Does anyone know what the weight of the stock wheel + tire is? I searched around but got tired after just reading about everyone's hate/love of different rimz.

My new wheels and tires "roll in" tomorrow, and im wondering if they will be lighter/heaver/same... should've thought of that before buying, i'll hate myself if they are heavier. Most of the weight is in the rubber, right? I am going from 15" to 17" so there is some hope of reduction.

If no one knows, I'll just hold one in each hand and see which way I fall over.

BTW the new ones are from the 350Z (like here: http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...&postcount=14), I wasnt planning to get them for a few months but found a sweet deal.

 

the stockers are lighter.

most of the tire weight is in the tread and the wheel "rim section" itself. it's 6-7-8-9" wide at that point, and the thickest part of the material.
so going to a wider tire will add weight, and going to a larger wheel will add weight.

going from a 215/60/15 tire to a 235/45/17 tire added about 6-7lb just in tire.
the factory wheel weights ~15-16lb I'm guessing, and those 350Z wheels weigh in the area of 18-23lb.

 

The whole thing with tire is 50lb on the new ones. 1/2" width increase on the front and 1" in the rear.

edit correction: width increase is 1" on front and 1.5" in rear

 

50lbs sounds about right. RE040s? Heavy suckers. I ran the coupe and Z 18s. They were rocks at about 24lbs each. But the damned tires weight 24-26lb each! Those track editions on the other hand.....

 

I guess its OK, im not chasing 1/4 mile times or 60-0 stop distances, the OEs are loosing their finish and that little nook is uncleanable... sick of them.

 

yeah, for how cheap you can obtain the 17s with decent rubber, it's hard to pass. Don't worry. Those aren't any heavier than the ricetastic aftermarkets available. At least you won't see these on a Honda civic!

Remember I ran the coupe gunmetal 18s and the Z touring 18s so I also ran the heavies also.

 

Thank the maxima gods for the torque they bring us. I'm doing the mainstream VE performance upgrades soon anyway, damn it feels good to be out of college and have a job.

 

werd up. at least for the summer anyways. rolling in the big bucks lol

just weighed my stockers (bathroom scale FTW) apparently maximum 43lbs

 

I think my stock wheel (w/tire) were 41 lbs, weighed on an accurate postal scale at work. The tires were only about 25 percent and they are a Firestone off-brand.

When I had the forged 17" Centerlines, they were 33 lbs with tires. The wheels were right at 14 lbs each with Proxes FZ4s. Damn, I wish I still had those. Stupid metal plates in the road.

 

Got them on yesterday, no pics yet because the car is stuck in the garage waiting for the alternator to be ready... should be later today.

I knew that used tires probably wouldnt be in "awesome" condition, but wow. The front ones are both mounted for right-side rotation, so the left tire spins backwards. The original car also seems like it had bad alignment up front because the insides are worn far more than the rest of the wheel.

Why would someone put down the $ for a 350Z and then not care for it?!

 

Any one know the ratio from increased wheel weight to speed/torquue reduciton

weighed my stock 5th gen gle wheels 48.5 wiht air/tire
weighed my 18's _________________50.5 with air/tire

2lbs more...and yah it feels sluggish after the switch...
tho my 3rd gen was unoticable...with the change from stock to 18...could be just me

 

That’s tricky. Rotational inertia is found by integrating mass as function of x-y-z distance from the axis for the entire wheel/tire. We don’t really have a hope of obtaining that function. So its not only the weight increase, moving it further away from the axis contributes a lot.

If you can spin both wheels at a constant speed, and then apply an identical braking force to each and see how long it takes them to stop, then you can get that ratio.

Edit: you mentioned air, at 30psi its about 77 lb/m^3 depending on temperature and elevation. Figure out the volume inside a tire and take a ratio, it will be very little. Also, air does not have to be accelerated or decelerated rotationally so it wont contribute much.

 

Thanks main, I acutally love math... so that all makes sense (didnt know if there was a average round figure someone somewhere somehow came up with)

Considering that is there any larger wheel sizes that are not heavier than the size below it?

 

Yeah there are light-weight racing wheels (look at post #9), and they cost accordingly. You need the large size for low-profile tires so that you have more tread contacting the road on the edge, and dont roll as much from compressing the sidewalls on turns.

 

Only if you change wheel design. buy a wheel that's light to begin with and you can go a lot farther.
my 5Zigen FN01R-C are around 16lb each in 17x8. the factory 15x6.5 wheels are about the same weight... SSR Comp wheels are like 14lb in 18x10.. but they're $600 a wheel.

also remember when you're talking about acceleration, you need to look at the tire size as well. if you increase the overall tire diameter, you will slow the car down. that will do more than anything else outside tripling your wheel weights.. keep the tires to a decent size and you'll keep your acceleration.

i.e. my car is considerably faster in the 1/4 with my small 235/40/17s as compared to my street 255/45/17s. 7% difference in rotation speed, so the engine puts essentially 7% more torque to the ground. that's like an "increase" in 15hp just by switching to a smaller tire.

 

There is a nice circumference calculator here, it will give a % difference automatically to save some time:
http://www.csgnetwork.com/tireinfo4calc.html
And remember, stock SE is 205-65-15. According to this thing I added 1% circumference, not a big deal at all.

Admin(s): Please add the info here to the list in the Authoritative Wheel Weight Thread

 

Miata.net has a java based one that even has pretty pictures..
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

That's funny, because my times were the same because I had to shift into 4th with smaller tires.

With my stock 15s, I ran the exact same time and with the 17" centerlines with tires too small (215/40/17).

I think had I not needed to shift, it would have been faster. 60-foot times were <.1 difference at the same track, slightly cooler on the day with the stockers.

If anyone wants 17x7 or 18x7 forged wheels for a reasonable price, Centerline sells some through their site, kind of like a "clearance rack." Usually <$200 per wheel. All of their wheels are forged. They don't seem to have black pearl anymore, only polished aluminum or chrome. They really need to get different widths and offsets, though.

 

Thinking about all these pros, on the cons im assuming the lighter wheel be alot weaker/ suspectible to break?

Does anyone know the weight of the 3rdgen stock 15 with tire and air?
Maybe its just my head playin tricks and since i knew the wieght diff on my 5th gen i am telling myself to feel it more than i did not knowing on the 3rd gen wheel weight.

My stock 5th gen wheels(tire+air) approx 48.5 lbs vs the 18's 50.5 lbs and using the same 18's as i did on the 3rd.

 

the stock 15" wheels are about 16lb. but keep in mind the tires are also about 1-2" narrower than what you're using now. 205 to 255 in my case.

 

thanks main

 

Cast wheels are probably going to be weaker, but forged wheels like Rays, SSR, Centerlines, etc., are going to be stronger.

One of the downfalls to 17s or 18s is the thinner sidewall. This puts the wheel more at risk of getting curb damage or bent from a pothole.

That's what happened to me with my Centerlines. I hit a series of steel construction plates (at night, in the rain, didn't see them) going about 40 mph and slightly bent two rims.

 

yeah...i feel ya...i have 3 out of 7 wheels bent..

but i have a do it your self fixer (well sorta)

If you have the wheels on, take a rubber mallet and try pound the bend back to normal...tho its not exactly perfect...it appears alot better (one thing tho is you can see the material stressed once bent back this way) I didnt mind tho as the bend was more eye catching.

 

I finally took a ride with the new wheels yesterday, had to wait until my reman. starter and alternator were on.

I like the ride a lot more, I think its because of the shorter sidewalls giving a improved solid feel. The backward rotation on the front-left tire sucks, I'll have to get that fixed quickly, and maybe an alignment after that if it continues to pull left.

As far as power, there is a bit of a loss but its hardly noticable, I think some of it may be attributed to this alignment issue, which is so bad I didnt even bother going on the highway.