Light wheels effect on ride?

I am looking at picking up some Volks racing wheels from here on the board to replace my OEMs on my 2005 GT Wagon. It looks like close to a 10 lb drop in weight at each corner of the car. How would that affect the ride and handling? I switched to JDM GT Bilsteins and wagon springs from Unclemat already, and love the improved ride. I am looking to improve the ride and handling as my "daily driver".

 

Also, any thoughts as to the durability of the Volks forged vs. the OEMs?

 

Dave

Volks are strong and light (obviously) and are pretty-much the most sought-after Japanese wheels out there...

 

you will have faster acceleration, quicker steering response, and better braking (I believe).

 

There is really no downside, but they aren't invincible. If you smash a curb or fall into a huge pothole, they'll break or warp like any other wheel...

I doubt you'll notive much of a difference, personally. I went from some heavy (22 lbs ea) Sport Edition wheels to some forged Prodrive GC-07Cs (16 lb ea?) on my old GF8/STi Ver. 3 swap and couldn't tell any difference between the two.

 

Your butt dyno might be a tad more sensitive than mine, however.

- faster acceleration

- much smoother over bumps

- less work on the suspension

- better braking

- easier to swap

 

make sure to get good tires with them

Are you sure about 10 lbs drop in weight in each corner? The OEM wheels are ~20 lbs so unless those Volks are 10 lbs each...

Anyway, I got a set of Kosei K-1 TS, which weights 15.5 lbs each, and I can definitely tell the small improvement they made. As for ride quality, I also got new tires and they ride much better than the RE92 but it's not an apple to apple comparison with just wheel changes.

Technically ride will improve, not a noticeable amount though.

 

I lost 10 lbs per side with my BBK and it is not very noticeable, there, but not a big difference.

my current ASA rims i found out are almost 24 lbs each! once i get the BBS rims on the car next month, should definitely drop some weight. as for ride quality, i doubt you'll feel a whole lot of difference in every day driving. however, at the track, you probably will.

The car should feel more light on it's feet...

This is coming from my experience with 18X8 15lbers...

stockers are only 20 lbs?

stockers are only 20 lbs?

 

 

I believe so. Mine where if I remember correctly 42 lbs total.

 

20 for wheels, 22 for OEM rubber bands with sidewall.

Not bad!

Stockers aren't bad for weight. You MIGHT feel that the car absorbs bumps better. The acceleration and braking difference...

 

Temperature will affect those more

They will change your life

 

I defy anyone to detect a difference in wheel weight in a double blind test.

On this car, or my other one

I defy anyone to detect a difference in wheel weight in a double blind test.

 

Well, I took off 4.5 lbs per wheel and 3 lbs per tire so that's 7.5 lbs per corner and 30 lbs total. The rule of thumb that I have read says taking 1 lb off rotational mass is roughly equal to 4 lbs of static weight. You bet I can feel the difference between driving by myself vs with a 120 lb blonde sitting next to me.

So at this point you'll lose no performanace after adding a golden-haired... retriever?

 

I have been meaning to lookup the math that would explain how must horsepower it took to make those 30 lost pounds to accelerate (rotationally and linearler) to 60 mph.

The 1 lb to 4 lb is completely wrong. It is VERY dependent on where the weight came from (rim or tire)

 

Every time I see that number it goes up. generally, it is about 1 lb equals about 1.5 if your tire is exactly the same weight and size, and the rim looses weight. If you drop weight on tires you can get more...

 

I can calculate 0-60 times w/ changes in rim/tire weight if you want...

 

Ted

I'd love to see the math on that, especially if you plan to figure it in terms that generalize to 'how much power does it take to accelerate a cylinder of these dimensions to this RPM in this time.'

 

There's guys on NASIOC claiming noticeable gains from lighter driveshafts and my intution says that's gotta be from placebo effect.

The 1 lb to 4 lb is completely wrong. It is VERY dependent on where the weight came from (rim or tire)

 

Every time I see that number it goes up. generally, it is about 1 lb equals about 1.5 if your tire is exactly the same weight and size, and the rim looses weight. If you drop weight on tires you can get more...

 

I can calculate 0-60 times w/ changes in rim/tire weight if you want...

 

Ted

 

OK how about this:

 

2-piece rotor weighs 5 less then OEM, mostly weight from the center. My 0-60 will be how much faster now? 0.0004 sec?

 

and

 

Same size tire, but from 22 down to 21.5 lbs and 17 inch wheel that weighs 3 lbs less then OEM (20 down to 17)?

I have some firsthand experience, I just swapped out stock for SSR Comp's with Toyo 215/45/17's; lost 9.5 lbs per corner. Not as big of a difference as I was hoping for. Main improvement I've noticed is that the car handles bumps/bad pavement better. Less drama, bumps don't upset the balance as much. Brakes seem to bite a bit better but not a lot. I also have JDM GT Bilstein setup, IPD sways and cusco lower braces front/rear. They've only been on the car 2 days and I haven't done any spirited launches or very aggressive driving. Grip is improved but that's obviously mostly due to the tires.