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LIGHTWEIGHT Wheels

GTIfan99

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
Another reason it's hard to feel a reduction in wheel weight is the weight distribution of a wheel/tire package. The closer the weight is to the axis of rotation, the less you'll notice it as far acceleration goes.

To demonstrate this, put 5lbs weight on the ends of a 6ft broom pole. Now spin it like a baton. Now remove those and put two 7 lbs weights close on either side of your hand. Now again spin in. It's going to be far easier to spin, but heavier to hold out in front of you to spin. You've gained 4lbs, but it's far easier to spin and accelerate.

So while lower unsprung weight is beneficial, you may not always feel it accelerating, depending on where the weight was removed, hub area and spokes of wheel, and where you added weight, wider, stiffer sidewall tire. You could save weight overall on your combo, but it feel no different or even slower accelerating, especially if you added weight at the tire.

Add in the level of lateral wheel stiffness needed for your application and proper barrel width for your tires, etc... weight isn't the end all spec that we sometimes make it out to be.

Just something to think about.
 
jimlloyd40

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
GTIfan99 said:
Another reason it's hard to feel a reduction in wheel weight is the weight distribution of a wheel/tire package. The closer the weight is to the axis of rotation, the less you'll notice it as far acceleration goes.

To demonstrate this, put 5lbs weight on the ends of a 6ft broom pole. Now spin it like a baton. Now remove those and put two 7 lbs weights close on either side of your hand. Now again spin in. It's going to be far easier to spin, but heavier to hold out in front of you to spin. You've gained 4lbs, but it's far easier to spin and accelerate.

So while lower unsprung weight is beneficial, you may not always feel it accelerating, depending on where the weight was removed, hub area and spokes of wheel, and where you added weight, wider, stiffer sidewall tire. You could save weight overall on your combo, but it feel no different or even slower accelerating, especially if you added weight at the tire.

Add in the level of lateral wheel stiffness needed for your application and proper barrel width for your tires, etc... weight isn't the end all spec that we sometimes make it out to be.

Just something to think about.
Click to expand...

Right now I'm figuring out where I'm going to get those weights.
 
D

Dirty.gti

New member
Location
Xray2017!!
Car(s)
Gti

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Mike79

Mike79

New member
Location
Knoxville, TN
Car(s)
2020 VW Golf GTI
I noted the debate on feeling the difference with lighter wheels, and the focus being on acceleration. I think you would feel the difference only over bumps, most especially around turns. (And I think you would extend the life of your shock absorbers and control arms very slightly because they would not be handling the weight of the heavier wheel on rebounds.) Likely, your tire would contact the pavement slightly more so you would gain some confidence around turns on uneven pavement. As a good (extreme) example, imagine putting 500 pound wheels on each corner. When that much weight moves up and down, it takes a lot of reinforcement to control it. So I think the most you would note is slight gained confidence over bumps, particularly around turns. I imagine acceleration difference would be hard to feel unless you were driving a very lightweight Miata or Lotus, for example.
 
Mike79

Mike79

New member
Location
Knoxville, TN
Car(s)
2020 VW Golf GTI
I wanted to ask you all about the new Moda MD27 19x8 wheel on TireRack. It weighs 23 pounds which is light for a 19 incher, and looks a lot like the Pretoria which at 19 inches allegedly weighs 21 pounds. The price difference is almost $2,000 for a set of 4 and I am kind of poor so I want to get the Moda MD27. (I love the way the Pretorias look.) No one has ever used the new Moda MD27. Two pounds per wheel is not worth $2,000 for me but obviously there might be other strength and finish considerations. (I just bought a new GTI and think it needs lowered a little and the wheels need changed. Other than that, I wouldn't change anything. So I was looking into the VMR springs with Pretoria-like 19 inch wheels.)
 
Mike79

Mike79

New member
Location
Knoxville, TN
Car(s)
2020 VW Golf GTI
No you would not have noticed acceleration differences from 6 pounds per wheel. Not even a chance... That’s like saying you put a bowling ball in the passenger seat and could feel it. The inertia related to rotating mass is irrelevant if said rotating mass is connected to the earth at its outermost rotation point, as in a car tire. Therefore the only difference would be weight of the car: the entire mass. (If you were popping a wheelie, yes, you’d notice more rapid rotational acceleration by maybe 10%.)

Actually, the shock “theory“ wasn’t a theory. More weight requires more reinforcement OR increased wear. (The car does not move relative to the wheel movements so that point was irrelevant.)
 
E

El_bigote_AJ

Autocross Champion
Location
Las Vegas
Car(s)
2019 GTI bunny
Mike79 said:
No you would not have noticed acceleration differences from 6 pounds per wheel. Not even a chance... That’s like saying you put a bowling ball in the passenger seat and could feel it. The inertia related to rotating mass is irrelevant if said rotating mass is connected to the earth at its outermost rotation point, as in a car tire. Therefore the only difference would be weight of the car: the entire mass. (If you were popping a wheelie, yes, you’d notice more rapid rotational acceleration by maybe 10%.)

Actually, the shock “theory“ wasn’t a theory. More weight requires more reinforcement OR increased wear. (The car does not move relative to the wheel movements so that point was irrelevant.)
Click to expand...
Okay.

I had a cold brew coffee this morning and got some jitters from it, could you advise if that was a normal reaction for me or do you think I have a caffeine sensitivity?

you know based on how “ I” felt and reacted to it?
 
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