Unsprung mass
- Thread starter TCJBOLDIE
- Start date
T9 man
TC ModFather
Not anything I really thought about to be honest Rad. Dampers are now a full coilover set and the car has been corner weighted with a track biased setup for the geometry. The wheels are 19" now instead of the original 17" but they are a special magnesium alloy and are in fact lighter than the 17's. The tyres are now a 35 profile instead of a 45 profile so I assume they are actually lighter being there is less rubber.
Most people I know fit lighter wheels and tyres or they work out the same when the extra size is taken into account.
It is certainly worth thinking about and I'm surprised the amount of young drivers who think putting 19's on their little shopping car is a performance upgrade!
It is certainly worth thinking about and I'm surprised the amount of young drivers who think putting 19's on their little shopping car is a performance upgrade!
Lunchmoney
The Torque Meister
Ricer
Lunchmoney
The Torque Meister
Nothing I've ever thought about. Pretty sure the 19in wheels on my car weigh the same as the OE 17in.
I started this thread simply to help people understand that the stock dampers(shock absorbers) have the bump and rebound settings to suit the standard wheel and tyre weight and if that weight is increased significantly then the dampers ability to keep the tyre in contact with the road surface is diminished.
In T9's case I'm sure that his suspension guru would have been well aware of this
In T9's case I'm sure that his suspension guru would have been well aware of this
Such items can only help to educate the younger members, everyday is a school day etc. Unfortunately young drivers are easily lead in making changes or modifications without understanding the effects or impact on the vehicle. We have all been there no doubt at some time and learned from it.
Was browsing on another site and found where someone had weighed an 18 inch wheel&tyre and a 20 W&T and the 20's were 5kg heavier so that is a lot of extra unsprung weight that the damper has to control.
Just thinking out loud/logically here The larger heavier W &T combo would possibly hinder performance as they would be acting like a heavy flywheel by way of being slower to spin up and harder on the brakes to slow down and there is 4 of them vs 1 flywheel.
Just thinking out loud/logically here
The larger heavier W &T combo would possibly hinder performance as they would be acting like a heavy flywheel by way of being slower to spin up and harder on the brakes to slow down and there is 4 of them vs 1 flywheel.
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It makes perfect sense. That much extra unsprung weight is a big difference.
It's also worth noting that tyres of the same size can weigh dramatically different amounts, the higher speed rated ones are usually heavier but it depends on the compound used and tread depth etc...
It's also worth noting that tyres of the same size can weigh dramatically different amounts, the higher speed rated ones are usually heavier but it depends on the compound used and tread depth etc...
It would be interesting if you still have a 17 wheel and tyre so you can weigh both to find exactly what the actual difference.
Lunchmoney
The Torque Meister
Dont have the OE wheels anymore.
Did you sell them or scrap them? The reason I ask is that I have an old set of alloys for my car clogging up my garage and would prefer to have the space.
Lunchmoney
The Torque Meister
Sold them as they were clogging up a shed.
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