Just finished my last final and have been searching the net bored out of my mind, when I come across some forums discussing wheel and tire weights. So out of curiousity I take my spare tire out and it weighs in at 47 pounds.

Curious if anyone knows how much their set ups weigh? And also what you consider to be too much for a wheel/tire combo?

 

What??????

Wheel tire weight? In general the weight of the tire, wheel and some suspension parts is called "unsprung weight" that is weight on the road side of the springs. The opposite is sprung weight. If everything else is equal, lowunsprung weight gives better road handling because the spring ha san easier time keeping the tire on the ground. Google unsprung weight

 

What I was asking is the total weight of the wheel. I do a lot of mountain biking and rotational weight makes a huge difference. Example I have a 400 gram cross country tire and a 700 gram downhill tire. You bike down a paved street path with both tires and you notice a big difference in the amount of force it takes to move the heavier tire. If you call it unsprung weight in the carworld cool (I got to get my car lingo down still). Anyways it has far more affects then just handling. A lighter tire will save on fuel consumption and with gas prices the way they are who isn't for that.

 

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sorry i was on my other login
wheels are important
get some 24inch tis 01 rims. mmm chrome on an audi

 

Ok if you say so -but consider the physics of rotational momentum, rolling resistance,etc. It is not as simple as weight alone. In a vehicle you have to add tire slip angle and contact patch for cornering and even aerodynamics to the thought process. Then there is tread pattern for water removal and noise.Even rubber hardness for life and cord construction-angles for strength/life/cornering/ride quality etc. You have grossly understated the situation. If we only cared about milage we would have steel tires about 2 inches wide

 

but a lighter wheel, with everything else in the equation held constant, you will have better fuel economy.Because of the less weight, you will also increase your performance as well, like being able to accelerate quicker and a higher top speed. That the reason racing rims are so light. Also every pound of mass that is rotating is equal to 2lbs of dead wight. so lets say you have a rim that weights 35lbs the you get some one that weight 30lbs. well you just saved 5lbs per rim. 20lbs for all wheels X2 is 40lbs of weight. Now not only do you save thatin weight, you don't have all the inertia of the heavier rims. So it will take less power to accelerate helping your fuel economy. Now i have no idea thereallife savingsof thisbut in the theoretical world it will help to have lighter wheels.

 

Quicker acceleration yes - but a heavier rotating mass holds more energy (Do the physics!) and therefore it takes longer to loose energy when coasting so the fuel economy does not suffer. As for racing cars -- lighter wheels take less energy to get rotating, less stored energy thus less energy dissapation durng braking, and less unsprung weight. - but thecalculations don't directly apply to street cars because the difference is so small and your not pushing the edge of the envelope. Furthermore it is not just the weight - it is where the weight is placed on the wheel that makes a difference - weight at the center has a different affect than weight on the rim.

Look at the wholesitution instead of only part of it....