How some 9 pound alloys changed my life

[SVOboy]

Well, yes, the fronts need some paint, but for now it'll just be a fashion statement.

I can't notice anything in terms of acceleration changing, but when I was forced to gun it yesterday or get hit I burnt out, which I've never been able to do before without the N-bomb.

We'll never know for sure, but my old rims are heavy, I almst fell over when I attempted to lift the first one.

[MetroMPG]

they look great. good "before & after" shot!

every time someone writes about their vx rims, i wish i could have used mine on the fireflea.

[JanGeo]

Just so you know I went shopping for rims for my xB and Tre Rack had a range of 15x6 - 15x6.5 rims in the 22lbs down to about 9lbs where the 9lbs rims were way up there in price. You have some really light rims there and you should notice less bouncing on humps especially on over inflated tires. I think high speed quick turns also should feel easier from the reduced gyro action.

[thisisntjared]

lighting up the tires is a good sign, particularly because the tires are the same. the performance difference with lightweight rims definitely wont be felt in daily driving. this is because it is unsprung, however it is evident through numbers, racing and city driving, because it is unsprung. your going to feel anything it would be in first gear. your traction should also be better on bumpier roads, but you wont feel that either.

[DaX]

Originally Posted by thisisntjared

because it is unsprung

Anyone care to get up on the soapbox and tell this engineer what the difference between sprung & unsprung weight is?

[dylanear]

Hey all, my first post!

First off, love the CRX with the VX rims. I'm looking for something light to replace the close to 20lb 14" steelies on my Civic. I'm thinking of Konig Heliums which are about 10.5 lbs for 15x6.5 and the are pretty cheap at about $80-$90 a pop new. Good performance/economy blend size wise. I have 195/50/15 tires for them, a tad wide for good mileage, but I want it to stick too!

http://www.good-win-racing.com/mazda/miata/21-1045.html

Can't decide on silver, bronze, or black?

Dax, sprung vs unsprung:

Unsprung is stuff like tires/wheels, hubs, brakes. Stuff that goes up and down over bumps.
Sprung is the rest of the car, the stuff suspended on the springs.

Lower unsprung weight is good for mileage and accelleration since there is less weight that need to be accellerated. It also helps with handeling and ride comfort because there is less mass to go up and down, so wheels/tires conform to the road better (less bounce over bumps).

[thisisntjared]

more unsprung weight makes a smoother ride since it forces the tires to absorb more of the impact, less allows the suspension to do more of the work, which improves handling on bumpy roads however, since the suspension is required to do more dampening, it translates to a stiffer feel. the difference in ride comfort really is negligible.

that is a KILLER deal on the heliums btw. i book marked it.

[SVOboy]

What kinda civic do you have?

Anyway, thanks for the compliments, I'm happy to get the stuff done with.

Dan, when you get back from the tour del sol, can you tell me if you noticed any coasting differences with the hx rims?

[dylanear]

"What kinda civic do you have?"

90 Si, red, 115K miles. It was 100% stock down to the cassette player when I bought it a few weeks ago. Now it's got a Alpine CD and I'm in the process of putting in a set of MB Quart 6 3/4" speakers. I plan on doing some sort of light rims, I was going to use 15" rims off a 01 Miata, but since the hub size is a few mm smaller on the Miata and the rims are hub centric they won't fit despite having the same 4x100 bolts.

The car is in really great shape and the engine is like new. Part of me hopes for transmission trouble so I can put in something with a taller ratio s for better cruising MPG. The thing revs almost as high as my Miatas in 5th! I think I'm getting about 30MPG which is still way better than my Miatas which get 23 to 26ish. I'd love it if I could get 35MPG and still drive a little spiritedly.

[SVOboy]

If you want to keep the gearing just stick an HF fifth in there and it'll be a little better for highway, though the FD makes it not the same as the gear would be in the HF.

[dylanear]

Can you pick and choose gears? I actually wouldn't mind the lower gears to be a tad higher. First is to low for the way I drive this car, and 2nd is a tad too high to start out in. How easy would it be to get a taller final drive and perhaps a tad higher 5th as well?? Is that kind of tranny work expensive??

[SVOboy]

Eh. I'll talk to a friend about making you a custom tranny. He'll do anything you ask, what'd you spend on it if so?

[philmcneal]

so what's the total weight reduction? hm can you esimtate how heavy was one of your steel rims?

i was considering saving money for alloy but a friend of mine said (its not worth it man, most of the money put into is looks, not for fuel economy) at 600 bucks for four pieces i guess he's right...

but those rims... drool...

[SVOboy]

Like 30 pounds I think, I forget for sure.

Anyway, you can get the same rims as dan for about 200-250, same size as stock. They look almost exactly like mine but bigger and were designed for FE, plus you can have LRR tires put on them like dan did.

[The Toecutter]

A decrease of 1 pound in rotating weight is roughly equivalent to removing 5-10 pounds from the car's body as far as acceleration is concerned(This rule of thumb varies with car, obviously).

[SVOboy]

I've heard 1:2 or 1:3 is the ratio.

[Ryland]

I've heard 1:3 as well, for both cars and bicycles.

I really like the dark grey with the dark red paint on the car.

for a 1990 civic si, I would personaly stick with narrower tires, 6.5 rims seem way to wide, even my '85 crx hf, with the 175/70 13" tires, I have to push it a bit around a corner to get those tires to squel, and they are a few years old now, nothing special, get some narrow LRR tires if you want mileage, or regulare high proformance tires on some vx, or HX rims and you should be fine, I have 165/70 13" on my civic vx and I can't get them to slide at all unless it's pooring rain, and at that point wider tires will hydroplane even more.

[SVOboy]

Thanks for the compliment, I still need to paint the front **** up, I'm so damn lazy. Trying to get the superMID running I guess. VSSs suck.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Dan, when you get back from the tour del sol, can you tell me if you noticed any coasting differences with the hx rims?

There is a HUGE coasting difference. But remember, I went from 186/75/15 non LRR to 165/65/14 LRR tires.

[SVOboy]

The difference was less coasting, yes yes? I know the difference was huge, which is why I asked you, because even if I notice it not I will know what it is based on your experiences.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

The difference was less coasting, yes yes?

Quite to the contrary. Much more coasting. My top speeds during engine off coasting are easily 5 mph faster. My distances are farther so that I can stay off and make it over hills that i would normally have to bump start to get over, thusly extending the coast. My guess is that this is due more to the LRR tires, smaller contact patch and higher pressure (62), than to the wheel weight.

[SVOboy]

Makes me wish I could tell the difference on my car. It's hard though since I don't have a set coast area to compare to.

[DaX]

I'm still wondering how these wheels changed your life?

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by DaX

I'm still wondering how these wheels changed your life?

Me too!

[SVOboy]

Well, it's kinda like rediscovering the bible, if you get my drift.

[lotec]

the performance difference with lightweight rims definitely wont be felt in daily driving. this is because it is unsprung, however it is evident through numbers, racing and city driving, because it is unsprung. your going to feel anything it would be in first gear. your traction should also be better on bumpier roads, but you wont feel that either.

I agree on the main effect of the unspung weight being felt on the bumps. I put VX rims with 155/70 R13 Nokian NRT2 LRR tires on my CRX a few months ago,and immediately noticed that there was no more scary front end "skitter" on a bumpy, positive crown turn on my commute. My stock steelies and Big O legacy 175/70 R13 tires weighed 29.5 lb each as a unit.The VX rims and Nokian tires weighed 19.5 lbs each. Total unsprung weight savings 40 lbs, using my reasonably calibrated bathroom scale.

[Murat]

175/65x14 Kumho PowerStar tyres on 14x6 KM 6 spoke wheels (Made in Turkey.)



I found they are 10 kgs each fully inflated with pure nitrogen. I do not know how heavy the wheels themselves are but worth finding out...

I am eyeing these wheels



These are super leggere' s of the famous German brand OZ. (Leggere means "light in Italian as you fellas know)

These wheels are mounted on the Honda NSX JGTC cars to reduce wheel drag and weight...

[budomove]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Well, yes, the fronts need some paint, but for now it'll just be a fashion statement.

I can't notice anything in terms of acceleration changing, but when I was forced to gun it yesterday or get hit I burnt out, which I've never been able to do before without the N-bomb.

We'll never know for sure, but my old rims are heavy, I almst fell over when I attempted to lift the first one.

How many center caps do you have on your vx rims?

Dan said I will have 3 out of 4, dunno if i'll try to find a 4th, or just leave them off. Your front one is missing, but I can't tell on the back.`It looks like the back one is painted gold.....or is that just the brass colored hub nut?

I can see now, the hub nuts look good in contrast with the gunmetal rims...all the more reason to paint mine the same.

[SVOboy]

I have all 4, but only one is on,

[budomove]

did you paint yours?

if so, che colore?

why are 3 off?

were your wheels envious of the fact that your feet didn't have to wear shoes?

will you please paint the other two rims?