Weight vs Equipment - Wheels and Tires

[jchady]

In my quest for lightweighting, I have found some wheels that are 10# a piece lighter than my current rims. The issue is they are only 8 inches wide vs my current 9 inch wide setup. So I would have to go to a narrower tire (245 vs current 275). The tires are 4# a piece lighter than my current tire. That's an overall 14# per corner less of rotational and unsprung weight.

Would the weight saving benefits outweigh the loss of traction/performance of the smaller tire if the tires were the same model?

Would the weight saving benefits outweigh the loss of traction/performance of the smaller tire if the tires were upgraded from a 340tw to a 200tw tire?

 

[blacksheep-1]

FWIW the wheel n tire assemblies on the current Gt4 car is 60 pounds. They are Forgeline wheels with 18 inch tires. They have to run those as homologated, the BBS wheels on the Porsches are about 52 pounds. The Forgelines are much more robust and generally don't knock the tires off the bead when cold.

 

[jchady]

I have considered the strength of my heavier rims although I think most of the strength is just because they are thicker to be strong enough. They are 18 year old aftermarket knockoffs of the 03 Cobra.
The lighter rim I am considering is flow formed (Konig Dekagram). I would think they would be as strong as what I have now.
I'd hate to have to spin up those GT4 wheels with my 289 horsepower, and then try and stop them with my stock brakes!

 

[DaveW]

In my quest for lightweighting, I have found some wheels that are 10# a piece lighter than my current rims. The issue is they are only 8 inches wide vs my current 9 inch wide setup. So I would have to go to a narrower tire (245 vs current 275). The tires are 4# a piece lighter than my current tire. That's an overall 14# per corner less of rotational and unsprung weight.

Would the weight saving benefits outweigh the loss of traction/performance of the smaller tire if the tires were the same model?

Would the weight saving benefits outweigh the loss of traction/performance of the smaller tire if the tires were upgraded from a 340tw to a 200tw tire?

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Cool car!

You gotta remember, Blacksheep is on a pro team trying to find thousandths of a second against other pro teams.

Most of the rest of us hacks aren't that. IMO you chasing weight in this manner is stepping over piles of $100 bills to get to pennies.

Put the best and widest 200TW tires on the widest wheels you can afford (or have) and spend any additional time and money on seat time and watch your lap times drop.

DaveW

 

[blacksheep-1]

I want to say I had 295s on the back of my foxbody. ( the build is on here). Basically tires> every other mod ( with exception of the driver mod as @DaveW has pointed out). So a 200 tdw tire would be better than a 300, the problem comes in with chassis loading as you will kill the smaller 200tdw tire a lot faster. As long as the sizes are reasonably close