Noticeability of wheel weights

I'm currently looking at rse10s and v710s in 18x8.5 (pretty common wheels i know) and I was curious if anybody has run both and felt a noticeable difference from the lighter weight rse10s. Aesthetics-wise I prefer the look of the gunmetal on the 710s, but if the handling was just that much better on the rse10s I'd lean that way.

Of course, lighter wheels (and tires) have advantages

Faster acceleration (less weight to spin when getting going)
Easier on the brakes (less weight to stop moving)
And better handling (again, less weight to throw around for the suspension)


You don't see guys Auto X-ing with 20" heavy chrome wheels, do ya? lol

I think its fairly noticeable...I run the same size wheels and tires between summer and winter, with the winter set being on heavy factory Audi wheels(25+lb) vs summer wheels on OZs (18lb) and the sluggish feel on the winter set is extremely noticeable...

From a handling perspective, it used to be widely figured that a pound of un-sprung weight was worth about 8 pounds sprung weight. So, adding 5lbs per corner would be like having a passenger with you, which shouldn't hurt too much. TBH, I don't think the sprung to unsprung comparison is really valid, but more importantly, I think the affect of the added rotational mass is more significant to braking than it is to handling. As long as you don't go too crazy with the weight, I doubt you'd notice much in daily driving.

yeah its mostly the rotational inertia you are going to notice with the wheels....

You're going to notice going from Austins to RSE10s. It's a significant weight savings. I'd say just make sure to do it right with upgraded tires too while you're at it.

I just went from the austins and stock tires to the rse10's w/ Michelin PSS tires and it transformed the car in every aspect.

So I'm guessing the change from Austin to v710 isn't as drastically noticeable?

stdong said:

I just went from the austins and stock tires to the rse10's w/ Michelin PSS tires and it transformed the car in every aspect.

Click to expand...

But unfortunately for the OP, you can't ascribe the perceived performance gains solely to the wheels, so your observation doesn't help the OP.

Still not sure why VMR never came out with the 710FF in an 18...or why Neuspeed chose satin over gloss and vice versa depending on the wheel.


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Haha that's my exact problem... there's something about the gunmetal on the rse10 that makes it look a little too aftermarket.

Lets not forget about rigidity when we're talking about weights. When we're just dealing with Stock Austins, VMR V710s, and Rse10s, lets say strength/rigidity will be similar. Theres a chance the RSE10s might not be as rigid as a heavier wheel, because you have to lose weight somewhere, but to that same point the VMRs could be less rigid than the Neuspeeds just because they aren't built with that purpose in mind, or not manufactured as well. Bottom line is lightest is not always best, especially in the world of low cost cast/flow formed wheels.

The Neuspeeds lighter weight is definitely the best choice if you're looking to improve handling, acceleration, and feel without sacrificing.

Here is my favorite test by Enkei, same wheel but one is built for strength/rigidity (OTS wheel), the other is built for outright lightweight. 4lbs different per wheel, but the heavier, more rigid wheel performed better on the track (and held up better, but I don't think you can use that information because I don't think the lightweight wheel would pass VIA/JWL with the mods they performed):

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=479110

1 kg / 2 lbs per wheel incl. tire is barely noticeable, while 3 kg / 6 lbs per wheel incl. tire is clearly noticeable.