Wheel weight: How did it affect you?

This is probably the most helpful link i've seen in a long time. Essentially what this calculator is showing me is that wheels have less of an effect on weight/rotational inertia than the tire? This makes sense i suppose, since the wheel doesn't see any friction and is just bare weight. This is suuuuper helpful and makes me less worried about my wheel selection as it seems the wheels will be like a drop in the bucket compared to my tire selection.

This link should be in the stickies somewhere. Thanks!!

 

I went from SL's to E's and the best way to describe it would be turbo lag like. I have Sema's and S/T MAXX's and the weight is very noticeable, but not in a "I need a regear" sort of way. If you are a stoplight racer, yeah it's gonna be a bad time. If you drive it like a mid size truck with a V6 it's fine. Not better than stock, but fine. My truck tows and drives like it always has at this point.

MPG dropped a good 2 MPG as well.

 

I’m confused why you mention friction as it is a independent concept from rotational inertia.

That said, I think many people on this forum over emphasize the effect of tire and wheel weight. A bigger influence on fuel economy is likely rolling resistance and that is dependent on things like tire material, tire thickness, and tread pattern.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Vehicle Research & Test Center (VRTC)/ca/Tires/811154.pdf

 

Interesting, it’s different for wheels vs tires. From your link:
“Just give me the answers
Shaving a pound from your tires is equivalent to shaving at most 2 pounds of non-rotating weight. That's PER TIRE, so a pound off each tire could worth close to 8 pounds of weight reduction. For wheels, the multiplier is closer to 1.6, so saving 5 pounds per wheel (20 total) would feel like a static weight reduction of 32 pounds. For brake discs, it can be as low as 1.2. Regardless of the equivalent weight ratio, you're best off reducing weight as much as possible, as you might expect. “

 

Alcohol is the answer.

 

Yup. Rotational inertia is proportional to the square of the radius. Have you watched figure skaters spin or kids on a merry go round?

 

That evil wench gravity and her nasty cousin inertia.

 

Ahem... do not make assumptions, just ask questions if you don't know. Yes, wheel weight does make a difference and in some cases can make a bigger difference than the tire if it's a low profile tire. However, in this case, the the tire makes a difference because the rotational mass of the tire and the distance from the center of the hub. It does not matter as much when on highway but really matters accelerating from a stop.

 

Going from the stock TRD OR tires to 17x8 rims and 285/70/17s was noticeable. Not bad, but braking pretty obviously required more pedal. My KO2s are C load, not the heavier E ones.

 

When I purchased my 2021 TRD Sport I kept my 16 inch FN Wheels because they weigh 19 pounds. They put the new 17 inch wheels on the 2014 that I traded. Last road trip mileage check was 24.8 MPG on a tank of gas.

 

I went from 31's to 33's on the Wrangler and can definitely tell a difference in braking. Those Falkens are heavy.
Purchased flow-formed rims for the Taco for lighter weight and went one size up but SL load tires to try and keep weight down.

 

With the 16”, acceleration is Greatly improved as well as an average of 4mpg higher.
With the 17”, acceleration is much slower but the cornering is more firm/composed due to the shorter sidewall.

I used to autocross a 1984 Rabbit GTI, I built at the limit of class DSP. This
was in the 1990s and the rough calculation of “10lbs of rotational weight is 100lbs of chassis weight” was widely applied.

 

I just went from the stock tacoma wheels, 245/75/R16 had brand new fuzion tires on it when I bought it and I was getting about 17.5-18mpg. Haven't changed how im driving, but now with TRD wheels, and 265/70R17 Yokohama GO15 A/T tires im getting about 15.8-16.5 mpg. Overall I do feel like I can grip turns better, and I have to say the AT from Yokohama are almost silent and have (What I think) is a pretty aggressive tread that looks pretty good. PSI on them is up to 51 I bumped it to 44/45 as I won't be going off-road anywhere soon. I think 1-2mpg change isn't uncommon to expect.