Wheel Weights

[slngsht]

My car came with these old BBS racing wheels. After alot of calling around, I finally called BBS and after giving them some serial numbers and description of the wheels, they told me that I would have to deal with them directly for anything for the wheels.

 

 

 

I finally got around to figuring out how much these things weigh.

 

 

 

According to my bathroom scale, the tire/wheel combo is 38.5 lbs.

 

 

 

Looking at tire specs, Toyo RA1 at 225 50 R 15 weighs 23 lbs. So the wheel should weigh 15.5 lbs.

 

 

 

How is this against today's light weight wheels? I *think my rims are 8" wide, but not sure.

[Mike Rohaley]

I weighed my wheel/tire combo a couple of years ago When I got fresh rubber installed. They are the Caterham 16" HPC wheels (5 spoke as used on the Caterham 21, 7" wide) with Goodyear Eagle f1 GS-D3's, 205-40 size. they tipped the scales at a hefty 36lbs. Pretty much every Sevener I have spoken to says that they are very heavy for a Seven and therefore will negatively effect the handling potential of the car. The 280 treadwear rating certainly does not allow for ultimate grip either. To answer your question, even for being 8" wide, they are on the bulky side. What a top shelf modern lightweight wheel would weigh in your size is unknown by me though. The general concensus is that 13" is the way to go for the ultimate in light weight and handling. A whole lot of text for very little help huh?

[slomove]

Typical lightweight 13" wheels (Kodiak, Panasport etc) are around 10-11 lbs. I have RealWheel rims with similar weight. These are very plain alloy dirt racer wheels, no design whatsoever, just the works. All backspacings up to 5" available (see catalog page below). I got them for $170 each 2 years ago but not that cheap anymore...

 

 

 

I am running the well known (and rather expensive) Avon ACB10 tires on the track which are about another 10 pounds, i.e. the combination weighs in 19 pounds for 7" and 21 pounds for 8".

 

 

 

My road wheels are much heavier 15" rims Bridgestone S03. That means I save about 65 pounds total rotating and unsprung mass with the 13" race wheels!!

 

 

 

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061016_152034_RealWheelsPage.jpghttp://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061016_152107_KG4R1064_Large_.jpgslomove2006-10-16 15:34:03

[slngsht]

I will have ground clearance issues with 13" wheels for sure.

[slomove]

Me too, I can not take any speed bump. That is why they are for the track only. But you can mitigate this effect by using a taller cross-section tire.

[stevet]

Slomove,

 

 

 

what sizes do you have on your se7en (front and rear)? thanks, Steve.

[slomove]

Slomove,

 

 

 

what sizes do you have on your se7en (front and rear)? thanks, Steve.

 

 

 

Track:

 

- front RealWheel 13"x7" wheels with 7/21-13 ACB10 (equ. 195/50 R13) - 19 lbs

 

- rear RealWheel 13"x8" wheels with 8/22-13 ACB10 (equ. 245/45 R13) - 21 lbs

 

 

 

Road:

 

- front stock Birkin 15"x6" wheels with Bridgestone S03 195/50ZR15 - 35 lbs

 

- rear stock Birkin 15"x6" wheels with Bridgestone S03 225/50ZR15 - 38 lbs

 

slomove2006-10-16 17:06:35

[stevet]

Thanks for that. Steve

[Catie]

13x6 Kodiak wheels - about 8-8.5 lbs each

 

13x6 Bogart wheels - about 7-7.5 lbs each

 

13x6 Panasport wheels, 1 piece - about 11 lbs each (plus or minus a pound or so)

 

13x6 Minator wheels about 12.5 lbs each

 

13x6 IMCA rolled steel wheels about 12.5 lbs each, but cheap. IIRC they could be purchased for approx. $55 each.