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.

[GasSavers_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.