weve already established hes a moron who thinks being a mechanic makes him the cobalt god. all he did was take a pic of the head and thinks were too dense to figure it out. ill bet he works on call backs half the day. but i imagine what he was getting at and you left out was the crank. the gm perf crank was 3000$ or so i thought.

 

no one ever mentions the downside of light wheels... a heavier wheel simply rides smoother than a light one.

 

But a bigger wheel rides liek **** becuase it screws with your suspension. Ask any owner of a SUV with 22" rims. Or better yet watch their lifty wagon ride like a horse drawn carrage.

Kemo, honestly. Is all you think about HP figues? The cobaltSS/SC has yet to honestly be given the proper tools to make power (idealy a better blower than what it comes with stock) and the build book is for a engine that makes 1000hp and runs on the track only. IMO the build book is useless for people makign a street driven car. It may point you to weak points in the stock block but it does not tell you what will breka in the engine next, what's the next bottle neck. ALl it tells you is to buy this part adn you'll go faster. Its' a sales catalog, not a bible.

 

But this thread pertains to the performance, namely acceleration, benefits of a lighter wheel. Not pros and cons of lighter vs heavier.... I like my 18s for daily driving, but for auto-x or a track day, I'd want as light a wheel as possible.

 

performance is, to me, a pro and con debate. since 99% of us are using our cars for the street, i think that it's a very valid point that i made. honestly, i think even then 18 is a little large for this car. a 16-17 seems the ideal compromise (to me) between looks/tire/handling/durablity.

i just don't want to see some dumb kid toss 14 lb wheels on one of these and kill himself the first time he hits a bump and it hops off the damn ground.

does a lighter wheel mean a faster car? maybe. the same way that more power MAY mean a faster car. honestly, even with the LS' wheels a tires, the car can be fast if someone can take it to the limit in a controlled manner. any car can.

I don't race my car, hell, i don't even drive it hard. i just think that it's important that people that are not "in the know" get all sides of any mod before they whip out that checkbook.

 

Its also note worthy that bigger rims may ride worse because of the lower profile tires required...which in itself are not the wheels fault...but a fault none the less.

If you think lighter wheels make a difference, try switching to a light weight crankshaft, with lightweight rods and pistons...changes the entire feel of the engine.

 

[QUOTE=joeworkstoohard]performance is, to me, a pro and con debate. since 99% of us are using our cars for the street, i think that it's a very valid point that i made. honestly, i think even then 18 is a little large for this car. a 16-17 seems the ideal compromise (to me) between looks/tire/handling/durablity.

i just don't want to see some dumb kid toss 14 lb wheels on one of these and kill himself the first time he hits a bump and it hops off the damn ground.

does a lighter wheel mean a faster car? maybe. the same way that more power MAY mean a faster car. honestly, even with the LS' wheels a tires, the car can be fast if someone can take it to the limit in a controlled manner. any car can.

I don't race my car, hell, i don't even drive it hard. i just think that it's important that people that are not "in the know" get all sides of any mod before they whip out that checkbook.[/QUOTEme to. not a racer just an old fart. i have 15,s rim stock so if i upgrade to 16,s i should get a better ride right?

 

Well i don't know about you, but my car never hit a bump and hopped of the ground when I had my galant. I do believe thats what your springs and dampers are for. To keep you planted.

You are right about getting both sides of the story before doing any mod. As for lighter wheels there are some disadvantages and one of the biggest ones is price IMO.

If you have never raced or driven your car hard, then how do you know about the effects of lighter or heavier wheels?

 

Have you seen 16s on our cars? Obviously not. You cant grind that much off its just crazy.

 

someone on this board has 15" wheels on his ss/sc i thought, and has DR's on. uses M&H tires i remember.

as for the lighter wheels debate im going to try some better tires than the stock conti's before i go all out with 17" 15lb wheels n tires.

 

HA HA HA Meno sure shut up quick!! LOL

 

15s won't fit without some sort of modification. 16s BARELY fit, 15s require spacers or grinding down the top of the calipers.

 

i'm into E21 BMWs... and since the stock alloys on that care are approx 14lbs.... i've dealt with it. as far as hopping off the ground, it was slight exageration in the interest of making a point. but yes, price is an issue, also most lightweight wheels are simply not as strong as the stock or heavier wheels. i just don't feel that a real "Racing" wheel is a smart choice for a street car.

also, you're right about the shocks... but if someone is asking about wheels, at what point do they ask about dialing in the dampeners? just food for thought. good points you made.

 

I've seen 16s and 15s. You can grind off that much... it isn't even a lot.

 

I agree with you as well for the strength issues. I"m sure anyone willing to pay the price could find some lightweight wheels that are nearly as strong as "normal" weight wheels.

All in all I guess in answer to the actual topic at hand about less rotating mass = faster car, yes its true in a purist mathmatical form. Less rotating mass = faster for acceleration and direction change. But that's just theoretical. Make stuff light and its fast, but you give something in the process.

Good points for you as well joeworkstoohard.

 

oh yes, it would def be a faster car. how much faster is up for debate. i would venture to guess that you'd gain a lot more with money spent in other areas, at least on a drag strip or slolom. a good set of light AND strong wheels with needed tires for any car is at least....1500 USD (if we're talking performance gear). fifteen hundred bucks buys a lot, at LEAST a nice adjustable suspension.

to the original poster, buy whatever makes you happy, but understand 99% of wheel purchases are for looks. in the performance world, looking fast is almost as good (if not better) than being fast to most consumers.

 

thats patathss' car, he uses saab 15" wheels and DR's. and im the 1% there. id rather have ugly wheels if itll save me 15% per wheel. but since i have a wife now she wont have "ugly" rims so i had to have a best of both worlds. she hates thin spokes

 

Yeah, I'm lucky enough to have gotten a deal on "fun" wheels and tires, I have 17lb rims (still rather heavy, but good for what's out there) with R-compounds. And I have yet to break them in .

 

seventeen pounds is pretty lightweight if you ask me. esp if it's being used at all on public roads.

 

i really wanted SSR competitions, but they were 400+ for 16's. they were 11lbs tho. then i saw several posts about the rims bending pretty easy and tirerack not doing anything about it

 

yeah, i don't think they're warranty bent rims. i wouldn't unless it was a special case.

 

"With the GM ECOtec global powerplant, we're making over 1000 horsepower, and the majority of the engine components are production parts," said Josh Peterson, GM Racing Sport Compact program manager. "It's simply amazing what can be done with this basic engine package." That being said, I seem to remember reading that the basic engine is good for 650 H/P before any serious internal parts are at risk. The 1987 Buick grand National V-6 engine, which was developed initially for Indy racing, was good for 500 H/P before any serious internal modifications needed to be done, just to give you a frame of reference. Don't sell the little ECOtec short. It is one of the most reliable engines to ever come out of GM, and with the new turbo engine, the Sky is the limit-no pun intended. "Rhys Millen's new Solstice is said to be making north of 500 H/P with the new turbocharged 2.0 L. ECOtec engine. Drag racing versions have topped 1400 H/P. So this version should not have trouble living." - Hot Rod magazine 9/2006 pg. 36. The ECOtec's and LS-2's continue to clean up in various motorsports with practically no failures. Read up on the success of the Time Attack Cobalt, and other road racing Cobalts with basically the Stage II engine. Unbelievably reliable.

I disagree with your notion that a "Cobalt is just my every day ordinary car." It might be ordinary to you, but that is because you fail to appreciate how special it truly is. My 2006 SS S/C is also a daily driver, but it is a "honkin" little scooter. I have a 1971 Olds Cutlass 442 Super Gas car. It dyno's 550+ H/P on nothing but race fuel. It is a 10.6 1/4 mile car at 5000' + altitude, and should be a 9 second car at sea level. Does not change my opinion of my Cobalt one particle. Like comparing apples and oranges.

As far as unsprung weight and rotating mass, the original drift of this thread, reducing wieght equals better performance, pure and simple. It's all about weight versus H/P. The principle is the same as it was 50 years ago, and it is not rocket science. There are two ways to go faster, increase H/P (and torque) or reduce weight.

Doc

 

17lbs is PATHETIC for a "lightweight" rim. I don't consider anything over 15lbs to be TRULY "lightweight." I've run with 11lb rims before with absolutely no problems. If you have problems with lightweight rims and daily driving, you have some SERIOUS suspension issues going on. As in the car is NOT in driveable condition and should be parked IMMEDIATELY.

 

for a 17 inch, that's a pretty decent weight for everyday use. please remember that i'm talking about a daily driven car. but, driving down a highway at 75 miles an hour and hit a pot hole with an 11 pound rim and you can't tell me that it will act as nice as a 17-18 pounder

 

friend??? id love an old 442. my drivers ed teacher had one but he let it rot away and eventually had it scrapped. i would have bought it from him. altho im not keen on race fuel. it has to be pump gas.