Wheel weights discussion

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

If you see an interesting set of LW wheels that are for sale, or that are just interesting, post them up. Always good to see if we can shave some weight from our cars’ rotating mass. The LW wheel leader on the forum appears to beemercer, whose SSR comps + tires weigh in at under 40lbs a corner I believe. The wheels are only 16 lbs a piece or something!

Here’s an interesting article I just read

Ferrari 458 Italia wheels are 20x8.5 and 20x10.5…and they weigh 22.8 and 25.3 lbs respectively.

That sounds amazing…although there’s nothing to those wheels. They’d better be light. Talk about showcasing your brakes. Wow.

http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-2010/def/2010-Ferrari-458-Italia-Front-Wheel-1280x960.jpg

#2

Good idea.

Yeah the higher end supercars start getting into the “special” type of metals as far as wheels are concerned. Not sure about the 458 but I know other cars utilize magnesium as a primary material for the wheel manufacturing process. My track bike had full carbon fiber wheels - light as hell. Meant for the street, no, track days yes. Awesome improvement, until they were stolen…

#3

^Yea I remember reading about the porsche 959 even using magnesium wheels, which I thought was pretty impressive for the time, but a lot of things on that car were pretty impressive.

I ended up buying a set of Enkie RPF01’s from 91GL last summer. I think they weigh in just under or right at 18lbs a wheel as they are 18x8." I ended up wrapping them in a set of cheap Yokohama sport tires that are 225x35x18 to add a bit of gearing advantage and weight. I’d like to get some 235 or even 245’s at that height later on if I can, but for now I’m enjoying being able to tear those tires up without much concern ($400 for tires mounted & balanced at the end of the day).

Those Ferarri wheels are quite the showpiece as well. I’d love to know what cost on just the wheels are as it’s got to be quite substantial.

#4

It’s funny, my 19" rpf-1’s with tires(42lbs) are lighter than my 17" pf-01’s with tires(43lbs). Though the tires on them are what cause that. Also somehow, the 18" pf-01 is lighter than the 17’s according to tire rack.

#5

Here’s a great resource I use for wheel weights.

18" Sortable List
http://mechdb.com/index.php/18"_Wheel_weights

19" Sortable List
http://mechdb.com/index.php/19"_Wheel_weights

#6

Here are some nice OZ Ultraleggera 19x8.0 if anyone’s looking. These wheels weigh 20.1 lbs each. Seller’s a good guy too lol.

http://www.audizine.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=62018&title=fs-3a-19x8-et45-oz-ultralagerra-black-with-225-2f35-2f19-kumho-ecsta-spt&cat=48

#7

my wheels are 16.1lbs each with center caps, the lug bolts and spacers add a few more ounces. The RS3s are a heavy tire though due to their super beefy nature, so together its about 42lbs per corner.

My old oz ultraleggeras were 37.5lbs per corner, the conti xontact sport 3 tires they had were only 20lbs a piece

magnesium alloyed wheels are a cool idea, but iirc they are no longer used in motorsport becuase of the combination of super hot carbon ceramic rotors and the violent flammability of magnesium

for me there while a lighter wheel is always better there is a diminishing return between a well designed and forged aluminum wheel vs a carbon fiber barrel/face or magnesium wheel. An SSR, volk, OZ or enkei wheel would always be my choice.

#8

My summer set up is this:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj283/supremepowerparts/Picture14489.jpg

They’re Neuspeed RS10, forged in 19x8.5 and weigh in at 20lbs. I’ll probably go to a lightweight 18" wheel next summer.

Currently have 18" BBS RX II (about 24-25lbs) for winter and looking for something lighter.

#9

those are damn light considering the size. They’re also a reasonably aggressive offset aren’t they? ET35?

AndyGs4 has a set of those.

#10

Yea, ET35. With a 245/35 tire they come pretty close to rubbing on stock suspension.

I’ve only put about 4000 miles on them but they seem to be holding up really well to the shitty new england roads.

#11

My forgestar f14 wheels 19x10 et 30 weigh just under 26lbs. Not bad for the size of them

#12

Good time for the discussion. I’m still gutted at missing out on those Volks on AZ. But I’m not in a rush to buy.

I’ve been using this site: http://www.wheelweights.net/ I have no idea how accurate they are though.
The links above are useful, useful to have multiple resources.

After I found out that bee was running 17" Oz Ultras on his old S4 and cleared the brakes, I’m on the lookout for a set of those. Having said that, it was also said that aftermarket 17’s should clear the S4’s brakes. I know 91 is selling his 19’s and on the lookout for 17’s in his quest for world domination.

Questions:

  1. If you have 2 wheels of the same weight (say 19lbs) but one is 17" and the other is 18", am I right in thinking that the 17" yield the faster acceleration times, because the rotating mass is closer to the centre of the wheel?
  2. To carry on the theme - what’s the “sweet spot” for (a) 18 inch wheels (say 18x8 for the sake of argument) and (b) 17 inch wheels (17x8) regarding the tyre’s profile/sidewall.
  3. In terms of load rating, are there any caveats for downsizing the S4’s wheels to 17"? IIRC OEM tyres come with the XL load rating, which my 18" all seasons have. My 17" winters are not XL rated (98 rated).
#13
  1. yes, less torque to spin it. Consider how much of the weight is in the barrel vs the face/backplate of the wheel. A smaller barrel moves a large proportion of the mass inwards
#14

Here…these will make those Volks look heavy lol

http://forums.quattroworld.com/classifieds-wheels/threads/1711.phtml#6454

although I’m not a huge fan of the polish lip look. Could always take them to Hamilton Wheel Wizards and get them made gunmetal for a fair price.

SSR COMP TYPE C

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/adamb1923/Parts/5b4bdab7.jpg

#15

Hmmm… SSR comps/type C. Very nice. Do JHM run 17" or 18" versions of these on one of their shop cars? I guess 18" will mean clearance of any brakes, including BBK (which I would only do for the bling factor, my understand is that our stock brakes are more than enough for street use). Decisions, decisions.

Thanks bee, that’s what I thought.

#16

I’m going to be buying a set of 18x8 RPF1’s over the winter. I’m going to be ordering a JHM BBK in the next month or so, so 18’s are really my only option. Plus, red brembos look amazing behind the thin spokes of the Enkei’s

#17

Yea that guy is ok lol

Seriously guys, for those OZ’s I’m very motivated to sell so make me an offer, low ball me please, I do not mind.

Bango, those were never for my b6, I bought them for my mk6 gti but ended up buying set of 17" rpf1’s for it. They weigh 15.2 lbs each! My JHM bbk won’t allow me to run anything smaller than the 18" rpf1’s I have on there right now.

Btw, I’m on my 4th set of rpf1’s now lol

#18

holy shit, those Enkei wheels really are the best combo of light and reasonable price. Amazing how light they are.

I think Jay’s car had Volk TE37 wheels on there at one point. Now he has some OZ wheels. He has their Brembo Cayenne BBK so he’s definitely 18 at the least.

#19

speak of the devil. 8.0x19" RPF1

18.7 lbs each I believe.

http://www.audizine.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=62597&title=19-26quot-3b-enkei-rpf1-lightweight-wheels&cat=48

#20

Wow that’s a good looking wheel for a cheap price. I wish I had the money right now; I’d be all over those.