I'm looking into buying an extra set of wheels/tires for track use--only serious lapping and non-serious auto-x, not racing. I'd rather not spend a huge amount on the wheels. Tire Rack has Shuk WR-1 wheels for a price I'm willing to pay; they weight about 20 pounds each. I could spend a great deal more and save perhaps 5 pounds per wheel.

I have seen the term "unsprung weight" used as if it matters. For what I do, 20 pounds spread evenly about the car is much less than the difference between a full and an almost empty tank of gas, so I wonder if, for my purposes (where I really don't car about fractions of a second) it really makes any difference.

Thanks.

 

Wheels are actually worse than just unsprung weight. They're also rotating weight. It takes extra engine and braking power to stop them because of their additional rotational inertia. If you're set on these wheels, I would recommend making them your street wheels and keeping your OEM wheels for track/autocross.

 

In general, reductions in unsprung weight are worth far more than the equivalent reductions in sprung or suspended weight.

If you don't care about fractions of a second then don't bother with the more expensive rims but personally I wouldn't spend the money on 17" rims and the resultant more expensive tires without buying the lighter rims Either you care about the seconds or you don't. If you didn't then you wouldn't be considering those 17's in the first place and would just buy another set of stock 16 inch rims

 

Mine is a MY04, with stock 17" wheels.

Does anyone know how much the stock MY04 wheels weigh?

 

Well, you could weigh one. Of course, that includes the tire.

For 00-03 cars, the best deal is to buy a set of stock wheels from somebody who has replaced theirs. I don't know what the market is like for takeoff 04 OEM wheels.

 

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=190919

 

I get flamed by the locals for wanting to go to a lighter but still 16" size . Simply because of the "flywheel" effect,unfortunately the aftermarket only offers a few choices when it comes to near proper offsets and hub centricity in a 16"size while still meeting my criteria for "lighter than OEM"

As I understand it;someone correct me if I'm wrong, you could go with an 18" wheel that is lighter than the oem wheels but because of the larger diameter you lose RWHP. I believe because it is easiler to spin a smaller wheel than a larger one.

 

Your exactly right.........bigger wheels slow you down... and if I could find a light set of 16" in the right offset...I'd buy em instantly.

I keep looking for a honda jdm set they are several pounds lighter than ours.

I'm seriously considering having a set custom made if you're interested. Probably won't get us a price break but who knows. I'll probably go to weld, they do the civic I sponsor.

fltsfshr

 

General considerations on weight/size of wheels. Not saying what is best config, because I don't know.

1) Unsprung weight. Going fast is all about maximizing tire grip. Suspension is about keeping the tires on the road and at the optimal contact patch. The less unsprung weight the quicker and easier it is to control the wheel over bumps and keep the tire gripping to the road.

2) Rotating mass. Not just weight, but the moment of inertia. The "equivalent weight" is a combination of actual mass and distance away from center of rotation. So bigger diameter is also "heavier". Larger the moment of inertial the harder it is to accelerate or decelerate.

3) Tire selection. More of a practical consideration. Want wider tires for more grip, you might just have to get bigger wheels. From what I've seen 16" -> 245 max, 17" -> 275 max, 18"-> most selection of tires. You could also have some suspension interference with really wide small diameter wheels.

 

Thanks much!

So I gather that five pounds a wheel can make a significant difference. If that's the case, it might well make sense to spend a bit more and buy the SSR Competition 17" wheels (remember, my MY04 takes 17" wheels), especially since I can't seem to find any second-hand OEM wheels.

The SSR Competition wheels are 17x8 and 17x9, and weigh 14.5 and 15 pounds, respectively. My stock wheels are 17x7 and 17x8.5. Jim at TireRack says that one can put larger tires than the stock tires on these wheels on an S2k, without clearance or other problems; has anyone used these wheels, and, if so, did you try larger tires?

Thanks.