Effects of Wheel Size & Weight on Performance

crossbow · Feb 3, 2005

genericuser · Feb 3, 2005

once again, excellent work man (cool)

JCell · Feb 3, 2005

awsome find (2thumbs)

Mikey444 · Feb 4, 2005

good stuff.

madmerv · Feb 4, 2005

big wheels/little wheels

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 · Feb 4, 2005

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 · Sep 21, 2005

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 · Dec 10, 2005

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 · May 23, 2006

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

Snafu · Mar 9, 2007

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

blkspdfreak · Mar 9, 2007

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 · Apr 14, 2009

blkspdfreak said:
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 · Sep 8, 2009

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

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Kiseliok · Apr 24, 2011

http://www.insideline.com/features/the-danger-of-dubs.html

This article was relocated.

KrGsMrNKusinagi · Apr 24, 2011

Effects of Upsized Wheels and Tires Tested - Tech Dept.

This is actual testing and evidence done with proof of how you can increase your Gs on the skidpad but lose MPG and MPH performance with increased wheel weight. The test ranges from a 40lb setup all the way up to 54lbs

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10q1/effects_of_upsized_wheels_and_tires_tested-tech_dept

Effects of Wheel Size & Weight on Performance

crossbow

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genericuser

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JCell

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Mikey444

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madmerv

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JCell

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Da 6

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FX-MAN

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AWD6

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iemdien090

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