Are lightweight wheels a big win?

Here is what good-win-racing.com has to say about it:

"Weight. The Mazda Miata is incredibly sensitive to what is called
unsprung weight (which can best be understood as what hangs off the
Miata suspension rather than what sits on it). I was surprised when I
bought my first Miata in the early 90s when I ended up not enjoying
the very first set of very nice wheels I picked for that Miata because
the ride quality became poor. Most Miata owners can feel a
deterioration of ride quality from a gain of as little as 2 to 3
pounds per corner in unsprung weight. We therefore strongly recommend
that you use only light weight wheels for your Miata like those we
sell here."

I think I read somewhere that my stock 16" wheels are about 15.5
pounds, whereas one wheel Good-Win-Racing seems to like, the Konig
Helium, weighs only 11.4 pounds (for 15"). Now, that's a big
difference, and I wouldn't think the slightly taller tires I'd be
running on the smaller rims would really change that.

So my question is, is Good-Win-Racing right? Will 4 pounds per wheel
make a big difference in ride quality (among other things)? When the
roads are good, I don't have any complaints with what I have, but on
the occasional bad patch of interstate or the like, well, it's not so
good. I've just gritted my teeth and sorta assumed that was one of
the tradeoffs of a sporty car with an 89-inch wheelbase.

The other question is if there's a downside to light wheels (other
than maybe cost). Otherwise why would stock Miata wheels often be in
the 15-16 pound range?

(On that site you can get a set of the Heliums with Toyo T1Rs for
about $750. Not sure if I'd run right out and replace what I have now
since my tires are basically new, but I would at least make a note of
it.)

Eric

In article
>,
wrote:

> So my question is, is Good-Win-Racing right? Will 4 pounds per wheel
> make a big difference in ride quality (among other things)?

You betcha.

> The other question is if there's a downside to light wheels (other
> than maybe cost). Otherwise why would stock Miata wheels often be in
> the 15-16 pound range?

First: you didn't specify your car's model year, but brake clearance may
be an issue. Not all 15" wheels will clear late NB brakes, and none will
fit NC brakes AFAIK.

Second: the easy way to keep a wheel from bending is to add more metal.
Mazda doesn't need a reputation for fitting weak wheels. 16 lb. isn't
terribly heavy for a 16" wheel, anyway. The OEM 17s on my Mazda3 are 22
pounds!

--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C

In article >,
Lanny Chambers > wrote:

> The OEM 17s on my Mazda3 are 22
> pounds!

I think tire weight has to figure into the unsprung equation as well.
Those 17's, because of their shallow sidewalls, should weigh less than
higher profile/smaller rim tires. I suspect there are considerable
weight differences in tires among different brand tires of the same
size, too. Also, aluminum lug nuts can take almost 1/2 pound off of
each corner.

So far as ride is concerned, it seems that higher profile tires would
more readily conform to pavement irregularities (softer ride) while low
profile will have superior cornering characteristics. Am I wrong here?
Seems like there's lots of variables to consider for ride quality,
including seat, shocks, sprung weight and muffler.

--Geary

On Mar 2, 12:20 am, wrote:
> Here is what good-win-racing.com has to say about it:
>
> "Weight. The Mazda Miata is incredibly sensitive to what is called
> unsprung weight (which can best be understood as what hangs off the
> Miata suspension rather than what sits on it). I was surprised when I
> bought my first Miata in the early 90s when I ended up not enjoying
> the very first set of very nice wheels I picked for that Miata because
> the ride quality became poor. Most Miata owners can feel a
> deterioration of ride quality from a gain of as little as 2 to 3
> pounds per corner in unsprung weight. We therefore strongly recommend
> that you use only light weight wheels for your Miata like those we
> sell here."
>
> I think I read somewhere that my stock 16" wheels are about 15.5
> pounds, whereas one wheel Good-Win-Racing seems to like, the Konig
> Helium, weighs only 11.4 pounds (for 15"). Now, that's a big
> difference, and I wouldn't think the slightly taller tires I'd be
> running on the smaller rims would really change that.
>
> So my question is, is Good-Win-Racing right? Will 4 pounds per wheel
> make a big difference in ride quality (among other things)? When the
> roads are good, I don't have any complaints with what I have, but on
> the occasional bad patch of interstate or the like, well, it's not so
> good. I've just gritted my teeth and sorta assumed that was one of
> the tradeoffs of a sporty car with an 89-inch wheelbase.
>
> The other question is if there's a downside to light wheels (other
> than maybe cost). Otherwise why would stock Miata wheels often be in
> the 15-16 pound range?
>
> (On that site you can get a set of the Heliums with Toyo T1Rs for
> about $750. Not sure if I'd run right out and replace what I have now
> since my tires are basically new, but I would at least make a note of
> it.)
>
> Eric

Years ago (9-10???) when Father of the Miata Bob was up and running, I
asked him about this very topic.

His response was that the wheel/ tire combo should not exceed 35
pounds at each corner.

If I recall correctly, he suggested that 15 inch wheels were optimum
due to the availability of better rubber versus the stock 14 wheels.
In addition, wheels larger than 15 inch would simply add more weight
without a marked improvement in performance.

I probably have his e-mail stored in one of my old computers. If I can
find it, I'll post it for you.

Gary
92red