Wheels = Performance or Looks?

Do wheels offer any performance value, or are they strickly for show. If so, how do they, please explain.

both.
aftermarket rims can be lighter and wider than stock steels. therefore decreasing weight and allowing for wider tires which give greater handling. and yes, most importantly they look sweet as hell.

light weight rims in general are expensive, and if you are going to up size rims most likely performance will go down, due to heaver tires (low profile tire heaver then regular ones) and rotating mass moved further away from center of rotation. but handling characteristics will be improvered greatly.

strodda, are you saying I should get wider wheels than my stock? Will thay fit? Also, HONDA_99, the wheels I'm looking at are 17" and weigh only ten pounds a piece, do you think this is ok?

well, no matter what rims you get, highperformance tires will of course give you better handling. but like honda said, depending on what rims and tires you get, they can be lighter or heavier.

what i wanna know is, what is this 17" rim that weights 10lbs????

Heliums.

If ur a really good artist u can somehow try to mold some materials into the shape rims u like with aluminum foil. Light as a feather...
lol(sracasm*):D

Lightweight wheels can also:

make things easier on your suspension components and axles
increase ride quality
give you better traction (holds wheel to road more easily)
decrease your stopping distance
decrease acceleration time


~M

Originally posted by MattyO217
Lightweight wheels can also:

make things easier on your suspension components and axles
increase ride quality
give you better traction (holds wheel to road more easily)
decrease your stopping distance
decrease acceleration time


~M

Is there any power gain if the wheels are lighter than stock? Also, even though this is off topic, I noticed your profile on the side said you had an EB, is this your vehicle code? I wanted to know mine (98' civic 2d EX).

you dont gain hp by getting lighter wheels, but it takes less power to turn them

Strodda's right depending where you measure it from. If you are measuring hp at the wheels, then yes, lighter wheels give you more. If measuring from the crank, then no, they don't. But in the real world I say they do.
As far as acceleration goes, some people say that each lb of unsprung weight (i.e. your wheels) is equivalent to as much as 10 lbs on the car. But others say somewhere around 2 lbs or less. When it comes down to it though, if you have a choice between a couple wheels and there's only a few (i.e. 3) lbs difference, don't worry about it. Get the ones you like/can afford best!

L8ter
~M
:bandit:
BTW - EB is for Electron Blue
check digits 4-6 (from the left) in your VIN # to find your code
EJ8 is my guess

FYI
every pound of rotating mass equals to 2.7hp.

Originally posted by NuEra
Heliums.

you mean KONIG HELIUM?

15" KONIG HELIUM weight 11.34lbs, i'm not sure about 17" KONIG HELIUM but they probably weight 16-17lbs.

Originally posted by HONDA_99
FYI
every pound of rotating mass equals to 2.7hp.



you mean KONIG HELIUM?

15" KONIG HELIUM weight 11.34lbs, i'm not sure about 17" KONIG HELIUM but they probably weight 16-17lbs.

On either tirerack or discout tire they list the weight as 10. something pounds. On Konigs site they have 10 too, is there something lighter? I was thinking of gram lights. Also, what size is best recomended for performance purposes?

I just cheched konigwheels.com, and it looks like Helium Silver comes as 15x6.5 only, they do weight 10.8 lbs.

http://www.konigwheels.com/catalog_product_details.cfm?CategoryID=1&ss_id=137&ss_categoryName=Helium%20Silver%20%28Ultra%20Light %20Weight%20Wheel%29

I'm lookin at 17" dark bronze on a wheel site but they dont have a weight listed. Theyre just what I want, I'm pretty much sure I'm gettin them no-matter the weight now, what about the size?

if Konig did not listed 17" Helium's on their website, they might do not make them. you might want to e-mail/call Konig and ask if they make 17" Helium.

if you're gonna go with 17" rims most likely acceleration will go down, but if you decide to go with 15" rims it will go up.

Acceleration will go down but top speed will go up, correct?

if overall diameter remain same as stock tire (or very close), top speed will be same.

I think that most people who buy rims are first looking at the cosmetic advantage. Those that buy them with performance as their sole or first objective are in the minority. I think that 17's are the best for looks and performance. Personally, I don't like anything bigger on a Civic. Sixteens would be my second choice, being lighter, looking good, and less $. Go with 15's if you want the most performance and best ride comfort. But even different tires (brands and models -- research them carefully) of the same size will also affect ride quality. Your choice of tires will also affect many other very important characteristics.

Hope this helps
~M
:alien:

uuuuggghhh, OK, so you cant have it both ways. You cant have looks and performance. Cause all I see is cars with big rims which means they dont care about performance. That just seems so funny to me that they would have a MSD ignition and 17" wheels, that completly makes no sense. Your trying to get all the power you can with the smallest factors but you forget wheels which can do so much. I guess I'm in the minority so if I stick to stock size rims with lighter wheels I should get better performance, right?

One more question; why do wheel and tire sites say that larger wheels enhance the looks and performance of your vehicle, such as Discount Tire Direct. Is it a lie?

Originally posted by NuEra
Is it a lie?

No, they don't lie, they're just telling you half truth.
bigger rims will improve handling perfomance of car, due to smaller side wall of tires.

there is plenty wheels which can improve acceleration, but you have pay a lot of money for them, and Konig isn't one of them.

Originally posted by HONDA_99


No, they don't lie, they're just telling you half truth.
bigger rims will improve handling perfomance of car, due to smaller side wall of tires.

there is plenty wheels which can improve acceleration, but you have pay a lot of money for them, and Konig isn't one of them.


Are you talking about SPOON's wheels or RAY's Gram Lights? Whats the difference, if they weigh the same and have the same offset? I really want those Heliums, which are about 10 pounds. If I get them in a fifteen inch size do you think this will improve acceleration? Also, what about the weight of the tire? If the weight of a 17" with a small tire is equal to the weight of 15" with a large tire, which is better? You have to understand, I'm trying to get a little of both worlds, performance and looks. But if thats impossible, I'll take the performance. So lemme get this straight, big wheels= better handling, reduced acceleration. small wheels= better acceleration, basic handling. This is a big decision for me so please keep coming with information and advice, Thank you.

Originally posted by NuEra
Are you talking about SPOON's wheels or RAY's Gram Lights? Whats the difference, if they weigh the same and have the same offset?no, there are other companies i just don't remeber their names.
offset doesn't play any role in weight of rims.

Originally posted by NuEra I really want those Heliums, which are about 10 pounds. If I get them in a fifteen inch size do you think this will improve acceleration? Also, what about the weight of the tire?
15" tires weight about 17-19lbs, and they heaver that 14" by 1-2lbs, but overall wheel weight will be reduced, because your stock rim weight about 18lbs.

Originally posted by NuEra
If the weight of a 17" with a small tire is equal to the weight of 15" with a large tire, which is better? You have to understand, I'm trying to get a little of both worlds, performance and looks. But if thats impossible, I'll take the performance. So lemme get this straight, big wheels= better handling, reduced acceleration. small wheels= better acceleration, basic handling. This is a big decision for me so please keep coming with information and advice, Thank you.

i'll give you my example;
my stock 15" rims were 18lbs and tires were 17lbs, so overall weight was 35lbs.
then i bought 17" OZ Racing Superleggera rims and they're 15lbs, i thought great i reduced weight by 3lbs. but when put them on my car felt little slower, and decide to find weight of tires, i went Dunlop web site and see tires that i have weight 23lbs. so i actualy gain 3lbs at each corner. and that came to 5.4hp lost, i'm even talking about weight been moved away from center of rotation, i don't how to calulate power lost due to to that.

so if you want to catch both worlds try to get rims that weight less that stock ones.

here is link to Bridgestone Potenza RE92 tires spec, find tire size that you have than tire that you want and compare weights, there isn't much defference in tire weights between tire companies.

http://www.bridgestonetire.com/dpp/sizespecs.asp?passproductid=8