lightweight wheel question?

[civic94]

i recently got 2 vx rims, and put them at the front, since my civic is a fwd car.

on the back i got the 13' steelies that weigh about 5 pounds more each. does the rear matter as much as the front since its a fwd car? im thinking that the unsprung weight matters most at where the car is powered at. if adding vx rims to the back will make a huge difference such as the front, i will get 2 more vx rims.

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

Might get tail happy on uneven surfaces. Ultimately though, the motor drives all 4 wheels, so you're probably getting half the benefit.

[fumesucker]

Sprung vs unsprung only makes a difference to handling/ride, not to acceleration or fuel economy.

[civic94]

I heard somewhere that every pound saved in the wheels is about 10 pounds saved at the car

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by civic94

I heard somewhere that every pound saved in the wheels is about 10 pounds saved at the car

Similar statements are made about rotating mass on bicycles, but proper theory, experimentation, and measurements prove that it's not true.

[GasSavers_landon]

Originally Posted by civic94

I heard somewhere that every pound saved in the wheels is about 10 pounds saved at the car

It is more beneficial to reduce rotating mass, but how much more beneficial varies from case to case.

Excluding handling & ride, your two lightweight wheels will have the same effect on the front or rear.

[civic94]

Originally Posted by landon

It is more beneficial to reduce rotating mass, but how much more beneficial varies from case to case.

Excluding handling & ride, your two lightweight wheels will have the same effect on the front or rear.

got it.. im going to search for 2 more vx wheels. after switching from my normal 15 pound steelies to vx's in the front, i now can accelerate from 3rd gear at under 10 mph, without bogging. what a difference.....

[baddog671]

Hmm, I would think putting light wheels on the powered wheels would be alot more beneficial than putting them on the non-powered wheels.

Heavy wheels would need more "umpf" to get spinning, whereas the rears are just trailing along..

[fumesucker]

Originally Posted by baddog671

Heavy wheels would need more "umpf" to get spinning, whereas the rears are just trailing along..

In both cases it is the engine doing the spinning.

It does not matter front or rear, seriously.

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

Unless you just want to do burnouts.