Hey guys

Ive read numerous posts from my research about how 18s affects the performance of the car.

Im just curious how much it really affect it? Id like to know in more detail...

The wheels Im looking at are work emotion cr kai and there shouldnt be that much of weight difference between 17s and 18s correct?

Im not too fussed about ride quality or handling of the car as the car will not see the track and is purely for street daily driving.

Does it affect the launch or acceleration in anyway?

Those who owns 18s- is there a noticeable difference?

Please share everything you know, thanks

Oh and if any of you have pics of s2000 (prefer yellow) with 18" gunmetal work emotion kais could you please kindly post it

 

yes, heavier rims will hurt your performance as adding unsprung weight is always worse than sprung weight. going to 18's will also make your gearing taller, effectively making your acceleration rate slower. the weight difference between 17's and 18's is dependent on the rim, as some 18's weigh less than some 17's. the launch depends a lot more on what kind of tires you are running more than the actual size of the tire diameter, although smaller is better cause you want to have more sidewall flex for the launch to avoid wheelhop and excessive tire spin.

 

On the subject of acceleration:

There are two things you need to consider with a wheel. One is that you'll have to accelerate it forward. The second is that you have to accelerate its rotation. The linear acceleration is realted directly to the mass. The angular acceleration, however, is not only related to the mass, but where it is located. Mass further to the edge of the wheel takes more energy to accelerate.

The other thing you have to consider is tires. Since I assume you are smart enough to figure out the right tire size to keep the stock tire diameter, then the question becomes wether extra tire sidewall weighs more or less than an inch extra spoke. Not any easy question to answer.

Instead, just go to: http://www.wheelweights.net/ and compare the wheels you are thinking of. Look and see what other similiar size wheels are weighing in at, and then you can decide wether the ones you are looking at are relativly light or not. Some wheel models can be below average in one size and above in another, so be careful.

I think Ustemuf is a bit confused. S2000's are rear wheel drive, they do not have wheel hop which induces tire spin. The weight transfers to the rear onto the drive wheels, not off of them. In this case, however, I would also think that greater sidewall would allow for more flex when the weight transfers, increasing the contact patch and therefore traction. But unless you're running slicks, I don't think it makes a measurable gain or loss in the differences you're talking about.

 

hmm.... so for us lazy folks....

anyone know the range of sizes (ie offset, wheel width, weight) for 18" wheels+ tire combo
that would offer equal to stock or better performance for the s2k?

 

thanks, so do you think the difference will be noticeable you reckon?

According to that site the 18s im looking at weighs 16.7 Fronts and 17.4 Rears which is 1lbs less each rim than stock rims even though im not 100% if its those rims as it only says work emotion forged

Say if the figures are correct would I notice any loss of performance by getting slightly lighter rims (1lbs) but in larger diameter?

 

Those rims you listed are very light for 18" wheels. I would predict a large performance gain. You start out with lighter than stock wheels, and then have less weight in rubber to put on them to get to the stock tire diameter.

How wide are these wheels? As long as they are at least 6.5" in the front and say 7" (stock AP1 is 7.5") in the back you should be ok.

 

Good luck finding forged work emotions in any size. They don't make them any more and even when they did the only size that had correct S2000 offsets was 16".

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=428255

Keep looking.

The new work emotions that came out not too long ago are much heavier.

 

After some searching I found that the 18" work emotion kai weighs 21lbs each so thats about 3.3lbs heavier each rim!

So what do you think guys? very noticable power loss?

I dont mind if the power loss is very slight

And there are lots of ppl here with 18s regardless what type you have please share

 

You wont notice it... probably even if you track your car.

if you went from a 20lb wheel to a 10lb wheel, yes, you would definately see a difference.

 

Just to bring this one back. I went from stock 16" to 18" SSR Gt3's and there was a big diffrence that i could tell just cruising around on the street. Breaking was greatly affected.

I am now looking for some light 17's.