So I got great deal on some ADR Intense 18x7.5 Wheels ($400). After I bought them then put them on I asked ADR what the weight was per wheel and they told me 27lbs.

That seems like a lot to me, is it for 18x7.5 wheels?

Damn. Factory 17" weighs 21.75 pounds. That is pretty heavy.

 

Damn. Factory 17" weighs 21.75 pounds. That is pretty heavy.

~5lbs for one inch in diameter and width...all things being equal they are probably about as heavy as stock

 

I have 17x7" RS Limited Concept Pro wheels (same company as ADR) and they are ~17lbs.

 

That's freakin' heavy! My 18x7.5" Verdicts weighed 23.25 lbs.

Word. That's exactly what my cheapie 18x7.5 Exel wheels weigh.

Anyway, hell yeah that's heavy.

 

my 17x8.5" Volks weigh under 14 pounds. So yeah, those are heavy

 

My 17x7" Integrals weigh aprx. 17 lbs.

my 17x8.5" Volks weigh under 14 pounds. So yeah, those are heavy

Forged, lightweight performance rims are outside the scope of this discussion

 

yeah, my 18x7.5 volks weigh like 16-17lbs so those are pretty heavy

 

yeah, my 18x7.5 volks weigh like 16-17lbs so those are pretty heavy

Like kabob said, you can't compare rims that are performance-oriented with rims that are just for show.

 

So I got great deal on some ADR Intense 18x7.5 Wheels ($400). After I bought them then put them on I asked ADR what the weight was per wheel and they told me 27lbs.

That seems like a lot to me, is it for 18x7.5 wheels?

For 18-inch wheels, that is not particularily heavy. That is not a performance-oriented wheel weight though.

Try to keep your wheels under 20 pounds. You can say you have "light wheels" if you're in that range. If you're sub-15 pounds, you can say you have ultralights.

 

How much of a differance does 7lbs make? Im not being sarcastic, I really dont know

 

In the case of rotational inertia it depends on how large the wheel is. The farther away you place a given mass from the axis of rotation, the larger amount of force it exerts, and the larger amount of force would have to be exerted on the axis to rotate it.

In the case of unsprung weight, seven pounds is significant, but it depends on suspension geometry too.

Suffice to say, seven pounds IS a pretty significant amount of weight.

 

bummer...but for $400 bucks I cant complain at all

 

I wouldn't either. Good deal.

 

How much of a differance does 7lbs make? Im not being sarcastic, I really dont know

the general rule of thumb is for every pound of unsprung mass removed is the equivalent of about 10 pounds of mass on the car itself. Thus figure 4 wheels at 7 extra pounds each for a total of 28 pounds. Times the factor of 10 for the equivalent mass addition, so its like you added 280 pounds of stereo to your car.

 

...so its like you added 280 pounds of stereo to your car.

Holy cow. :lol: I need to definitely get light rims.

 

the general rule of thumb is for every pound of unsprung mass removed is the equivalent of about 10 pounds of mass on the car itself. Thus figure 4 wheels at 7 extra pounds each for a total of 28 pounds. Times the factor of 10 for the equivalent mass addition, so its like you added 280 pounds of stereo to your car.

damn...hey Matt question for you though. You have said that a FWD car is really hard to control with a lot of horsepower. Would heavier wheels help that at all?

 

Heavier wheels would significantly reduce steering response and increase understeer. Reducing wheelhop is more a product of suspension tuning, tires and LSD.

 

damn...hey Matt question for you though. You have said that a FWD car is really hard to control with a lot of horsepower. Would heavier wheels help that at all?

it would help your launch a little, although you'll still be able to break the tries loose easily. Then the extra weight hurts you in normal driving and as Kabob described. Unless you drive only the 1320 its not really a help

 

Holy cow. :lol: I need to definitely get light rims.

:agreed: Light rims kick ass. I picked up some Motegi Trak Lite rims. 14 lbs each

Felt like the whole car lost weight. :woot:

 

I can tell you guys from experiance that the first major upgrade to my car's handling I took into consideration is to change the rims and tires.

The first thing that came to mind was the WRC OZ Superleggera that Colin McRae had on his Focus. I thought if he won the World Rally Championship with those rims they were good enough for my 3G...

But I was wrong...

I went to American Tires and asked about the OZ's but then the guy said he actually had something that was 40% lighter than the OZ's. I was like WTF u got to be BS'ing me. But I held the rim with my own hands and I could tell you guys that my frying pan that I use to cook pancakes with probably weighs more than these rims.

The company is ATS it is a european rim company and the rims I got was the DTC Competition. These babies weigh a MINDBLOWING 12.76 Lbs!!!!! And they dont look to bad either
ATS Wheels Homepage

I got a set of 4 17" of these for about $400 along with some Falken Azenis ST-115 17" Tires for an extra $400 and with tax and warranty about $1,000. All I can say is acceleration does feel quicker.

Here is a description of the rim:
ATS DTC Competition. Strong, very light and beautifully crafted the ATS DTC Competition wheel is straight off the race track and onto the road. Designed to save as much weight as possible whilst giving excellent brake cooling and caliper clearance the ATS DTC Competition wheel offers the benefits of motorsport development for the road user. Suited to the smaller hot hatch or kit car this wheel really does score on its weight ~ 5.8kgs for the 7x15", 6.2kgs for the 8x15" and 5.8kgs for the 7½x17" ATS DTC Competition wheel ~ all with TUV approval

Let's compare these rims Vs. stock 17" rims:
21.75 X 4 = 87.00 Lbs on all Wheels STOCK RIMS
12.76 X 4 = 51.04 Lbs on all Wheels DTC Competition

87.00 - 51.04 = 35.96 Lbs (Or 37 Lbs) of Weight Reduction!

the general rule of thumb is for every pound of unsprung mass removed is the equivalent of about 10 pounds of mass on the car itself. Thus figure 4 wheels at 7 extra pounds each for a total of 28 pounds. Times the factor of 10 for the equivalent mass addition, so its like you added 280 pounds of stereo to your car.

Now let's just take this also into consideration...

87 - 51.04 = 35.96 X 10 = 359.6 (If you were to go from Stock 17" to DTC)

Then this would mean (According to Matt's rules) you just removed 359.6 Lbs pounds off the car.

Now that's a HUGE difference and by this rule you will accelerate faster.

 

If you dont like the ATS cap on the wheels you can always put a Mitsubishi 3 Diamond decal on it to make it match with our cars.

I find that very few rims 17" can weigh less than these and for the value and price. :twothumb:

 

So you paid $100 per wheel for a 12.7 pound 17" wheel? Either I misread you or you're on crack... or you were lied to I suppose.

$400 a wheel I could understand. Otherwise, if you really did get a twelve-pound wheel for a hundred bucks... well, don't hit any potholes, man!

 

So you paid $100 per wheel for a 12.7 pound 17" wheel? Either I misread you or you're on crack... or you were lied to I suppose.

$400 a wheel I could understand. Otherwise, if you really did get a twelve-pound wheel for a hundred bucks... well, don't hit any potholes, man!

It was $100 per wheel and no the rims aren't bent.

the 17's cost me $100 so $100 X 4 = $400

Lied to? No way eric, I held these babies with my own two hands and I can tell you it's the lightest rims I've ever seen. I think the best way for you to find out is to go to a Wheel and Tire shop and ask for this wheel and hold it in your hands then decide for yourself.

Honestly I would have had some Superleggeras if these rims weren't better in terms of weight.

 

What Eric was telling you in his post was that there's no way that those rims are forged if they only cost $100 for a 17" rim. As such, to make those rims that light, they obviously aren't using very thick metal anywhere and without strengthening the alloy (as in the case of forged rims) they will be prone to cracking and bending over even minor potholes and possibly speed bumps.

 

What Eric was telling you in his post that there's no way that those rims are forged if they only cost $100 for a 17" rim. As such, to make those rims that light, they obviously aren't using very thick metal anywhere and without strengthening the alloy (as in the case of forged rims) they will be prone to cracking and bending over even minor potholes and possibly speed bumps.

:agreed: there are volk knock offs that advertise their "racing light" weight, about 16lbs for a 17" rim. but while volks are forged rims, the knockoffs are cast so it is physically impossible for them to be both light and strong. ive heard of a lot of bent knockoff rims.

i found an interesting page listing many wheel weights (including OEM). dont know how accurate they are but they seem pretty consistent with the manufacturer's claims (at least from the wheels that i know of).
http://www.sgcmotorsports.com/wheel.html