- Getting a set of aftermarket wheels for your car
can be one of the most satisfying and rewarding
modifications you can do.
A new set of wheels can completely change
the overall look and appearance of your car,
and it can be one of the defining factors,
that really just kind of ties
your whole build together.
The good news is that there are thousands upon thousands,
of different wheels to choose from when it comes down
to picking out a new set.
And there is a lot,
can we all like take into consideration
with this process.
You have things like price,
you got color, you got size,
you got style.
You want a lip,
you want concave,
you want bottom line,
you want multi-piece.
The list just goes on and on.
But have you ever thought about weight?
Has the weight of your wheels ever crossed your mind?
Is it something that you've ever taken into consideration,
when looking for a new set of wheels and more importantly,
is it maybe something that you should,
if you haven't been already?
What is going on everyone?
Gels from Fitment Industries,
and today we're gonna be diving into a topic,
that just gets the old like
scientific gears turning
in everyone's brains and talking whether or not,
wheel weight actually makes a difference,
when it comes to power and performance,
on today's episode of Myth or Fact.
(engine roaring)
Before we go ahead and get right into
the nitty gritty of today's episode please subscribe.
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Other than that,
you already know
wheels, tires and suspension,
fitmentindustries.com.
Anyway, it should be no surprise
that saving weight when possible,
is an extremely important thing,
when it comes to performance, cars and racing.
(metal clangs)
Developers, drivers, and racing teams
take extreme measures to save as much weight as possible,
in certain types of racing.
Meaning they are stripping any unnecessary
interior bits, covers, plastic seats,
trim pieces, you name it,
which does make actually a pretty astonishing difference
when you actually look into it.
So in a shocking turn of events,
we're gonna get the answer,
like right on the open,
right away here and say,
yes, wheel weight does matter.
And it can make a difference,
actually a pretty good difference.
The question I guess we're left with,
is, you know why?
And how much of a difference can it really make?
First thing we need to understand though is the
different types of manufacturing for aftermarket wheels.
So as many wheel manufacturers, companies, factories,
designs, and manufacturing processes
out there right now in the world,
of aftermarket wheels today,
wheel weights are just like all over the board.
And a lot of times it's pretty hard to find
what the actual weight of a wheel is before buying it,
just because a lot of
you know companies don't list it.
Maybe you might get lucky and find someone on a forum
who has the exact wheel,
in the size that you're looking at
and has weighted themselves.
But chances are pretty small
and you'll probably just end up searching,
for quite a while before you find that answer.
If the weight of your wheels is important to you,
an easy way to start narrowing down your options
is to know the different types of manufacturing processes,
that are used to manufacture your aftermarket wheels.
(breathes heavily) First and foremost, you have cast wheels,
probably the most common and most popular.
These are made by pouring molten aluminum,
into a mold to form an entire shape of the wheel.
Once cooled they're sent to finishing
to get cleaned up, painted and have the bolt pattern drilled
and they're on their happy little way.
It is currently the most inexpensive way
to manufacture wheels,
which means that they are usually
always the more inexpensive option,
when it comes to aftermarket wheels on the market.
The next step up from cast wheels would be
what we call rotary forged wheels,
or flow form wheels,
or whatever name the company is branded.
This is when the face of the wheel is cast into a mold,
just like the casting process,
but it is then taken to a forging machine,
to literally press out and draw out the barrel of the wheel,
essentially forging that barrel.
By doing this there isn't as much material needed
to make the wheel.
So it keeps weight down.
At the same time by aligning that molecular grain structure
of the aluminum in the barrel by forging it,
it is allowed to be thinner,
due to the higher strength to weight ratio.
So overall, just not as much aluminum being used.
Next step of being model block forged.
Now forged wheels are typically
the lightest option out of the group.
However, they also typically are the most expensive as well.
These wheels usually start out as a forged blank ,
and are either stamped and then cut by a CNC machine,
or just straight up cut
by a CNC machine to its final shape.
And then lastly,
there are multi-piece wheels.
Another version of a forge wheel.
Even though the faces of the wheels are still forged,
they aren't typically, you know,
the lightest of the group.
With addition of hardware
and them usually being pretty large wheels,
the weight starts to add up.
Depending on the overall design and process
used to manufacturer wheel,
it's pretty clear to see,
why weights can really start to vary all over the place.
One of the biggest impacts
and the biggest reasons as to why,
the weight of your wheels can make a difference
is because of a little thing called unsprung weight.
When looking at a vehicle specifically,
you have both sprung and unsprung weight.
Sprung weight is basically everything that is supported
by the vehicle suspension.
Some things like the chassis, the interior,
the engine, transmission, et cetera.
Unsprung weight on the other hand,
includes everything else
that isn't carried by the suspension which would be
the horse, the suspension itself,
things like brakes, wheels and the tires.
The general rule of thumb is that
for performance application you wanna have
the least amount of unsprung weight as possible.
Having a lighter unsprung weight
with help from a lighter wheel,
will allow more control and grip of the vehicle,
because with a lighter weight
on the unsprung side of things,
things are able to react more quickly.
They're able to adapt to the road better.
There's less mass to move all around.
The other main ingredient here
is rotational mass or rotational inertia.
In simple terms how much energy is needed
to get something rotating up to speed?
With a heavier wheel,
more energy is needed,
especially from a standstill to get it moving.
And of course the exact opposite with a lighter wheel.
Now something apart in here that I want you guys
to take away from this is that heavier wheels,
will not decrease the amount of horsepower of your car,
that's not really the thing.
And the lighter wheels on the other hand
will not increase your horsepower.
What it will change however,
is how much of that horsepower,
is actually useful and transferred to the ground.
Wheel weight is something that we should all care about.
At least a little bit as car enthusiasts.
We see more and more companies every day
start to move into either the forged,
or Rotary Forged market.
And in some cases,
moving away from their cast light wheel lineup entirely.
It seems that in recent years,
that has almost been a little forgotten about,
but it is finally making a comeback,
and that's really, you know,
like toot our own horn here or anything a little bit,
but even with our own wheel brand
that we just launched, Artisa Wheels,
we took wheel weight into a huge
consideration when developing them.
All of them starting off
right around 19.1 or 19.2 pounds per wheel.
With the largest size of 19 by 11 only hitting 22.9 pounds,
which we're damn proud of alright?
So we're gonna talk about it,
and that's the sales plug.
But other than that,
let us know down in the comments below,
if wheel weight matters to you.
And if so, why does it?
Other than that,
don't forget to check out wheels, tires, and suspension
over at fitmentindustries.com and let us know,
what you guys would like us to cover
on the next episode of Myth or Fact.
I'm Gels from Fitment Industry.
Thank you guys so much for watching,
we'll see you later, peace.
(upbeat music)