Wheel and bumper weight differences

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burrpenick

burrpenick

'69 Barracuda
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How many lbs weight savings going from a set of Rallyes w/centers and caps to a set of alloys? I know this could be subjective, so I'm just wondering in general. I also have read about unsprung weight- so I'm guessing wheels would be in that category. Wonder what if any difference any weight savings here would reveal?

How many lbs could one expect to save using plastic bumpers and alum mounts?
 
Great question and the answer will depend massively on the wheels you pick but potentially a really big difference. With unsprung and rotating mass, even a small reduction is valuable!

Here's my example: 15x7 Rally wheel with 235/60/15 weighed in at 53.2 lbs.

Aluminum 15x8 with 255/60/15 still came in 4.2 lbs lighter!


Doing this from my phone...looks like I can only attach one pic per post??

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I just did this 2 weeks ago . 15" x 7" steels with no tire weighs 24.2 lbs.. 15" x 7" Weld Draglights weighs 8.1 lbs. with no tire . That's a 64.4 lbs weight savings just in rims alone . I can't speak to bumpers , though . Later, Tom
 
That's fantastic weight reduction but can you really drive around on 8.1lb 15" wheels? I assume these are competition only, correct?

I have asset of 14x6 OEM Miata wheels that are 10.3lbs...and those are for a 2100lb car with ~100rwhp. :)
 
burrpenick said:
How many lbs weight savings going from a set of Rallyes w/centers and caps to a set of alloys? I know this could be subjective, so I'm just wondering in general. I also have read about unsprung weight- so I'm guessing wheels would be in that category. Wonder what if any difference any weight savings here would reveal?

How many lbs could one expect to save using plastic bumpers and alum mounts?
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If you're talking about drag racing...the unsprung weight of the front wheels is not as import as the sprung weight of the whole front end. The reason why is that it is the sprung weight that will be moving (up) first to shift the weight back onto the rear suspension. The weight of the front wheels really won't be a factor until the car has enough front end lift that it reaches the travel limit of the front suspension and tries to lift the front tires off of the ground. The weight of the front bumper will have a much bigger impact on weight transfer than the weight of the front wheels/tires.
 
dart_68 said:
If you're talking about drag racing...the unsprung weight of the front wheels is not as import as the sprung weight of the whole front end. The reason why is that it is the sprung weight that will be moving (up) first to shift the weight back onto the rear suspension. The weight of the front wheels really won't be a factor until the car has enough front end lift that it reaches the travel limit of the front suspension and tries to lift the front tires off of the ground. The weight of the front bumper will have a much bigger impact on weight transfer than the weight of the front wheels/tires.
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Not a racer! Just like LITE- seems to be the answer to a good handling/running machine!
 
Weld wheels are D.O.T. certified . Of course they won't support a D3500. the issue with O.E.M. alloy rims is that they are a casting not a forging . Cast alloy are sometimes heavier than steelies so that the crazies can bash the crap out of them . We run Welds on the street and on the track . Abuse them at either venue and bad things happen .
 
383Scampman said:
Weld wheels are D.O.T. certified . Of course they won't support a D3500. the issue with O.E.M. alloy rims is that they are a casting not a forging . Cast alloy are sometimes heavier than steelies so that the crazies can bash the crap out of them . We run Welds on the street and on the track . Abuse them at either venue and bad things happen .
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So how do the Welds stack up to stock Rallyes w/centers and caps weight wise?

I had the the forged Centerline Smoothies on one mid gen Bcuda, thinking they were fairly light, but I dont love the looks of them now. My new ride has the BBPattern, so I would have lots of options, of course I know in reality that buying something lighter than the stock Rallys to save weight would probably be a joke on my part. Same for the plastic bumpers and brackets. That hood is pretty heavy as well........OK, just where do we stop!
All the weight issues aside, I'm still torn on the column shift AT that has a manual body- the racket type shifters seem to have gone sky high in price, but I do feel the need to have that floor shift- even if its mostly cosmetic! Ideas/offers to sell/suggestions?
 
383Scampman said:
Weld wheels are D.O.T. certified . Of course they won't support a D3500. the issue with O.E.M. alloy rims is that they are a casting not a forging . Cast alloy are sometimes heavier than steelies so that the crazies can bash the crap out of them . We run Welds on the street and on the track . Abuse them at either venue and bad things happen .
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Well I'll be damned. I didn't realize these were forged! Very cool...While that certainly makes them a heck of a lot stronger than an 8lb cast wheel, that's still not a lot of material.

DOT cert or not, I'd suggest that it would be wise to be extra careful on roads that you're not too familiar with. One decent pothole would probably do it...and it would likely be a crack rather than a bend.

I'm probably not saying anything you didn't already know. :)
 
383Scampman said:
I just did this 2 weeks ago . 15" x 7" steels with no tire weighs 24.2 lbs.. 15" x 7" Weld Draglights weighs 8.1 lbs. with no tire . That's a 64.4 lbs weight savings just in rims alone . I can't speak to bumpers , though . Later, Tom
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I JUST saw this post, sorry I missed it, shocking the difference, but I felt like those Rallyes were just crazy heavy.
 
MRGTX said:
That's fantastic weight reduction but can you really drive around on 8.1lb 15" wheels? I assume these are competition only, correct?

Weld draglites and prostars are street legal , draglites should be a hair stronger tho. I `ve been running them for yrs on my hotods.
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bumper depend on what car for weight. 70-72 will be a lot lighter than a 75 bumper with the reinforcements behind the bumper and impact shocks.
 
383Scampman said:
I just did this 2 weeks ago . 15" x 7" steels with no tire weighs 24.2 lbs.. 15" x 7" Weld Draglights weighs 8.1 lbs. with no tire . That's a 64.4 lbs weight savings just in rims alone . I can't speak to bumpers , though . Later, Tom
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MRGTX said:
DOT cert or not, I'd suggest that it would be wise to be extra careful on roads that you're not too familiar with. One decent pothole would probably do it...and it would likely be a crack rather than a bend.
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I installed quite a few sets of Draglites back in my days as a Super Shops tire monkey. Had a couple come back because 3800 pound Chevelle + pothole + 40 mph = bent wheel. Yes they do bend rather than crack.

I also remember the Hot Rod article about Scott Sullivan driving his Cheez Whiz Orange '55 Chevy across the country (1st Power Tour maybe?) He had problems with his fronts cracking but they were 3 1/2's trying to keep a big block '55 off the ground. He went to steel skinnies to finish the road trip if I remember right.
 
I swapped out the 14 x5.5 front Rallys and the 15x10 rear Rallys for 5-slot ET-IIs, for a tremendous ride improvement.
The steel bumpers on my Barracuda weigh 30 pounds each including the brackets
 
AJ/FormS said:
I swapped out the 14 x5.5 front Rallys and the 15x10 rear Rallys for 5-slot ET-IIs, for a tremendous ride improvement.
The steel bumpers on my Barracuda weigh 30 pounds each including the brackets
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Exactly ! Unsprung weight effects ride because lighter wheel/tire combos take less energy to change directions when you hit a bump .
And 1 lb of rotating mass = 4 lbs of sprung weight . Easier to get them moving .

I never did consider the front end rise scenario . Good point
 
I was back at the Acura plant in Ohio for the Acura NSX launch and got to handle a set of Ceramic brake rotors . Wholy crap were they light ! I instantly understood the advantage of them ! Besides the heat factor....
 
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