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Unsprung weight

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Old 02-06-03, 09:07 AM
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Question Unsprung weight

Is five or six pounds difference in the wheel weight a significant difference for autocross?
Would you spend a hundred fifty bucks to get a set of wheels that's total 20-30 pounds less than the ones you're using?
Thanks,
Cory
Old 02-06-03, 09:26 AM
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personally I would. I am planning and saving for some volk ce28n's but I don't know what tire I want to go with that??? Maybe hoosier a3so3's?
Old 02-06-03, 09:54 AM
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Re: Unsprung weight

Originally posted by Cwaters
Is five or six pounds difference in the wheel weight a significant difference for autocross?
Absolutely. 5 or 6 pounds in a wheel is a HUGE difference; for $150 it's a bargain.
Old 02-06-03, 11:04 AM
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yes thats definately a significant difference. when my dad first started road racing he was using diamond steel wheels and eventually he changed to panasports which are 4 lbs lighter each wheel. if you really want a light wheel get the Lite-Speed wheels but there so expensive
Old 02-07-03, 02:42 AM
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YES

Originally posted by ttpowerd
personally I would. I am planning and saving for some volk ce28n's but I don't know what tire I want to go with that??? Maybe hoosier a3so3's?
HOSSIER are super light . because they only use two FIBER GLASS belts. not like regular use steel belts

BTW those weight u save. u will real feel when u race special if track have uphill section
Old 02-07-03, 08:51 AM
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Hell yes, it will make a difference. One of our local auto-x gurus says that saving 1 lb of unsprung weight is equivalent to saving 20-30 lbs off the rest of the car. I keep kicking myself to get some lightweight CCW wheels .... but my car keeps telling me I have other priorities. Stupid clutch ...
Old 02-07-03, 07:01 PM
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Also a lighter wheel gives you less rotating mass. You actualy gain 2 ways going to lighter wheels.

-billy
Old 02-07-03, 11:20 PM
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Re: Unsprung weight

Originally posted by Cwaters
Is five or six pounds difference in the wheel weight a significant difference for autocross?
Would you spend a hundred fifty bucks to get a set of wheels that's total 20-30 pounds less than the ones you're using?
Thanks,
Cory
even though this is a great deal, I would like to propose a question for you, how competitive/good are you? how long have you been doing this? how consistent are your results? can you have 3 runs within .1-.5 sec from each other? if your results aren't consistent then something else should be improved. the time that you might gain from lighter tires might indeed improve your results, but if you put that money toward a driving school or whatnot, you can most likely improve by the same if not more. then, when you are really hitting a plateau, then get the tires and your time will be much greater


don't get me wrong, by any means I'm not saying that you are a bad driver, I have no idea what kind of driver you are, but like my friend says, his coach plays tennis with a $40 tennis racket, and he's top 5 in the massachusetts region. it not really the equipment that you have, it's knowing how to use it (no pun intended )

K

Last edited by iwannarx7; 02-07-03 at 11:37 PM.
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