.

How much did your tires weigh? Most people going with the popular light wheels aren't going have a net loss of weight due to how heavy the wider summer performance tires are.

I will absolutely tell you that dropping ~13-14lbs off the nose with the brakes made a difference and so did losing ~5lbs per corner from wheel/tire assembly.

ZionsWrath · 08-20-2013, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TofuDelivery

Can a 17x9 wheels fit properly on an 86 without any other work done to the car? I'm about to buy a set for my car now that I have started autocrossing and I was wondering about either doing a 17x8 or 17x9. If I'm going wider than stock, I'm sure the lighter wheel options would help right? Any thoughts?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4

Need a +35 offset at stock height. Can go higher offset and run camber with coils

ultra · 08-20-2013, 02:43 PM

Don't be surprised if the car feels tangibly worse handling-wise if you put heavier wheels on the car.

Everything I've done to the suspension on my car (wheels, coil overs, bushings, alignment, spacers, BBK) suggests that this platform is extremely sensitive to suspension mods.

Do it once, pay once & do it right IMHO.

DarkSunrise · 08-20-2013, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

How much did your tires weigh? Most people going with the popular light wheels aren't going have a net loss of weight due to how heavy the wider summer performance tires are.

I will absolutely tell you that dropping ~13-14lbs off the nose with the brakes made a difference and so did losing ~5lbs per corner from wheel/tire assembly.

My summer tires are 23 lbs, compared with stock Turanzas at 22 lbs. Pretty close, although I think you make a fair point to consider.

tennisfreak · 08-20-2013, 02:57 PM

IDK squat "technically" but I do know that in the past 3 days I have been driving my car with its new wheels which are ~3lbs lighter (each) compared to stock I have noticed it is a heck of a lot easier to spin/squeal them. (I kept the stock rubber)

To me its a very noticeable difference and I did not even go as light as possible. I could have gotten some wheels under 16lbs which would have been >4lbs lighter than stock.

ZDan · 08-20-2013, 04:36 PM

I you go to 3 lb. lighter wheels, there will be a difference between the improvement in outright vehicle acceleration (~0.6%) and the speed with which the wheels spin up once you break traction (~4%). Once you've started spinning the wheels, then all that really matters is wheel/tire moment of inertia, which is of course affected to a MUCH larger degree than is the effective mass of the entire vehicle.

There is also, of course, the placebo effect which affects EVERYONE's judgement. I'm working on a suspension test plan right now and I will have to come up with a way to test different spec components *without knowing what the specs are*, to prevent myself from judging based on preconceived notions of what I *think* should be "better".

GTB/ZR-1 · 08-20-2013, 07:50 PM

I 'add' lightness anywhere I can--especially w/ the wheel/tire setup.

Gunman · 08-20-2013, 09:04 PM

At work we're always trying to reduce the weight of the race cars. If it's sprung, or rotational mass, even better. Does it make that much difference on a street car? Probably not. Does it make it any easier for me with my street car, no...race car mentality, even when not "because race car".

SurfAndSand · 08-20-2013, 09:11 PM

Short answer - yes. Weight matters. Does it matter to you is the better question.

mit_peid · 08-20-2013, 09:30 PM

I went from the stock wheels/tires to one of the lightest wheels ever made and feel the car accelerates a bit better but my mpg still went down from around 23mpg to closer to 21mpg (I might be driving it a little bit harder now too).

Stock: wheel + tires (~21 lbs + 22 lbs = 43 lbs)
Now: Volk SE37ks 18x7.5 +48 + Goodyear Eagle F1 Assy 2 - 225/40/18 (~16 lbs + 21 lbs = 37 lbs)

Note: I also know the 225/40/18 have a slightly larger diameter compared to the stock 215/45/17s affecting the mpg calculations too.

08-20-2013, 02:43 PM	#21
ultra Curious cat. Join Date: May 2012 Drives: 86 GT base M/T - Red Location: Dubai Posts: 775 Thanks: 840 Thanked 383 Times in 191 Posts Mentioned: 31 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Don't be surprised if the car feels tangibly worse handling-wise if you put heavier wheels on the car. Everything I've done to the suspension on my car (wheels, coil overs, bushings, alignment, spacers, BBK) suggests that this platform is extremely sensitive to suspension mods. Do it once, pay once & do it right IMHO. __________________ 2013 Toyota 86 GT M/T 2009 Renault Clio Sport R27 Team F1 Edition (sold) 1991 Mazda MX5 Miata (sold) 2007 Mitsubishi Evo 9 RS (sold) 2006 VW Golf R32 (sold)

08-20-2013, 07:50 PM	#25
GTB/ZR-1 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Drives: '13 BRZ in WRB--let's mod!!! Location: Central, FL Posts: 1,224 Thanks: 317 Thanked 449 Times in 262 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I 'add' lightness anywhere I can--especially w/ the wheel/tire setup. __________________ * ‘23 Corolla GR—AutoX/DE toy * '13 Toyobaru P&L Turbo WRB BRZ SCCA XS-A build starting. SOLD * '22 Z51 Vette--sold. * '09 Nissan GT-R--gone, but not forgotten... 10.63 @ 131+ on streeties. * '90 ZR-1 11.0 @ 130.2 & 11.2 @ 132.4 sprayed 120 shot.

08-20-2013, 09:30 PM	#28
mit_peid Boosted Noob Join Date: Nov 2012 Drives: '13 FRS MT KW SC, '05 4Runner 4WD Location: SoCal Posts: 883 Thanks: 353 Thanked 343 Times in 175 Posts Mentioned: 7 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I went from the stock wheels/tires to one of the lightest wheels ever made and feel the car accelerates a bit better but my mpg still went down from around 23mpg to closer to 21mpg (I might be driving it a little bit harder now too). Stock: wheel + tires (~21 lbs + 22 lbs = 43 lbs) Now: Volk SE37ks 18x7.5 +48 + Goodyear Eagle F1 Assy 2 - 225/40/18 (~16 lbs + 21 lbs = 37 lbs) Note: I also know the 225/40/18 have a slightly larger diameter compared to the stock 215/45/17s affecting the mpg calculations too. __________________

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08-20-2013, 01:59 PM	#18
Draco-REX Corner Junkie Join Date: Feb 2012 Drives: 13 BRZ, 11 STI, 99 RS Location: Ohio Posts: 2,908 Thanks: 129 Thanked 1,521 Times in 702 Posts Mentioned: 11 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Grassroots Motorsports Magazine (reminds me, I need to renew) did a comparison using the same tires but different wheels of differnet weights and they made very little difference.

08-20-2013, 04:36 PM	#24
ZDan Senior Member Join Date: May 2011 Drives: '23 BRZ Location: Providence, RI Posts: 4,672 Thanks: 1,439 Thanked 4,012 Times in 2,098 Posts Mentioned: 85 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I you go to 3 lb. lighter wheels, there will be a difference between the improvement in outright vehicle acceleration (~0.6%) and the speed with which the wheels spin up once you break traction (~4%). Once you've started spinning the wheels, then all that really matters is wheel/tire moment of inertia, which is of course affected to a MUCH larger degree than is the effective mass of the entire vehicle. There is also, of course, the placebo effect which affects EVERYONE's judgement. I'm working on a suspension test plan right now and I will have to come up with a way to test different spec components without knowing what the specs are, to prevent myself from judging based on preconceived notions of what I think should be "better".

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