Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance How much does wheel weight matter

I know it matters alot...but i was just wondering if anyone had a like conversion calculator or something to tell me how much more hp (i know you dont gain hp but the equivalent of adding it) is gained from losing 4lbs on the wheels

Size and weight does matter. So basically the bigger you go the slower it gets.

I dont have an exact answer but I hear going from 16's to 18's adds on a half second in the quarter. I dont know the exact weights these were but you can somewhat get an idea.

i appreciate your response...however that info doesnt really help because some 18s are like 23lbs and some are 17lbs...u know its a big difference

as far as size going up and speed going down thats not neccesarily true either because i have 17s that are much lighter than stock 16 gts wheels...thats why i didnt ask about size and just the weight aspect

well to get a feeling jsut take a stock wheel and the new wheel and push them both see how much harder one is compared to the other also harder to stop it i doubt theres gonna be any type of conversion cause there would be a lot of variables
rim weight and where the weight is located the increased (or decreaSED) TIRE WEIGHT AND WHERE IT WOULD BE AT


sorry hit caps at the end to lazy to fix

I've always heard that the horsepower:weight ratio is the most important thing to focus. And the best weight to reduce is unsprung weight. That includes wheels, lug nuts, tires, brake parts, and axle parts. I've never really heard anything about the size of a wheel/tire affecting power. But from my own experience, most professional drag cars use small wheels (14 or 15 inch). So in conclusion, I would have to think that if you upsize your wheel, but in the end the weight is less overall, then you are still in the positive.

overall diamter of the wheel/tire DOES matter, but more importantly it is the weight that plays a bigger role.

look into getting forged wheels, as these are generally lighter than cast wheels. (forged wheels can handle a higher load with less material, which therefore means manufacturers don't need to add more reinvorcement--BUT this doesn't mean that they automatically are lighter. some lesser manufacturers still use just as much metal even though they are forged..which in turn means there is no advantage between forged and unforged).

to list a couple of great wheelmakers that offer lightweight, forged wheels:

volk
centerline
weld racing
roja

As for weight of a wheel, for every pound at your wheels is the equivalent to about 4lbs in you car. It will also matter how far out the weight is on the wheel. If you go to tire rack you can find out the weight for most tires and for the wheels as well.

As for wheel size, or more actually overall diameter of the tire, the larger the size the slower your acceleration but the higher your top speed. The opposite for the smaller overall diameter is true.

well heres this for a comparo

running my 16x7.5 12lb ssrs at the track in street prep form, i usually trap mid 77's at the 1/8

when i put on 15 inch rota sub zeros 9.5lbs and dr's (nearly the same outer diameter as stock so its not a drastic gearing change) i trap mid 78's

or about a 1mph difference at the 1/8 wich is about 1.5 at the 1/4. or close to 2 tenths from the lighter smaller wheels alone(not counting the added traction)

they also help for autox by reducing unsprung weight.