Realistically How Much Does Wheel Weight Affect Performance
The Ill-Advised Physics Amplification Co
Established Member
James Snover said:Got it dead right. Not only are they one of the worst places to have weight, the faster they spin, the more they affect the handling, and effectively, the more they weigh. And it is not linear, it is exponential. Add in gyroscopic forces, precession, and sometimes I wonder how in the hell five bolts are enough to hold the things on. Guess what else? You know why you don’t see ultra-low profile tires on racers? Because the metal weighs more than the rubber, in most cases, putting more weight and more kinetic energy and precessive forces right where you absolutely most do not want it.Jim Snover
James Snover said:Got it dead right. Not only are they one of the worst places to have weight, the faster they spin, the more they affect the handling, and effectively, the more they weigh. And it is not linear, it is exponential. Add in gyroscopic forces, precession, and sometimes I wonder how in the hell five bolts are enough to hold the things on.
The Ill-Advised Physics Amplification Co
Established Member
How Tire Materials Affect Efficiency In Conventional And Electric Cars
The grip of a cars tire is determined not just by its size but by the material it is made of. Grip increases rolling resistance and high resistance has a significant effect on efficiency as well as the performance of a vehicle.
Silica offers less friction its molecules are bouncy, which in turn provides low rolling resistance, whereas carbon tires due to friction offer high rolling resistance. Furthermore, when burned carbon tires contribute greatly to emissions.
In short, if you are the kind of person who prefers to drive within safe limits and keep an eye on efficiency, then you must go with the smaller tires provided by the company.
However, if you are looking to get the maximum performance out of your gasoline or electric car, then go for the bigger wheels recommended by the automaker.
Role Of Big Wheels/rims Size In Efficiency And Performance Of Electric Cars:
Generally, bigger wheels are for better performance. A bigger wheel can accommodate a wider tire and hence provide a better grip.
However, installing bigger wheels on a car with a small engine does not make any sense. The tire will cause higher rolling resistance, leading to a loss of energy from an already small and less powerful engine.
Most automakers, especially Tesla, provide two-wheel options for its electric cars: an economical smaller wheel for better efficiency and a bigger wheel for performance models.
Bigger tires have a wider contact patch, which provides better grip and stability during cornering.
Additionally, they also assist in achieving higher top speeds. An obvious drawback is that big tires are heavier compared to the smaller ones.
When you switch to a bigger tire without changing the size of your current wheel, then the process is called upsizing a tire. When you switch to a smaller tire on your vehicle without changing the wheel size, the process is then called downsizing.
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Can You Put Bigger Tires On Your Vehicle
If youre wondering, Can I use bigger tires on my car? the answer is usually, It depends. Before you buy that new set of wheels, there are a few things you should know about putting bigger tires on a car.
While there are many benefits of bigger tires, prospective buyers should consider how bigger tires affect vehicle stability, safety, fuel economy, and speedometer accuracy among other essential pros and cons of upsizing tires on trucks and SUVs.
Relevant Points To Consider
It is important to understand that the overall diameter remains the same. However, as the wheel size decreases the flat portion of the tire increases. The flat portion is called the sidewall. A Flatter sidewall minimizes the disruption of air. Thus, an 18-inch wheel performs better than a 20-inch wheel. All other parameters are kept the same.
Generally, bigger wheels improve the stability of your car and the range of braking distance will be shortened. A larger diameter means that the wheel will be heavier and consequently speed will be slightly compromised during acceleration. Therefore, it is beneficial to have a smaller wheel size. However, there is a lower limit to wheel size. The lower limit depends on the brake setup size, cooling of brakes, and packaging of other suspension components.
A race engineer once famously said, Ideal wheel size is the smallest you can fit around the brakes.
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How Tire Size Affects Performance And Fuel Consumption
When the height of a tire sidewall is decreased, the handling becomes easier because of sharper performance. Do rims affect car performance? Yes, and youll even be surprised to find out how does wheel size affect speed. You can observe changes in lap times even if the improvement is not that significant. Knowing this, you might want to consider getting a 19 inch staggered niche sector glass anthracite on your Mercedes Benz.
Now that you already know how does wheel size affect speed, you need to be aware that adding massive alloys to your car increases the rolling resistance. This means that your car requires more energy to have it moved. Big wheeled cars call for more fuel usage because of the high rolling resistance and the added weight to them.
The Effect Of Wheel Weight On Fuel Economy
Because wheel weight is rotational mass, its effect on fuel economy isnt exactly a straightforward answer. If youre doing a lot of city driving, full of stopping and going every day, you could see an impact on your gas mileage when you reduce your wheel weight. Youre using all that extra energy to get your car back in motion every time you stop or slow down during your drive.
If, on the other hand, you do primarily highway driving, youll be less likely to notice an impact. Once you get heavier wheels in motion, your car isnt working nearly as hard to keep them at highway speeds. For many people, that could mean going an extra day between stops at the gas station a meaningful impact that both your wallet and the environment would feel.
If youre looking for improved performance or better gas mileage, reducing your wheel weight can be a great step in the right direction. When it comes to choosing the right wheel and tire combination for your vehicle, we know the options can be overwhelming. If youre looking for some expert advice, were here to help. Call our team at 866-961-8668, and well get you on the road in no time.
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How Rims Work And Why They Matter
Alex Leanse
What would a car be without wheels? Wheels are a defining characteristic of all cars and allow a vehicle to actually roll clearly, you wouldnt get far without them. Many people focus on wheels for their aesthetic appearance, but they play a vital function in how your car drives. With so many sizes and styles available, you may wonder what the difference is, how wheels work, and if the differences matter.
Does The Tyre Brand Have An Impact On My Driving Experience
Yes, sometimes the tyre brans and type may have an impact on your driving experience and comfort. At times the same tyre size but different brand help improve the driving experience noise, vibration and harshness. Its god to mention the tyre types are manufactured with various requirements, be careful
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Wheel Tech Part Ii: Width Matters
Last time, we talked about the various ways that wheel weight affects vehicle handling, ride quality and both acceleration and deceleration.
While wheel weight might affect the performance of your car, wheel size can affect both the performance and the safety of your car. This article could frankly save your life or the life of someone near to you.
Unfortunately, there are a number of enthusiasts out there that by following typical forum/magazine myths about wheel sizing, have put us all in danger. Many of these myths have been around for literally decades.
You see, what I’ve found is that if enough people say something long enough and loud enough, everyone begins to accept it as fact even if it’s not necessarily true.
This is certainly true of the general rules of wheel size selection that you get on forums and even in magazines.
Here are some of the myths you probably have been led to believe:
- Larger rims with lower profile tires handle better
- Wider tires give better grip and thus better handling
Both of these are entirely incorrect.
In this particular article, we’re going to discuss wheel width. Next time we will talk about wheel diameter.
“But how could this be? Of course wider wheels handle better! The tire is wider so you’ve got more rubber on the road!” I hear cried from a member of the peanut gallery.
Another member of the forum certified expert crowd shouts: “All supercars have super wide tires and low profile tires, if they’re doing it – of course it works!”
Bonus
Construction Of Aluminum Wheels
Most car wheels are made of aluminum alloy, but there are a variety of methods to produce them. Forged wheels begin as a solid piece of aluminum, which is then formed under massive pressure and heat into the final shape. Forging produces extremely strong and often lightweight wheels.
Gravity casting is the simplest process and involves pouring molten metal into a mold. More metal must be used to provide the necessary strength, creating a comparatively heavier rim.
Low pressure casting forces molten aluminum into a mold to pack it tightly and increase its strength. Counter pressure casting uses the opposite concept, with a vacuum that sucks the liquid metal into the mold. The process is different, but the results are similar.
Flow formed wheels are popular in motorsport applications. They start as a basic metal casting, which is then shaped under pressure while spinning. This stretches and compresses the material, increasing its tensile strength, shock resistance, and load capacity.
Billet wheels are precision machined from a solid piece of metal stock. A machine slowly carves away material until only the desired shape is left. Because billet wheels retain the molecular structure of the stock, they are extremely strong, however usually not as lightweight as forged or flow formed alternatives.
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How Wheel Weight Impacts Your Vehicle
When youre shopping for new wheels, there can be a lot of information to consider. One piece of information that can be the most difficult to understand is the weight of the wheels. Wheel weight can have a major impact on your vehicle, but just how much is highly dependent on what you plan to do with it, alongside one other major factor. Lets get into it.
Generally speaking, wheel weight becomes a part of your vehicles overall weight. Cars that are heavier will be more difficult to get up to speed, and theyre more difficult to slow down when needed. Youll find an impact on your overall fuel consumption, too. There are other considerations youll want to make though.
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Con: Lower Fuel Economy
All that extra tire can seriously lower fuel economy. Bigger, more aggressive tires are great for backcountry trails but can be noisy and inefficient on paved roads. A deeper and wider tread can increase your vehicles rolling resistance, which means your car has to work harder to overcome the stickiness of all that extra traction.
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Wheel Size And Its Effect On Car Performance
Wheels on the cars consist of the tires as well as the rim. So when it comes to your cars performance, its wheels are an important aspect that you need to consider. Not only do they affect the cars performance, but also the noise, comfort, and vibration produced when driving the car.
Many people dont know that wheel size impacts car performance. So if you did not know about this fact, and are thinking about changing wheels, then you need to read this first. You can learn all about the effect of various wheel sizes on car performance as well as the quality of ride. It will also help you determine which you should opt for to improve comfort and performance.
A Guide To Vehicle Wheel Sizes: Do They Matter
Simply put, the larger your tire, the more of a grip your vehicle has on the road. As a tire’s width increases, it covers more surface area on the road.
Many drivers give little thought to the sizes of their wheels and tires except for cosmetic purposes. But, wheel size and the size of tires you put on them matter. Using improper tires can be costly and sometimes even dangerous.
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Calculating Equivalent Drive Ratio
Now that you know that 28-inch tall tires reduce your final drive ratio, you can calculate the gearing need to match the performance of your original 26-inch tire/3.55 gear combination. First, divide the new tire diameter by the original tire diameter, then multiply that figure by the original gear ratio:
28/26 = 1.0769230769
1.0769230769 x 3.55 = 3.82
With 28-inch tires, you would need a 3.82 rear-axle gear to match vehicle performance with 26-inch tires and 3.55 gears. Since a 3.82 gear is not offered for most rear axles, you will need to choose a gear between 3.73 and 3.90 to get close to the optimum.
Why Do Different Tires Or Wheel Size Affect Efficiency In Electric Cars
Due to the massive lithium-ion batteries, electric cars are heavier than conventional internal combustion cars. Additionally, in the case of electric vehicles, it becomes more important to choose your tires wisely as these cars are silent cars.
Being a silent car, choosing the wrong tire can lead to unnecessary screeching noises while driving. Tires carry the whole weight of a vehicle.
An ideal tire will not only improve efficiency, but it will also provide better handling, cornering, braking, grip, and performance.
One of the significant factors that determine the tires performance is rolling resistance. For a tire to be efficient, it is crucial to have low rolling resistance.
Higher rolling resistance means more energy is needed to move the car forward and hence less battery range. The same goes for gasoline cars as well.
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How To Read A Tire Information
Before we move forward, it is imperative that we know how to read and interpret the information displayed on a vehicles tire.
The usual tire information is laid out in this format:
Now, this information has three main parts: the aspect ratio, the width of the contact patch and the diameter of the wheel. Each aspect of the tire has a role to play.
If a tire has a higher/thicker sidewall, itll have a higher aspect ratio, represented here by the number 70. A tire with a higher aspect ratio offers a comfortable ride but not particularly better performance and vice-versa.
If the contact patch of the tire, represented by 225, is wide, it will offer a better grip but itll also increase the rolling resistance along with reducing efficiency.
Wheel size, 16 inches, is related to the diameter of the wheel. A bigger wheel can accommodate a wider or bigger tire. Heres a simplified version:
How Does Car Wheel Size Affect Its Performance
Updated Oct 20, 2020 | Same topic: Best Advice for Car Buyers
There are lots of factors affecting the performance of cars. It includes the engine type, the cars condition, suspension system, and the list go on. But how about the wheels? Does the size of the wheels make any difference?
Does it affect the performance of the car or it just adds appeal in making the car look cool? To find out, read on this article from Philkotse.com.
The tires are the cars main contact to the road, without it, a car will not run. Tires are mounted to the wheels. By spinning the wheels, a car will be able to move and rotate.
But in order to get the wheel spinning, the driver needs to apply torque through its axis. You can calculate the torque value using the tangential force produced by the wheels and the wheels radius.
The torque value can be treated as a constant by assuming that the engine produces a stable torque figure. Therefore, if there are changes in the radius of the wheel, there should also be changes in the driving force from the wheel.
The differences between 17, 18 and 19-inch tires tested and explained
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Changing Tire Sizes: Good Or Bad Idea
In almost all cases it is recommended that you stick to the factory-size for your car or truck’s tires. This is because many components of the vehicle were specifically designed for that specific size of tire. This mainly has to do with the diameter of your tires.
For example, if you get a larger tire with a larger outside diameter, your car will travel farther before the tire completes an entire rotation. Since your car’s computer determines many things based on tire rotation, such as:
- Speedometer
- Traction control
- Gearing settings
A change in tire diameter means that incorrect information is going into your car’s computer. Your car’s computer relies on correct information from the tires in order to respond well in emergencies. For example, over-sized tires could make your anti-lock brakes fail to engage properly.
