I was just wondering what kind of effects there are to using heavy wheels? I always see poeple trying to get the lightest rims they can on here. So whats the benefits of light wheels? (besides reducing overall weight)

I am curious because I recently came accross some rims that I like, but it turns out the weigh 28 pounds each. I don't really do much racing, so would it really matter that much if they weigh a little more?

Oh, and heres a picture of the wheels. MB Wheels, Drifter.

 

It's going to turn your car into a dog

 

For daily driving, weight doesn't matter all that much. If you do any kind of "spirited" driving, then lighter is better. Less unsprung weight, less rotational mass, it's just that much less weight that the car has to move.

 

Heavier wheels will decrease your acceleration times... and increase the force and distance it takes to get stopped.

Look at all these cars running around with huge rims... I'm talking 22" + ... they can't stop for ****, and are slow as pigs.

If you are just adding a few pounds... say ~5lbs per wheel... it's not too terribly bad... but honestly, smaller / lighter is better.

 

Lets put it this way, b/c im in this same dillema.

For daily driving, assuming you don't race every car on a narrow mountain pass to and from work everyday, then size/weight shouldn't really matter. The biggest difference really for street driving w/ large wheels is the profile tire you'll need to use to fit a large wheel. Potholes aren't very forgiving. Also, you'll lose a bit of turning radius, which will come into play in cramped parking lots, and you'll stop a bit slower, but that really won't matter unless you constantly almost rear end people.

For racing, big heavy wheels suck. Slower acceleration, more weight for the car to tug along, and slower stopping times.

I currently have 18"x7.5" Enkei WDMs on my car, and i'm just not satisfied with the size of the wheels. I know many will argue that 18" is plenty big, and it is for some. But 18"s just weren't what was hoping for, so I might make the leap to 20"s soon. I know i'll sacrifise a bit of pep and whatnot, and need to keep a keaner eye out for potholes, but thats no biggie. For the track, i'll always have my trusty 17" stockers on hand, so I won't try to slug it out on 20"s at the drag strip.

I'm going to make the leap from 18"s to 20"s............when money permits it, lol.

 

Well my car has the stock 17inch rims on it now. I think they somewhere around 20-22ish pounds. These ones weigh 28 pounds. Think it'll make a noticable difference? Like I said, I don't really race. Maybe an occasional street race, but you don't see too many of those around here.

 

probally not. My 2.4SS wheels were also 17"s, and I switched to 18"s, which were also a half inch wider, so im pretty sure they weighed a little bit more. But I honestly didn't really feel or notice any difference. Maybe if I had a G-tech tesla to record my speeds and stuff i'd notice a slight change, but going just on feel.......the difference between 17"s and 18"s is very minimal. I say get them man, they'll look sick on your Ion. I considered getting those wheels in chrome before I got mine, but the chrome 5-stars just looked too much like my stock SS wheels.

 

I have those wheels on my car. They look great. But when I got them I compared the weight to my stock 18's and you could not tell the difference. If you like them get them bro. I mean its not like you are road racing everyday. I couldt tell any change in performance on my car.

 

How can this be if the overall wheel+tire diameter doesn't increase any? When I got my 18's, the overall diameter actually decreased slightly because my tires are so low profile...