are 17s better than 18s?
#1
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are 17s better than 18s?
would 18s slow the car down any?
if so would a 17 front 18 rear slow down an fd?
yes i just bought this car and no i do not want to make mistakes.
thanks
if so would a 17 front 18 rear slow down an fd?
yes i just bought this car and no i do not want to make mistakes.
thanks
#4
strike up the paean
relatively speaking 17" will be lighter then 18" for the same type of wheel. even if you buy super expensive lightweight wheels the 17" version will be lighter then the 18". common sense.
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In most wheels, the weight increase between 17 and 18" wheels is only about 1-1.5 lbs. Many 18" tires are actually lighter than their 17" counterparts, so it is possible to end up with an 18" combo that weighs essentially the same as a 17" combo.
#6
You should also take into account the overall diameter of the 17's and 18's with tires on.
Whalentire.com has a calculator which will tell you the diamter with different profile tires etc...
Whalentire.com has a calculator which will tell you the diamter with different profile tires etc...
#7
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The biggest deciding factor here is the weight that's further away from the center of rotation. I actually saw a situation on television where a car lost 5 whp while upgrading to a larger diameter wheel that was actually lighter than the original. The overall diameter between the two was exactly the same however, the position of the weight was moved further outward. I can't remember the exact explanation they gave how to explain it but this was the way "I" interpreted it.
Example: Go to the park and have a friend stand in the middle of a merry go round. Spin the merry go round and note the difficulty. Stop the merry go round. Now have that same person move to the out side edges and spin it again. It will be more difficult to get it moving. The overall weight didn't change just the position of it. Moving any weight further away from the center of rotation increases the rotational resistance(or whatever technical scientific term you wanna insert here). The laws of physics.
Example: Go to the park and have a friend stand in the middle of a merry go round. Spin the merry go round and note the difficulty. Stop the merry go round. Now have that same person move to the out side edges and spin it again. It will be more difficult to get it moving. The overall weight didn't change just the position of it. Moving any weight further away from the center of rotation increases the rotational resistance(or whatever technical scientific term you wanna insert here). The laws of physics.
Last edited by t-von; 01-14-06 at 10:13 PM.
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#8
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Originally Posted by t-von
The biggest deciding factor here is the weight that's further away from the center of rotation. I actually saw a situation on television where a car lost 5 whp while upgrading to a larger diameter wheel that was actually lighter than the original. The overall diameter between the two was exactly the same however, the position of the weight was moved further outward. I can't remember the exact explanation they gave how to explain it but this was the way "I" interpreted it.
Example: Go to the park and have a friend stand in the middle of a merry go round. Spin the merry go round and note the difficulty. Stop the merry go round. Now have that same person move to the out side edges and spin it again. It will be more difficult to get it moving. The overall weight didn't change just the position of it. Moving any weight further away from the center of rotation increases the rotational resistance. The laws of physics.
Example: Go to the park and have a friend stand in the middle of a merry go round. Spin the merry go round and note the difficulty. Stop the merry go round. Now have that same person move to the out side edges and spin it again. It will be more difficult to get it moving. The overall weight didn't change just the position of it. Moving any weight further away from the center of rotation increases the rotational resistance. The laws of physics.
thats what i figured
not in as deep as how you put it lol but yea thanks
#9
Originally Posted by rynberg
In most wheels, the weight increase between 17 and 18" wheels is only about 1-1.5 lbs. Many 18" tires are actually lighter than their 17" counterparts, so it is possible to end up with an 18" combo that weighs essentially the same as a 17" combo.
#12
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http://www.mazda6tech.com/files/wheel_inertia.xls
You can compare the inertias here. Just need wheel and tire weights and sizes. This spreadsheet uses 3 different methods to determine inertias ... they are close.
Assuming same circumfrence, you can determine wasted torque at each wheel, and the effective "bag of sand" weight penalty for the inferior combo.
For a road course, 18" allows mega brakes.
You can compare the inertias here. Just need wheel and tire weights and sizes. This spreadsheet uses 3 different methods to determine inertias ... they are close.
Assuming same circumfrence, you can determine wasted torque at each wheel, and the effective "bag of sand" weight penalty for the inferior combo.
For a road course, 18" allows mega brakes.
#13
The shy megalomaniac
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Originally Posted by t-von
Moving any weight further away from the center of rotation increases the rotational resistance(or whatever technical scientific term you wanna insert here). The laws of physics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_of_inertia
#14
Mr. Links
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Originally Posted by Henessey
would 18s slow the car down any?
if so would a 17 front 18 rear slow down an fd?
yes i just bought this car and no i do not want to make mistakes.
thanks
if so would a 17 front 18 rear slow down an fd?
yes i just bought this car and no i do not want to make mistakes.
thanks
If all you are doing is driving on the street, I wouldn't get all that worked up about wheel weights.
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There's only a handful of people on this forum that are good enough drivers on the track to even begin to worry about a slight increase in inertia! If the wheels are 90% street use, just get some reasonably lightweight, well-made wheels that look good to you and don't worry about it...
#19
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Originally Posted by Henessey
road racing... im not some kind of street racer thogh
i just want power when wanter or needed.
a few trips to the track can be cool
i just want power when wanter or needed.
a few trips to the track can be cool
5Zigen Pro Racer GN+
Not too heavy, sturdy, cost effective and looks good.
#20
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Originally Posted by t-von
The biggest deciding factor here is the weight that's further away from the center of rotation. I actually saw a situation on television where a car lost 5 whp while upgrading to a larger diameter wheel that was actually lighter than the original. The overall diameter between the two was exactly the same however, the position of the weight was moved further outward. I can't remember the exact explanation they gave how to explain it but this was the way "I" interpreted it.
Example: Go to the park and have a friend stand in the middle of a merry go round. Spin the merry go round and note the difficulty. Stop the merry go round. Now have that same person move to the out side edges and spin it again. It will be more difficult to get it moving. The overall weight didn't change just the position of it. Moving any weight further away from the center of rotation increases the rotational resistance(or whatever technical scientific term you wanna insert here). The laws of physics.
Example: Go to the park and have a friend stand in the middle of a merry go round. Spin the merry go round and note the difficulty. Stop the merry go round. Now have that same person move to the out side edges and spin it again. It will be more difficult to get it moving. The overall weight didn't change just the position of it. Moving any weight further away from the center of rotation increases the rotational resistance(or whatever technical scientific term you wanna insert here). The laws of physics.
What you are referring to is the effect of "rotational mass" the closer to the center the source of the weight is the less it will affect the outcome (acceleration or braking). The further out from the center that the source of the weight is the more it will affect the outcome. In other words if you take a 17" wheel that has a cast barrel section and thicker spoke towards the outside and compare it against a 17" wheel with a spun barrel and thinner spokes the first wheel would have a higher rate of rotational mass even though they are both 17".
The negative side to high rotational mass is that it take more power to start rolling as well as more braking power and longer distances to stop. Regrettably every wheel is a little different so it isn't something that can be generically figured by size. the effects of rotational mass can be different even between two wheels of the same overall weight. It simply depends on where the weight is distributed on the wheel.
To someone that is using the car as an every day driver rotational mass doesn't really mean anything. For someone that is using the car for track and especially auto cross then rotational mass can be very critical.
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