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Wheel weights.
zetec - 20/1/05 at 02:42 PM

I'm trying to sus out if it's worth trying to find a lighter/wheel combination and at what cost.

My 15" Ford wheels and standard tyres (195/50) weigh in at just over 15KG. How does this compare with other combinations?

I've seen the wheel weight web site but it would be good to know some of the common used combinations.

ned - 20/1/05 at 03:16 PM

oz supperlegra's (sp?) are meant to be quite light, but in my opinion you save even more by going to a smaller size rim. 13" is best imho as there's not much in the way of good tyres in the 14" category, though if you have rear discs you'll struggle to get 13" rims over them.

Ned.

Hellfire - 20/1/05 at 11:20 PM

Team Dynamics Motorsport alloys. 16" x 7J fitted with 195x45x16's. Weighed in at 17kg

krlthms - 21/1/05 at 03:17 AM

Have a look at this site. The wheels are probably too high spec for a road car, but with dollar worth Monopoly money, it might be afforadable for you to get these. They are three piece, and they assemble them according to your specs, and I am sure they are pretty light.
Cheers
http://www.kodiakracingwheels.com/wheels.html

chrisf - 21/1/05 at 02:21 PM

Have a look at the 14" MX-5 wheels. The bolt pattern may fit nicely. Mine weigh 10 lbs each without tires and cost me $250 for the set with tires. The tire are crap, but work well for rolling about the garage!

--Chris

zetec - 21/1/05 at 02:48 PM

Anyone know if the Mazda wheels fit Ford hubs?

ned - 21/1/05 at 03:37 PM

quick google says mx5 wheels are pcd 100, ford are 108, so guess they wouldn't fit..

Ned.

JoelP - 21/1/05 at 06:49 PM

there was a thread a while ago where i posted some of my findings about wheel weights... IIRC my 13" minilights (lites?) weighed 4kgs naked.

as an aside, anyone know how much difference it makes if the tyre is inflated? there is quite a lot of air in a blown up tyre.

Bob C - 21/1/05 at 06:55 PM

I think air is ~1g/litre at 1 bar, that'll be 3 times as much if you've inflated to 30psi.
& you're right to consider the mass of the air rather than its weight - however its mass is negligible!
Bob

JoelP - 21/1/05 at 10:31 PM

im not so sure bob, these grams add up in the end...

Peteff - 22/1/05 at 01:13 AM

They drive so much better with air in Joel.

JoelP - 22/1/05 at 06:57 PM

id go as far as 3psi, but theres no way im putting more than one wheel nut on each...

phelpsa - 22/1/05 at 07:48 PM

14" caterham wheels with Yoko 21Rs: 13kgs each

rusty nuts - 22/1/05 at 07:52 PM

How about inflating with helium? that would shave the odd gram off. May even be feasable? Rusty

Stu16v - 22/1/05 at 08:55 PM

quote:
Originally posted by rusty nuts
How about inflating with helium? that would shave the odd gram off. May even be feasable? Rusty


And you know if you had a puncture because you would start talking in a high pitch!

krlthms - 23/1/05 at 12:02 AM

quote:
Originally posted by rusty nuts
How about inflating with helium? that would shave the odd gram off. May even be feasable? Rusty


You may end up with negative sprung weight! However, I don't know if tyre rubber is impereable to helium. OTH, moisture in air might add significant weight and probably not a good idea to have, so dry compressed nitrogen maybe better than plain compressed air. May even slow down oxidation (tyre perishing). BTW, storing tyres in areas where you weld is bad for their longevity, because the ozone and UV light generated.
Cheers
KT

[Edited on 23/1/05 by krlthms]

[Edited on 23/1/05 by krlthms]

Liam - 23/1/05 at 01:38 PM

Helium would leak out of a wheel faster than it leaks out of our airship at work! It will even leak out of metal gas cylinders eventually, straight through the sides. Nice idea though!

As for rims, can't get much lighter than OZ superleggera at 4.9kg for a 15x7, unless you look beyond cheap cast alloy wheels into more exotic materials or manafacturing processes. Even most cast 13" minilite style wheels i've seen weigh more than that. And bear in mind the extra grams of the extra rubber and air required for a 13" rim!

Tyres seem to vary a lot too. Them Avon ACB10s they use on caterhams and elises weigh naff all!

Liam

JoelP - 23/1/05 at 03:10 PM

picky moment! compressed helium would weigh more than free helium, plus even if you ended up with negative unsprung weight, you would still have positive unsprung mass!!

trust me to ruin a joke!!