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ever put a set of light-weight rims on a small car?

zCypher

zCypher

Diamond Member
I'm not sure how much steelies weigh, but definitely over 20lbs right, even for a 14 or 15" ?

Some after market rims I have seen weigh in as low as 9lbs at 15". I have heard that a significant weight reduction in the wheels can make a noticeable difference on a small car, I guess that makes sense.

Anyone ever go from steelies to light weight rims? any downsides? was the weight reduction also a hit on durability/sturdiness? was there a noticeable difference in the feeling/performance of your vehicle?

edit: it might sound like a stupid question, but i am curious to hear from first hand experience.
 
If you get a quality rim there will be no downsides..

Maybe the trouble of fitment with a wider rim or tire, other than that it should be ok

What you want to look at is the combined weight including the tire... steelies are not too heavy in general depending on application

Significant weight reduction will be noticeable on big cars too... if you want performance then this is something to do
 
BassBomb said:
If you get a quality rim there will be no downsides..

Maybe the trouble of fitment with a wider rim or tire, other than that it should be ok

What you want to look at is the combined weight including the tire... steelies are not too heavy in general depending on application

Significant weight reduction will be noticeable on big cars too... if you want performance then this is something to do
Click to expand...
Hey BassBomb, thanks for the input. I'm not a fan of wheels that rub. It definitely has to fit properly. It would make sense to me, that if you're driving a relatively low powered vehicle, putting light weight rims on it could be a good way to get more out of it without doing any mods that could have potential downsides later on, or spending too much.

Ever heard of a brand called "Kosei"? That's the one I saw @ 9lbs.
 
kosei is not bad, lots of people use them as lightweight alternative to enkei RPF1

check the weight of the tire you would put on it too, to really get an overall idea of weight savings
 
BassBomb said:
kosei is not bad, lots of people use them as lightweight alternative to enkei RPF1

check the weight of the tire you would put on it too, to really get an overall idea of weight savings
Click to expand...
Ah, cool. heh, I found on consumersearch.com that apparently the potenza re960as weights 21lbs... That sounds like a lot.. ?
 
I drove a miata with heavy 17" wheels and than the same car again with 16" SSRs and the difference was night and day. It handled better and it felt like it accelerated easier
 
Some tires weight much less than others. Wheels and any unsprung reprocating mass can have the affect of removing 10lbs off the vehicle for every 1lb on them.
 
I haven't done a swap, but I did drive a '96 Integra with light weight Enkei's (among other mods that were done by the prior owner) on them when I was in high school. It was a fun car!

I say go for it :thumbsup:
 
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saw various models of forged/racing wheels, around 11lbs, and pricey enough

so i guess these kosei at 9lbs are pretty good value at $119/wheel.

i gotta find a place in Canada though, every place i've googled so far always ends up being in the US.
 
i had a kosei k1 or t1 on my 200sx. great wheel.

i went with a slightly wider then stock tire. that gained like 2-4lbs, somewhat offset everything.

still great light wheel tho, nothing wrong with kosei, actually its a GREAT budget rim that a lot of people try to find.
 
grrr.. found one canadian company that had the k1, it was $189 instead of $119, so it turned out more expensive than shipping it from the US. oh well.
 
Got OZ Ultraleggera 18s on the E350 4matic and it does handle better. Just swapped out the winters this morning in fact. Running Yoko Envigor 245/40/18 as summer tires. We'll see how they handle. The tires are 28lb each though, compared to the (previous tire) Advan Sport's 23lb.
 
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OK here's a question - what is the point? What are you trying to accomplish?

If it is in theoretical better mpg - how long would it take to recoup the cost of the wheels in the first place?

If it is for performance - what kind of car is it? Hardly worth doing to a cavalier or civic for example (no, a civic is not a performance car).

If it is for looks - well, ok, just don't get some of those butt-ugly bling-bling ones that are out there. However, from the sound of it, since you're not looking at 20s or something stupid the odds of the ugly are much lower...
 
SparkyJJO said:
OK here's a question - what is the point? What are you trying to accomplish?

If it is in theoretical better mpg - how long would it take to recoup the cost of the wheels in the first place?

If it is for performance - what kind of car is it? Hardly worth doing to a cavalier or civic for example (no, a civic is not a performance car).

If it is for looks - well, ok, just don't get some of those butt-ugly bling-bling ones that are out there. However, from the sound of it, since you're not looking at 20s or something stupid the odds of the ugly are much lower...
Click to expand...

Useful if you auto-x, whatever the car might be
 
Wow the new LT tires on my Expedition weigh 50lbs a piece 😵. Not sure what the stock wheels weigh, but I admire you guy's lighter weights. General Grabber HTS LT for the win! 🙂
 
I have an Integra that I put 15 inch Konig Heliums on(10.6 lbs each), I can't honestly say that I saw much of a difference in acceleration going from the stock 14 inch wheels to the 15's. I would think that the difference would be very nominal at best.

I was able to see a noticable difference in performance though, but it was because I put sticky tires on the car instead of running all seasons on it.

Prior to putting the Heliums on I was seeing around 33 mpg, going to a larger rim and wider tire, I started seeing around 32 mpg which is nothing that is really that noticable.

I have rode in a 240sx that had lightweight 17's and the owner swapped on the 15's for a drifting event and the difference was so noticable I wondered why anyone would ever put something larger than a 15 on a small car.
 
The lighter the better. The statement of 10lbs of body weight for 1lb of unsprung has been around for ages, I'd for the most part agree with it. I've never had a bad experience dropping unsprung weight.
 
zCypher said:
Ah, cool. heh, I found on consumersearch.com that apparently the potenza re960as weights 21lbs... That sounds like a lot.. ?
Click to expand...

I really don't think they weigh that much... I remember carrying them to the tire shop and they were pretty light. But I could be misremembering.
 
I mean to say also include the lightest in each...this way you can see the weight affect on top of the size affect.
 
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