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General Weight of wheel vs performance

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General Weight of wheel vs performance

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Mario

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Hi,

i seem to remeber that this came up once. The lighter the wheel the easier the engine spins them. i.e more power. Was that the case? I remember someone came up with a bit of a formula. I have searched the forum but can't find the thread. Would be interested to know what difference a lighter set of wheels would make to my gps 1.4 16v. (i have the mjet wheels, not really sure why!)
Any thoughts/knowledge appreciated.
Thanks
 
goodmorning. the lighter the wheel the slightly faster the car.that is a fact.also you get low consumption, better overall handling and steering and much more comfort ride. note that if you put lighter wheels is equal by reducing the car body weight by 3 times more than the weight difference from the wheels.
i.e if you use 4 kilos lighter rims it is equal to 12 kilos in car body weight loss.
 
As said. Since the weight of a wheel is 'unlaiden' weight you can remove it has more of an effect than remove the same weight from anywhere else (the same applies for brakes, suspension etc). Imrpoved handling, braking, acceleration will come as a result of well thought out weight loss.

IMO wheel weight is crucial if you're looking towards performance as it's easy enough to purchase lightweight wheels and drop the cars unlaiden weight quickly resulting in performance gain.

I run 15" OZ superleggeras for that reason and wouldn't be without them.
 
OCZedd said:
Lets have a look at your motor then ;)

Btw how much are your rear spacers?
Click to expand...

PM'd you.

It's not a grande I'm afraid, Mk2 HGT:

DSC00036Small.jpg

DSC01541Small.jpg

DSC00076Small.jpg

DSC00094Small.jpg
 
Mario said:
Hi,

i seem to remeber that this came up once. The lighter the wheel the easier the engine spins them. i.e more power. Was that the case? I remember someone came up with a bit of a formula. I have searched the forum but can't find the thread. Would be interested to know what difference a lighter set of wheels would make to my gps 1.4 16v. (i have the mjet wheels, not really sure why!)
Any thoughts/knowledge appreciated.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Think of the wheels as flywheels. The lighter they are the easier it is for the engine to spin. There is a lot more to it e.g. unsprung weight impacting steering/road grip etc but basically the lighter and smaller the wheel the easier it is for the car to perform.
 
clawliger said:
im tempted to get a set of 16" lightweight wheels for my grande, but fear it may be to low and the arch gap would look horrid.
Click to expand...
fear not my friend. you can also use 15 rims with no prob. except if you have lowered your car and want to still use 45 profile. i've changed my rims to 16 lightweight with 205 and 50 profile. much quieter and much less consumption. i suggest you go for it.
 
clawliger said:
went for 17's in the end.

what wheels are you running then?
Click to expand...
i had to wate up to 2 months delivery from ocz ultraleggera hlt. special order had been made in order i don't have to put fillers in.and the hlt were only in 18 and above.
 
speaking of wheel weight anyone know how much the steel 15" wheels weigh on the GP?
 
cool I have a 1.2 active, getting shut soon though for a 1.4 t-jet, wanted to know if the wheels i was getting were much heavier, and there not bet there probably lighter infact (y)
 
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