how much will 18" wheels slow me down?

htxfastlife · Jan 10, 2008

im debating on getting some 18" saleen rims or some 03/04 cobra wheels (17"),but how much will the saleen rims slow me down? does anyone know how much they weight compared to 17s? thanks yall

streethorse · Jan 10, 2008

18's are only about 2 lbs heavier than 17's. But since the weight
is farther away from center, the faster the wheel is spining the
more that becomes magnified.

97speedster · Jan 10, 2008

None because the tires have a smaller side wall so the weight is the same.

streethorse · Jan 10, 2008

67effie said:
None because the tires have a smaller side wall so the weight is the same.

He said wheels not tires.

bakos24 · Jan 10, 2008

not enough that you are going to notice.

gsjohnson · Jan 10, 2008

I put 18s on my car and it felt the same to me, although it handles a whole lot better.

Tim2002GT · Jan 10, 2008

It all depends on what wheel you use. It's the actual weight of the wheel/tire combo that will make the difference. Some 18's are pretty heavy and some others like the Steeda Ultra-Lite's are very light.

htxfastlife · Jan 10, 2008

thanks fellows

97speedster · Jan 10, 2008

streethorse said:
He said wheels not tires.

Yes he did............. But when you install tires the final weight ratio is the same so therefore no change.

mransr · Jan 10, 2008

67effie said:
Yes he did............. But when you install tires the final weight ratio is the same so therefore no change.

ummm, no, that would only be true if rubber (and air) weighed the same as aluminum

but I don't think for a street car it makes a huge difference one way or another

97speedster · Jan 10, 2008

mransr said:
ummm, no, that would only be true if rubber (and air) weighed the same as aluminum

but I don't think for a street car it makes a huge difference one way or another

Umm........... You're wrong because less rubber is used to make a 18" tire that is same overall diameter from 17" to 18" which in some cases is up to a 10lb per tire difference.

streethorse · Jan 11, 2008

67effie said:
Umm........... You're wrong because less rubber is used to make a 18" tire that is same overall diameter from 17" to 18" which in some cases is up to a 10lb per tire difference.

( BFG-g force sport )
OK, a 275/40/17 weighs 29lbs ( tire rack spec chart )
a 275/35/18 weighs 28lbs

So yes the 18" tire is 1 lb lighter due to lower profile.
But an 18" wheel weighs 2lbs more than the 17"wheel.

So the 18" wheel/ tire combo is 1lb heavier.

screamin gt · Jan 11, 2008

wow so a whole 1 lbs difference per wheel/tire. omg I'm going back to 17's now

but everyone upgrades to bigger better brakes.... no one takes the heavier rotor into consideration

theres better thing to argue about isn't there

REDGT281 · Jan 12, 2008

It won't be noticable, but chrome weighs more which I'm sure you already figured out.

ADRENLN · Jan 12, 2008

it does make a small difference but it can be either lighter or heavier. like stated eairlier its the combo of wheel and tire weight that is important.

weigh the wheel and tire that comes off the car and weight the wheel and tire that is going on the car. a couple of lbs. on each wheel/tire combo will make a bit of difference as you have to multiply that by 4 and it is rotational mass.

mransr · Jan 12, 2008

67effie said:
Umm........... You're wrong because less rubber is used to make a 18" tire that is same overall diameter from 17" to 18" which in some cases is up to a 10lb per tire difference.

exactly...but the weight saved by less rubber is typically much less than the weight added by using more aluminum...

hey, everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and it really doesn't matter on a street car...BUT where the weight is on a rotating, unsprung mass is at least as important (if not more) than the actual difference in weight...

it's all about simple physics, it's no big deal if it doesn't matter to you, but it say it doesn't have an effect is simply incorrect

BTW, I know a guy that said he lost 15RWHP by switching from 17x9s to 18x10s on his Termi...I never saw the dyno, and the guy was a lawyer so he knows how to lie, so...

thomas91169 · Jan 13, 2008

unless you are a big time autox/road course'r, you wont notice the weight difference. now if you had a fully gutted CRX and went from some super-light rims to some heavy chrome ones, then yeah you would totally be able to notice a difference. in a 3600lb mustang, you wont unless you are amazingly in-tune with your car.

btw if the overall outside circumference changes, that will affect your final drive ratio as well, and will likely be what you feel. however most the times when you upgrade to a 18" diameter rim, you also go with a smaller tire (ie a 35 or 40 instead of a 55 or 60mm sidewall), so it almost always equals out.

my stock 17's and wheels compared to my 18's and wheels were 1/4" overall diameter difference.

how much will 18" wheels slow me down?

htxfastlife

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