Every year when I take off my 18 inch summers whether they are 225/45/18
or 245/45/18 and put on my stock 17 inch mags with my winter set up 215/55/17, the car always feels quicker and lighter. I drive a 03 sedan..
What gives, is my butt wrong...........maybe I will try 235/45/18 next year..

GBoy

 

Because whatever your summer wheels are tires are, they are probably many lbs heavier than your stock 17s.

I noticed this too when I ran my coupe 19s on the rock heavy RE050s. When I swapped them to my pilot sports, there was no difference in acceleration when I swapped. I researched and my fronts are lighter than stock and my rears are only about 1-2 lbs heavier than stock.

I always thought drag racers ran small wheels so they can run a tire with the biggest sidewall (for traction)

 

EVen if the weight of the wheels is the same, you are moving the largest peice of mass (the wheel rim) further away from the center of rotation. The further away, the more energy it takes to accelerate and brake the wheel.

That's why drag racers run as small a rim as they possibly can and why guys who add huge wheels to their cars usually find their car doesn't brake as well.

 

+1^^^ auto cross guys too.

I forgot who said this on here but True enthusiasts and racers put the smallest rim possible to cut down weight.

 

yeah i notice the car gets off the line alittle quicker when I change to my 17" snow tires. I have the OEM sport 18s with 235/45 summer rubber and a set of '03 17s with 215/55 snow tires.

 

Not necessarily true. See my post. The op would get a better reply if he acutally told anyone what wheels tires he's running.

 

I will be selling my 19" rays as a result of this thread!

 

Yes, coupe 19s are heavy and evil. Are yours in really good shape? Sell them to me for cheap

 

^^ If you're running OEM RE050 Bridgestone tires on those 19's you'll notice they are quite a bit heavier. You can save at least a couple pounds per wheel by going with a lighter tire. My next setup will have lighter tires.

 

rays are only 20lbs don't sell em

 

I've got summer 235/45 on my decently light 18X8 ASA AR1s (19lbs) and I notice the same thing when swapping on my Sport 17s with all season V-rated rubber. Even though my tires are relatively new, my G will obliterate the tires from a stop, even without a brake stall when the temps are below 60and in temps below 40, its really bad. I'm not saying this means my car is fast either. If anything, it's an annoyance. Same goes for around turns. I can easily induce oversteer in 2nd gear.

I'll gladly trade the slight increase in acceleration (probably .15 seconds and 1.5mph in the 1/4 mile) for the stellar braking, handling, overall feel, and style of my 18s and summer rubber.

 

dave and radio need to research the weight of the tires they are using

 

I'll keep my 18lb 18" wheels forever.

 

^ for eva eva?

 

18" combo was 47lbs when new. Probably a 2lbs lighter since the tires are 70% worn. 17" combo is 46lbs and basically new.