Heavy 19"s to OEM 18"s...your thoughts.

[misterawa]

My 03 Z originally came with 16"s. I'm sure many of you already know when you upgrade to aftermarket 19"s, there's a noticeable difference in ride quality (harsher ride) and MPG. This may not be the case when you buy top dollar light weight wheels of course.

So I'm on my third set of 19"s and I'm tired of the harsh ride and the lower MPG. I'm planning to mount a set of powdercoated OEM BMW style 197s made by BBS on a set of 225/40/18 in the front and 255/35/18 in the rear tires (factory fitment). These should be considerably lighter than my staggered 19" Miro wheels on 235/35/19 front and 265/30/19 rear tires.

Should I expect to notice an improvement in the ride quality and improvement in MPG? I'm hopeful, but would like to hear your thoughts. Thanks .

[Juice84]

How heavy are the 197s and how heavy are the miros? Ive got a 2.5 and I am thinking about the 18 csl reps. I am hoping the increased rubber will offset the increase in weight.

[misterawa]

Originally Posted by Juice84

How heavy are the 197s and how heavy are the miros? Ive got a 2.5 and I am thinking about the 18 csl reps. I am hoping the increased rubber will offset the increase in weight.

According to my research (online), the miros are 34 lbs in the front and 36 lbs in the rear, compared to the 197s which are 24 lbs in the front and 26 lbs in the rear. So basically, a total savings of 40 lbs to the wheels, 10 lbs each f/r side.

[GothM]

36 lbs!? Holy.....

[krnnerdboy]

I recently swapped from 19" vmr csl's 30lbs to 19" morr vs7's 19.5lbs. The difference was night and day and I vow to never put heavy rims on any of my cars again. Where my shocks felt severely underdampened w/ the vmr the vs7 feels so much lighter on it's feet, and no more crashing over bumps. Acceleration feels like a lightened flywheel effect...harder to drift the car now but more control/agility in corners. You are doing the right thing! My mileage sucks either way so I can't comment

[pokeybritches]

Your acceleration should improve dramatically. I read somewhere that the rule of thumb is removing 1 lb of unsprung weight is the performance equivalent to removing 10 lbs of sprung weight. Obviously this depends on the car, as a torque monster that red lines at 6k rpm with a powerglide (2 speed) won't suffer as much from an increase of rotational mass as a 6 speed 8k rpm Bimmer. I'd also assume the rule applies primarily for the rear (drive) wheels. Or, I could be talking out of my ass. But as a reasonable person I can tell you that your acceleration will improve significantly.

[Juice84]

Originally Posted by misterawa

According to my research (online), the miros are 34 lbs in the front and 36 lbs in the rear, compared to the 197s which are 24 lbs in the front and 26 lbs in the rear. So basically, a total savings of 40 lbs to the wheels, 10 lbs each f/r side.

those are some heavy ass wheels, you should definitely notice increased acceleration. 24lbs is about the weight of the CSLs, let me know how they feel as you wheel weight and tire size is the same as what I am considering.

You dont happen to know the weight of the stock 16s do you?

[misterawa]

Originally Posted by Juice84

those are some heavy ass wheels, you should definitely notice increased acceleration. 24lbs is about the weight of the CSLs, let me know how they feel as you wheel weight and tire size is the same as what I am considering.

You dont happen to know the weight of the stock 16s do you?

Sorry, I can't recall the weight on the 16s. I do recall the improvement in MPG...2-3 extra MPG.