Tire weight - how much does it matter?

[93tilInfinity]

Coming from a Golf R, I was super concerned about minimizing unsprung weight. Not concerned about my 0-60 times in the Mav, but curious how much ride quality/MPG tradeoff I'd be taking when considering my 245/65/17 options:

BFG KO2: 45 lbs
Falken A/TW3: 39 lbs
Toyo Open Country A/T III: 34 lbs
Nitto Terra Grappler G2: 34 lbs

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[CLH917]

Outside of the lengthy list of stellar reviews (to be fair, all of these tires are highly reviewed and rated), this was the ultimate tipping point for me choosing Toyo's.

 

[TSAINTS1115]

Tons. But you only touched on unsprung weight. You left off rotational mass affecting acceleration, braking, turning, etc , etc.

Newton knew what he was talking about.

 

[JUrban]

In a street car? Not much at all.

 

[710-oil-614]

Actually - I've been really curious for the Hybrid. Steelies aren't....light. Since the MavBrid is FWD I'm not overly concerned with getting bigger beefier tires on there.

But I am looking to get 17" or 18" black aluminum rims and placing some good all season tires on them (keeping the steelies for a winter set possibly). I assume the aluminum wheels would be lighter and the combo likely providing 10mm max extra tire width.

Will it see better mpg?

 

[CLH917]

In a street car? Not much at all.

This is bad information.

 

[JUrban]

This is bad information.

You can tell the difference between 5lbs of unsprung weight off each corner in regular city driving? Do you kick passengers out because they make the car an undrivable pig?

If you're looking to shave a tenth or two off at Summit Point, sure go ham, take out the spare, the back seat, get the light tires.

Street tires for a street car, you're gonna notice road noise and grip way before even care about their weight. It just doesn't matter that much.

 

[CLH917]

You can tell the difference between 5lbs of unsprung weight off each corner in regular city driving? Do you kick passengers out because they make the car an undrivable pig?

If you're looking to shave a tenth or two off at Summit Point, sure go ham, take out the spare, the back seat, get the light tires.

Street tires for a street car, you're gonna notice road noise and grip way before even care about their weight. It just doesn't matter that much.

I see your gross exaggeration. First, the OP is considering a tire that's 20lbs heavier a piece. He will certainly notice a difference in the way that his vehicle drives and that 80lbs of unsprung weight will affect fuel economy.

 

[TSAINTS1115]

You can tell the difference between 5lbs of unsprung weight off each corner in regular city driving? Do you kick passengers out because they make the car an undrivable pig?

If you're looking to shave a tenth or two off at Summit Point, sure go ham, take out the spare, the back seat, get the light tires.

Street tires for a street car, you're gonna notice road noise and grip way before even care about their weight. It just doesn't matter that much.

You're thinking 5lbs being 5lbs static. Start spinning that 5lbs from a dead stop or slow it from full rpm and you'll definitely see the difference.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

In a street car? Not much at all.

Street car? Geez I haven't even seen a trolly in years.

 

[CLH917]

Street car? Geez I haven't even seen a trolly in years.

Come to New Orleans!

 

[MakinDoForNow]

You're thinking 5lbs being 5lbs static. Start spinning that 5lbs from a dead stop or slow it from full rpm and you'll definitely see the difference.

Put heavy ones on do 0-60 several times then do it with light ones see what difference is.

 

[TSAINTS1115]

Put heavy ones on do 0-60 several times then do it with light ones see what difference is.

I'm well aware. Sell him on it.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Come to New Orleans!

That was last time I saw one about 18 years. Almost bought time share.

 

[JamesHenry]

You can tell the difference between 5lbs of unsprung weight off each corner in regular city driving? Do you kick passengers out because they make the car an undrivable pig?

If you're looking to shave a tenth or two off at Summit Point, sure go ham, take out the spare, the back seat, get the light tires.

Street tires for a street car, you're gonna notice road noise and grip way before even care about their weight. It just doesn't matter that much.

You're right, most people wouldn't notice a difference. In my Honda Fit, I absolutely could feel the difference between the OE wheels and tires and my aftermarket setup - mostly in braking performance. Moving from the OE 16" Sport wheels and tires to 15" Enkei RPF1's and 195/55 saved me ~10lbs per corner. I could feel no difference in acceleration because slow is slow, but subsequent braking performance was definitely much improved.

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