Unsprung weight must go

Well I just threw my 17" volks on the car, had the 15" stockers on there before… and what a huge difference the heavier 17" volks made in acceleration. Huge difference (in a bad way).

So now I’m thinking of going with something lighter, and maybe down to 16" rather than 17". My current wheels weigh roughly 20 lbs each. Any suggestions for lightweight wheels that would have a decent width (8" width minimum for rear, 7" minimum for front) and of course an offset that doesn’t look retarded.

I’m thinking about buddy clubs, not sure though… thoughts?

Gram Lights are great… a little on the expensive side but they are very light. Maybe you can outsource some from Japan cheaply.

Unless your on a track i bet you did not notice unsprung weight. You probably have an extra 5 pounds at the most per corner and to anyone i know that will not be noticeale

you probably noticed a bigger tire. If you ran decent 19’s with a smaller tire than your 17’s they would feel quicker.

basicly what size tire are you running on your 17’s

on the rears i’m running 235/45/17, which works out to 21.46" overall diameter.

what was on there before was 205/60/15 which is a 19.84" overall diameter…

so are you saying that little extra diameter is the reason more than the actual weight of the setup? if thats true… i’ll could go with lower profile tires… :S

ya just get them down to 40 and you should be just bout the same

yup 235/40’s are perfect.

Forsure the extra tire circumference. You and I have Volk GTP’s(mine are 16’s) those are nice rims, mine are pretty light.

ok thanks for the info guys, i may switch to lower profile this season.

well on the back is not soooo bad cause you have travel but the front doesnt have much… so try to get at least the fronts

Your math is waaaay off. (you probably forgot to multiply the sidewall times 2).

235/45-17 is 25.3"

205/60-15 is 24.7"

^^ hahah you’re right… i did forget to x2 the sidewall :oops:

Enkie RPF1s
Rota Slipstreams
Konig Heliums

That’s my short list for lightweight wheels. You can actually find a wheel weight list on my website if you’re interested.

http://speedwayperformance.org/forums/index.php/topic,72.0.html

It’s a little bit dated. I am actually working on adding new information all the time and I will likely be converting it to a PDF some time in the near future so it’s a little easier to read. There will be a excel version of the list released the same time my PDF are up. Information I have listed includes size and weight, how they were built ECT. The new version actually has information on offset and bolt pattern for nearly everything. I would personally recommend getting a second set of wheels and tires for track use. For that set you might even be able to find a lightweight set of factory wheels off something and use them for your track setup.

Running a smaller rim (diameter) will help you save weight, but you should also consider what you’re planning to use the car for with your new tire / rubber combo. Thinner side wall tires generally heat up faster and run more consistent lap times then setups that use larger sidewalls. But the lightweight of the smaller rim usually allows for the faster overall times, even if those times are far less consistent.

For Drifting I would recommend a larger wheel with smaller sidewall because you want the tires to achieve operating temp as soon as possible. Allowing for max traction. The only real downside being that your tires will only last 15 minutes and in general lower profile tires are more expensive. Drifting is also and objective sport, and while choices about who wins should be made only on how the car was controlled. You want to look as good as possible doing it, most cars look far more aggressive with large wheels and thin wide ass tires.

For autocross and solo1 it’s a 2 edged sword while running the lowest unstrung weight could help you run FTOD. But running a slightly taller sidewall might allow you to run more consistent times and actually allow you to develop faster as a driver. With a setup that can run a more consistent you can more easily see that the changes you make driving reflected in your run times.

For road racing I would recommend small wheels because the driver and car setups are usually better developed and information is better recorded. Larger side walled tires are better able to cope with heat spikes and other racing related issues.

BuddyClub P1
Desmond RegaMaster EVO

Desmond RegaMasters are basically the same design as a Slipstream but cost the same for one wheels as a full set of slipstreams. Both a knock offs of the origional Spoon SW88s. While the quality of the Desmond wheels may be higher. The wieght savings of a pound are not nearly worth the price IMO. I have seen failures of some rota products, including the autoX and GT3 wheels, but never on a slipstream.

Volk CE28N. they make a 16X8 and 16X9 special order only. i think they were 12 and 13 lbs respectively. 17X9 CE28N’s are 14.8 lbs, compared to 17X7.5 Gramlights 57S which are 17.5 lbs (which are lighter than the 57C btw) . price point though is crazy. $530 and $550 US for the CE28N in the 16’s, and $310CAD for the 57S.

I know i even hate to say this but 17x10 5Zigsn’s are stupid light

And even More if you spent the coin for the FN01R’s not the FN01RC’s

i would have no problem running 5zigens, i don’t care if parts are overly common or not. if they have good reputation for quality i’m in.