My 2k3 stock se wheels weight about 22lbs I think. I am thinking about replacing them for better handling and performance. How important is it to go with light weight wheels?

The wheels that I plan on getting weigh about 16lbs for 17" rims... How much of a big difference will that make over stock? I am sure launch will be much quicker but what other advantage do I have.

I actually like different set of wheels (in terms of looks) but they weigh 18lbs for the same size. If you value performance, would you still go with the 18lb ones over the 16, because they look better?

Finally, I will be be adding a sub... would it make sense if I added 50 or 60lbs to my trunk but still went with light weight wheels? I guess what I am asking is, wouldn't the benefits of light weight wheels negate with your thumping music system?

 

well by lightening the wheels, you reduce the moment of inertia and decrease the torque necessary to accelerate the wheels both straight and rotationally. I've heard you can estimate 1 lb wheel weight ~ 6 lbs in car weight, so do the math there

 

our stock wheels weigh a lot more then 22lbs. with tires they weigh close to 50

 

4 lbs x 4 wheels x 6/per lb = 96

buy the sub

What if you fill your tires with Helium

 

ya BTW my stock wheels/tires weigh in at 49 pounds. droppin to 17 pound rims would save a lot of weight, probly 8-10 pounds per wheel. thats as much as 240 pounds of dead weight! which can be translated to around .2 gained in the 1/4

 

kinda makes you wonder what kind of acceleration you might get it you just leave them off. 0 to infinity in zero seconds ?

time travel? OMFG my Max is a time machine !

 

Another thing to consider is the weight of the tires. According to Bridgestone's website, the OEM RE92s are 27 lbs. each. I have just bought Toyo Proxes FZ4 in 235/45/17 that are 22 lbs. ea.

 

Well This

Vs. This

 

My stock wheels with tires weighed in at a nifty 54 lbs. My 19's with tires weigh 53 lbs. I ran a better time with my 19's at the track, than with my stockers. Im not a big supporter of lightweight wheels . Only because I know that if you have the power to make your car go, a few lbs wont make a big difference, unless you get some heavy ghetto chrome bricks.......

 

put your setbelt on !

edit:

 

Seat Belts Won't save you at that speed.
BTW: THat wasn't Me!

 

My stock 17 Se wheels were 24.5 ea on dig. bathroom scale.
With lightweight wheels you are reducing unsprung weight as well.
The suspension does not have to work quite as hard reacting to bumps.
If it is only 2 lbs go with the wheel that you like the best.

 

How did you get up to 120 mph with the RPMs at 2000. Were you on ice?

 

thx. for all the info. Makes my search so much more easier now.

 

Enkei RPM and OZ Supperleggeras are my favorite on a MAx

 

I luv those Superleggera Race Silver wheels... they look hot! They are in my list too.

As far as light weight affordable wheels go, I think Enkei RPF1's are the way to go.

 

He was at 2000rpm because he'd already let off the gas. He was actually decelerating when that picture was taken.

 

if i throw on 18" rims that weigh 34 lbs each ( i know thats a ton) with low profile tired, what would you guess the 1/4 mile difference would be?

 

.1 or .2 at the most. it wouldnt make a huge difference, again goes with the 1 wheel lb. goes with 6 sprung lbs. ~25 wheels to ~34 = +9 per wheel, 36*6 dead weight, whats that, like 210? thats roughly .2 seconds

 

Well,

Not to wh0re up you post or anything but ive got a wheel question if someone doesnt mind answering. I've got on stock 15" inch steelies, if i went with a pretty light 18" wheel, how much of a difference would that make.

Thanks!

 

Once again that wasn't me. And Haven't u heard of neutral? LMAO!

 

would 18" low profile tires weigh more? so if i put on a wheel/tire package that weighs about 62 lbs a set, i would only lose my stock time of 15.00 to 15.2? just making sure because if thats true its def worth the bling.

 

There is more than simply the weight of the setup to figure in. If all the weight is concentrated near the tire, there will be more of an effect then. Its all physics... I cant tell you you'll lose exactly .2 seconds, it could be more, could be less, but PROBABLY there abouts. No promises, I dont have time to do out the calculations to figure how much more torque is required to accelerate the wheels with various weights. But the overall effect will be a few tenths, probly .3 at the most with a heavy 62 pound setup. If you go low profile tires, so that the total diameter is smaller than your original setup, that'll effectively change the gear ratios (sorta) and will offset the slower acceleration the heavier wheels give. There are many factors involved

 

thanks. the rims are on 225/40-18 nitto 555. im coming from the stock rims/tires.. is 3% speedo error that bad? i lost that website that showed the mph difference?

 

3% is minimal, does the speedo read low or high with that setup? here's a site that will tell ya
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
3% too fast means ya get a bit of an acceleration advantage, which will somewhat cancel out the additional weight. if its 3% under speed, then that'll increase the effects of the added weight. hope this helps!

 

the difference of going from stock to aftermarket is -3%. so will that help or hurt the effects? thanks for the help!

 

ok, on the site I gave, a -% means more revs per mile. Therefore, the wheel spins faster, and that means its slightly smaller. So that will make for a slight increase. Guess I kinda rambled there
It will offset the affects of added weight. There we go

 

awesome. 18" chrome for me!!!! and plus when im going 60 ill actually be going 58, less $ for my next ticket.

 

Ha ya havin the speedo read a lil high wouldnt be a terribly bad thing eh? Good luck on your wheels!

 

thanks. they are $500 with tires and an extra one. lets hope the deal isnt too god to be true. ill prolly post pix when i get em on my majestic blue max. ill show the old people on here that chrome is still cool.

 

sounds good man. Definatly post pics

 

There are other added benefits to having lighter weight rims/tires besides gaining speed.

There's also the fact that your car will brake faster and if you have spoked rims your brakes will cool faster, not only that your car will handle better because of the wider contact patch with the ground.

I have 18" 225's which I think are the best set up, they are lighter than my stock 16's were plus with all the added benefits as mentioned before and your pick up in speed/acceleration as well.

 

yeah the contact patch will be the same but on 8" wide rims. they are 5 spokes, but very think.