Wheels = Performance or Looks?

[NuEra]

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

[strodda]

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.

[HONDA_99]

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.

[NuEra]

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?

[strodda]

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????

[NuEra]

Heliums.

[BluStori]

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*)

[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

[NuEra]

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).

[strodda]

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

[MattyO217]

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

[HONDA_99]

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.

[NuEra]

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?

[HONDA_99]

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_p...ght%20Wheel%29

[NuEra]

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?