Effects of Wheel Size/Weight on Performance

[crossbow]

Articles

Size Matters
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~greghess/sizematters.pdf

Finding Free Power
http://www.nerocam.com/SCC_TAPnew.asp

Bicycles and Unsprung Weight
http://www.softride.com/bike/cornering.pdf

Fixing the 350Z: Why Lawyers Want Everyone to Run Staggered Setups
http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/projectcars/0404scc_350z/

Picking the Right Wheels For You
http://www.grmotorsports.com/wheels.html

Big Wheels, Big Trouble?
http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/15/pf/autos/w...day_big_wheels/ (http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/15/pf/autos/wednesday_big_wheels/)

Wheel Weights Can Effect Your Vehicles Show and Go
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/road_wheel_weights.jsp

The Danger of Dubs
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Featu...rticleId=104526 (http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=104526)

Automobile Ride, Handling, and Suspension Design
http://www.rqriley.com/suspensn.htm


Threads

How much does wheel weight really matter?
http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthrea...rung+and+weight (http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=7019&highlight=unsprung+and+weight)

Are 18" wheels and tires bling bling or a performance advantage?
http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthrea...heel+and+weight (http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=3661&highlight=wheel+and+weight)

How much will 17" wheels slow you down
http://www.sccaforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/7/303?

Effect of Lighter Wheels?
http://www.sccaforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/7/301?

Bigger Wheels and Tires?
http://www.sccaforums.com/ubb/ultimatebb.p...ic/7/863#000004 (http://www.sccaforums.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/7/863#000004)

Rotational Advice
http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?...=3;t=002795;p=1 (http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=002795;p=1)

If larger wheels are bad...why do sports cars have them?...
http://forum.miata.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb....ic;f=3;t=005169 (http://forum.miata.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=005169)

Wheel Weight, Who Cares?
http://forum.miata.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb....ic;f=3;t=007412 (http://forum.miata.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=007412)

1 Lb of unsprung weight =?? Static weight
http://forum.miata.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb....f=3;t=006390;p= (http://forum.miata.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=006390;p=)

Wheel Weights....Can They Make a Difference?
http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?...t=010655#000000 (http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=010655#000000)

33.5 lbs/Corner Too Heavy??
http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?...t=010570#000002 (http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=010570#000002)

Don't Small Wheels Mean Heavier Tires?
http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?...t=010479#000009 (http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=010479#000009)

Whats With Huge Wheels?
http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?...t=010436#000002 (http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=010436#000002)

18" Wheels too big? Take a Look!
http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?...t=008412#000031 (http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=008412#000031)

I'm Finally Completely Convinced About Lighter Wheels and Tires
http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?...t=010379#000000 (http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=010379#000000)

Do Wider Tires REALLY Provide More Traction?
http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?...t=010206#000034 (http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=010206#000034)

Unsprung Weight 101
http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?...t=010206#000034 (http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=010206#000034)

Unsprung Weight Effects Performance?
http://forum.miata.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb....ic;f=3;t=008986 (http://forum.miata.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=008986)

WO! The Joy of Lightweight Wheels!!!!
http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?...t=010108#000033 (http://forum.miata.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=010108#000033)

0-60 simplified wheel physics and garfield's wheel test
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?...3730#post279748 (http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=279748&t=3730#post279748)

Spreadsheet blows lid off lightweight wheel debate!!!
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14738

Lightweight Wheels
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?...unsprung+weight (http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58149&page=1&highlight=unsprung+weight)

In Defense of 17's
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?...unsprung+weight (http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10982&page=1&highlight=unsprung+weight)

16 or 17 Inch Wheels?
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?...ht=wheel+weight (http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63449&page=1&highlight=wheel+weight)

18 or 19 Inch Wheels?
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?...ht=wheel+weight (http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81973&page=1&highlight=wheel+weight)

Effects of Wheel Size on Acceleration (TimeSlips)
http://forum.mazda6tech.com/viewtopic.php?t=1762&start=0

6tech Article
http://www.mazda6tech.com/index.php?option...id=16&Itemid=32 (http://www.mazda6tech.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=32)

Wheel Weight and Performance
http://forum.mazda6tech.com/viewtopic.php?...der=asc&start=0 (http://forum.mazda6tech.com/viewtopic.php?t=563&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0)

Some Wheel Weight Sites
http://www.wheelweights.net (http://www.wheelweights.net/)
http://www.wheelspecs.com (http://www.wheelspecs.com/)
http://www.miata.net/garage/garagetires.html

I will continue to update these links as more are found or added.

[seanmcsean]

once again, excellent work man (cool)

[JCell]

awsome find (2thumbs)

[Mikey444]

good stuff.

[madmerv]

If they would let me, I'd go back to the 14x6's on my Spec Miata at 8.5 lbs with 205/55-14's in a minute. The car has always felt like a dawg with these 15x7, 13+ lbs, and 205-50's....and not nearly as much fun!

[JCell]

all the power that i gained with the cai, exhaust, and udp was lost once i got the 18's, the car handles as if it was stock, even though its far from it

[Da 6]

True. Going from factory 16's to factory 17's was noticable in a straight line and cornering. 90 degree turns usualy would cause me to spin the 16's at the start but the 17's break loose almost twards the end of the turn.

[FX-MAN]

I posted this in another thread, but for any non-believers.. here are the physics behind this.

The torque equasion refers to how much force you can apply due to your current leverage (a wrench on a nut, and the length of the wrench is linearly important to how much force you can put on the nut), Don't confuse this leverage as the same concept as loss of torque due to mass being on the outer edge.. torque is spinning that edge (the edge is not what is generating torque).... it's a very different equasion when you are talking leverage radius for a force applied to spin an Axis point (what the engine is doing), VS something being spun around an Axis at a radius causing a loss in Intertia.

what we are talking about here is the loss in Inertia due to radius while taking into account an object's Mass. You need to use the "moment of inertia" equasion for a hoop or solid cyllinder rotating about it's diameter. In this equasion Inertia=1/2Mass*Radius^2 (radius squared).. this is what causes the loss in torque due to mass being pushed farther out. The radius of the wheel is twice as important as 1/2 the mass, which is why the same weight wheel if it's larger will take more torque to generate the inertia. Using this equasion you can calculate how much lighter a wheel would HAVE to be to maintain the same inertia with the same torque applied at the hub.

lets say I have a 20lb 17inch wheel, and I want an 18" wheel that won't cost me torque (and lets say the weight distribution along the radius of those 2 wheels is the same.. although it won't be exact, this is still ROUGHLY close).... so 1/2N*18"^2 = 10*17"^2
N=17.83

So to maintain the same amount of torque on the road, I need a 17.83lb 18" rim to replace my 20lb 17inchers (or my 26.6lb 15" wheels)

now, you start talking something like 12lb 14" Motegi RT5s? VS an 18" rim?
You would need 7.25lb 18s to match torque on the road.... LOL

[AWD6]

wow, man you are awesome for putting all that stuff together for everyone. you truely care about others...(drinks)

[Snafu]

Nice write up. Too bad the miata links are dead.

[blkspdfreak]

that nissan sentra page is retarded, i understand why u put it up, but there is no chance in hell i would totally dismantle an "alright" nissan sentra just to gain 2 sec off the quarter. i would of deff taken the "ass whoopin" from the other guy.

[MShreve]

that nissan sentra page is retarded, i understand why u put it up, but there is no chance in hell i would totally dismantle an "alright" nissan sentra just to gain 2 sec off the quarter. i would of deff taken the "ass whoopin" from the other guy.

That's one of my favorites! I remember reading that a few years ago and having a good laugh.

[iemdien090]

Up up,i'll come back soon, "THANK" for usefultopic, Love u all :-)
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