AWD vs RWD

I looked on Tirerack for weights of the stock tires:

18's: wheel -> 35 lbs....tire -> 39 lbs = 74lbs total
20's: wheel -> 41 lbs....tire -> 42 lbs = 83lbs total

9lbs per wheel savings! That's a lot for the bigger wheel combo to overcome.
 
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Momentum will not play a roll in acceleration whatsoever. You are constantly working against that weighted force to accelerate. The only time momentum comes into play is when you stop the acceleration. At that point, the momentum will allow you to continue at the same speed for longer (and in the case of no losses, forever).

F = ma

Force = Mass x Acceleration

Acceleration = Force / Mass

For a given force (aka same exact FX), increasing mass (aka change from light wheels to heavy wheels) will lower acceleration, they're inversely proportional.

Now for momentum...

p = mv

Momentum = Mass x Velocity

Momentum is affected by the weight and how fast it's rolling, and outside forces such as drag, brakes (both disc and engine brake) and friction will reduce momentum to zero.

Velocity = Momentum / Mass, so for the same given weight (aka same exact FX/wheels), as momentum coasts down due to one of the losses stated above, the velocity will go down. This explains why your car will coast to an eventual stop if no more force is applied to keep it going (aka automatic transmission providing a continual force at idle).

In short, acceleration is always from a given speed to a new given speed, the time it takes to travel between the two. Going from 0-60 is straight up acceleration, and then going from 60-120 is like starting all over at 0 again, except for the fact that losses due partially to friction and mainly to drag will be greater.
 
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Teacher, So if the wheel has a larger DIA, yet it's lighter than the smaller? At what point does equality meet? . . & if that just doent make sense, . . . can I just have a bathroom pass? :tongue:
 
Your momentum calculation is for a straight line. You need to look at angular momentum to see the effect of mass on a rotating object like a wheel. Momentum and inertia in a 0-60 case are both functions of mass, so the more mass, the more energy is required to reach a given velocity and in relation, the momentum it will have.

From an angular momentum perspective in regards to wheel weights: you need to add to the equation r to take into account radians or distance from center.
 
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