Lightweight vs Relatively Heavy wheel accelleration test...

Nice read...i found the time saving to be pretty typical to what i thought was right. i used to think for every 100 lbs. you save, you pick up a bit over 0.1 on your 0-60 time. he saved 27 lbs and shaved 0.04 off his time (although it was 20-100 kph, not 0-100kph).

to be honest when reading everything between his mean/average/fastest&slowest times....he didnt really pick up much in his times, although his rims were already pretty light compared to even lighter ones.

i think for our FX's lighter rims+tires would have a bigger effect because our stock tires and wheels weigh so much (in excess of 40lbs) when getting some lightweight or forged rims we can drop that down to 20-25lbs per side, plus lighter/thinner tires. we could easily be looking at saving 100 lbs.

i cant wait to get a set of forged rims. with the weight savings from the tires and wheels ill be looking at 70-90 lbs. of saving, plus the spare tire and jacks in the trunk =)
 
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I found Ken's wheel weight related thread here as I was searching around and thought it better to just revive this instead of creating a new one.

brown_fv said:
i think for our FX's lighter rims+tires would have a bigger effect because our stock tires and wheels weigh so much (in excess of 40lbs) when getting some lightweight or forged rims we can drop that down to 20-25lbs per side, plus lighter/thinner tires. we could easily be looking at saving 100 lbs.
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As brown_fv mentioned above I want to try and remove 80-100lbs from my corners if at all possible. Couple of quick questions for you guys:

1. Does anybody know the weight of the OEM 20" wheel?
2. Does anybody know the weight of the OEM 18" wheel?
3. Any suggestions from the group on what wheel/tire options I have to achieve this goal, or even just get close to it?

Any feedback would be appreciated!
 
Guys, ignore the weight question, as fxlr8 kindly answered them in another thread.

Still would be interested to hear wheel suggestions though.
 
All I can say is my butt dyno felt a HUGE difference between my 22in 3 piece wheel to my old nismo 19in monoblock forged wheels. Car just felt so much lighter, But my 305 pirelli's on the 22's felt so much more stable and grounded on the road compared to my 295 yoks on the nismo's.
 
Dr.2K said:
All I can say is my butt dyno felt a HUGE difference between my 22in 3 piece wheel to my old nismo 19in monoblock forged wheels. Car just felt so much lighter, But my 305 pirelli's on the 22's felt so much more stable and grounded on the road compared to my 295 yoks on the nismo's.
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Yeah, dropping 100 lbs from any vehicle can make a big difference in both acceleration and handling. I will probably put in a Braille race battery too if appropriate which saves a ton of weight. I'm not trying to make it a sports car or such, it's still ass heavy, but lighter is always better. Especially from the unnecessary areas.
 
I used the 20lb braille. 20lbs lighter than stock..

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Here are some things I have weighed and removed

Rear tow hook, child seat restraints, middle seatbelt = 7.6lbs
Spare tire 45lbs
rear wiper and motor 4lbs
screw in tow hook 1.4lbs
jack and jack tools 9.5lbs


total 67.5lbs


Rear wood cover 17lbs


total 84.5 lbs


Braille battery 20lbs savings


total 104.5 lbs
 
i'm hoping if i get these 18" z wheels, that i will see an improvement in weight, especially with the smaller, non run-flat tires.
 
fxlr8 said:
Here are some things I have weighed and removed

Rear tow hook, child seat restraints, middle seatbelt = 7.6lbs
Spare tire 45lbs
rear wiper and motor 4lbs
screw in tow hook 1.4lbs
jack and jack tools 9.5lbs


total 67.5lbs


Rear wood cover 17lbs


total 84.5 lbs


Braille battery 20lbs savings


total 104.5 lbs
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Great info as always. :top: That's some excellent weight reduction.

What's the rear wood cover?
 
Pupp said:
Great info as always. :top: That's some excellent weight reduction.

What's the rear wood cover?
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The carpeted floor covering above the spare tire... Good quick weight reduction if you are going to the strip.
 
fxlr8 said:
The carpeted floor covering above the spare tire... Good quick weight reduction if you are going to the strip.
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ah, yeah 17lbs is a decent chunk of weight for just that cover.

With just your changes above plus wheels, rubber and a bbk it looks like it is easily possible to remove 200+ lbs from the FX. That's awesome. If I can do that I will be very pleased.
 
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I know this has sort of deviated from just wheels but has anyone on here done a seat swap. I probably wouldn't do this on the FX as it's my daily driver but I bet you could easily drop another 80lbs right there with a set of Sparco or Recaro seats. I swapped out my sport seats in my Cayman with GT3 race seats and saved 60 lbs alone. I bet the seats in the FX weigh quite a bit!
 
this brings up another thought ive always had. couldnt you just take out the seats in the rear? assuming your not taking more than 1 person to the track, you wouldnt need the rear seats. not sure how easy this is though, but i know how much the 3rd row seats weigh in my tahoe, so ours shoudl be pretty heeavy for sure.
 
StuLax18 said:
this brings up another thought ive always had. couldnt you just take out the seats in the rear? assuming your not taking more than 1 person to the track, you wouldnt need the rear seats. not sure how easy this is though, but i know how much the 3rd row seats weigh in my tahoe, so ours shoudl be pretty heeavy for sure.
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Sure. Seats are one of the first items to go/swap in a WR program. Battery, AC unit, stereo, lining and soundproofing, trim etc etc. I doubt I would see anyone do this to an FX though as most are daily drivers but a lot of track cars go this route.

If someone was serious about weight reduction there is a number of things you can do beyond the basics. However, what some people don't realize is that advanced WR costs a lot of money! I'm just going to remove/swap basic stuff to improve everyday handling. I won't be doing a seat swap, AC delete, trim etc. If I can get 200lbs out of it that would be awesome.
 
ya i just mean a removal for a track run, not permanent. i saw this ricer lookin car once that had pretty much the whole interior gone, looked kinda bad to drive day in and day out though.
 
I run my car full interior. Nothing taken out.....and I mean nothing. I peronally want real times.....as if I was on the streets. Infact I may have more stuff in the car cuz I have laundry and a suitcase since I usually get a room out there by the track.
 
I can't wait to take the tow hitch (or whatever the whole thing is called) out, I never use it. I remember reading that it weighs around 70 lbs :err:.
 
Psiclne said:
I run my car full interior. Nothing taken out.....and I mean nothing. I peronally want real times.....as if I was on the streets. Infact I may have more stuff in the car cuz I have laundry and a suitcase since I usually get a room out there by the track.
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next time at the tracks, you should do a run with 3 other passengers... (just for kicks)
 
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