Light Weight Wheels and why, add yours to the list, read the requirements first

[rodmoe]

So is Team Dynamics wheels the lightest seems like everyone is going that route I'm trying to get the lightest wheel cuz that's the best way to go right? I'm a newb

TD wheels may not be the lightest but they are light for their strength sometimes lightest wheels may bend or deform easy on impact. for our stock lug pattern they are a good options and are easy to use as everything just bolts up wheel to hub not redrilling or bolting on hub adapters ..
I really love mine .. so I may be a bit Bias

 

[iso100]

I'd say OZ are the lightest but not cheap. The Motegi MR125 are currently the best weight / price performance at $150 each and 16.4# for 17x7.5 and et42.

 

[Kip2MyLou]

I was thinking of getting the mr125s but I want 16 for next year. But I don't want black wheels on my black car so I'll see what comes out between now and that time next year. Worse case I get them dipped or powdered coated.

 

[westcoaST]

I just dropped my OZ Ultraleggeras (originally black, man what a poor painting job) off yesterday to get them powder coated. I think the color we picked is a really good match for the performance blue FiST. I should be picking them up next Wednesday, and getting them installed on Saturday. I'll upload pics in my build thread.

 

[airjor13]

My Sparco's 15X6.5 are 13.3lbs, light and cheap set-up

 

[Kip2MyLou]

That's what I'm probably going to do then is get the MR125s in 16'' in black and get them powder coated something.

 

[Original J-Pat]

Whats the benefit of going down in rim size more tire?

 

[Kip2MyLou]

I just want more tire for the shittty city streets and more tire plus smaller rim size will do that. And I like the look of it on our cars. Because rally car. Ha.

 

[Original J-Pat]

I see i feel like 15 is way too small and I havent looked at any cars with 16

 

[Kip2MyLou]

This is the picture that made my mind up.

http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/threads/1656-Official-Tuxedo-Black-Fiesta-ST-Picture-Thread/page9

And his tire set up is 205/50 which looks good and there's a good many options on tirerack

 

[Original J-Pat]

Yea I think I'll stick with 17 probably Team Dynamics Pro Race in white if i can find them

 

[Kip2MyLou]

I just want a better ride and protect against these massive potholes in the city.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Not many low weight wheels are going to work out for places with really bad roads so if looks, a bit wider, very strong, is what you are after the TD wheels are a great way to go though on the first post I stated below 18lbs, there are exceptions for special needs.

BUT, if you really want to save weight and have a strong setup, just go smaller diameter with more sidewall, the car looks great on them.

If you do the 4x100 conversion you can go as wide as 15x9 with 225 tires but have to roll the fenders.

Roll formed so very strong, 13lbs, $126 each.
The 15x8 is 12 lbs and less money.
More styles available, some even less weight.

You can get TD direct bolt on 15x8's around 14lbs as well.

Stock wheel and tire combo is around 42.5 lbs
I can put on a set of 15x8, 215 tires, around 31lbs.

11.5 lbs, per corner, HUGE performance gain, best thing you can do for the money by far is lower weight wheels and tires packages as it effects every single aspect of performance, and looks cool and not follow the leader with big wheels

My car was at the Octane Academy yesterday and everybody loved it, including the instructors and the head of the Ford Race shop, he even drove the car, loved everything about it.

 

[RAAMaudio]

I have worked with 2J-r and Fastbrakes to develop front and rear BBKs for great prices that fit under 15" wheels but not all 15's will work out. Still a bit of tweaking to do before they are ready to be sold.

NOTICE: My race tires are 225/45/15 and rather short, I would go with a taller 15 to give more sidewall, closer to stock diameter and fill the fenders more for a street setup.

These are probably the vest all seasons in a 205/55/15 which will work great on a 15x8 but a bit of stretch or 15x7 for less stretch.

A little stretch is great for real performance, a lot of stretch is not, it is more for looks and less for actually driving the car at speed.

The link is for the older version, I would get the newer one on their site.

There are a few great summer only tires in 15's as well.

The widest tire you can fit on a rim is not usually the best choice, you need good sidewall support, a slightly narrower tire is quite often faster, better response, lower weight and cost.

Here is a great summer tire, low weight, with a 15x8 wheel the total would be around 30 lbs per corner, the tread is 7.5" wide so an 8" wheel is perfect for it.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?AFFCODE=AD5&tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Direzza+ZII&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=05VR5Z2&tab=Sizes

 

[Original J-Pat]

So peformance wise you think 15's is the way to go cuz I won't track my car that often more canyon driving maybe occasional track days

 

[RAAMaudio]

Lower weight with the best tires you can run, as long as all things are setup properly including sidewall support, air pressure in the tires, the most tread on the ground, will be faster in all areas, acceleration, braking, more grip in the turns as the suspension works better over bumps and the car will ride better in most cases.

 

[Original J-Pat]

I see thanks for the advice this is my first car I'm modifying its only the second car I have owned so still learning about things

 

[Hijinx]

Someone asked for this picture of the Ultraleggeras on 45?

 

[nttdemented]

RAAM, good stuff man!

I'm still enjoying the stock wheel/tire setup, car only has 2,800 miles on it. But when the time comes to change tires I want to go to 15" wheels with 225 width tires. I was looking at these last night:

http://www.rotawheels.com/wheel.php?id=122

And they come in this size: 15 x 9.0 4 x 108 e36

Would those work with a 225/45/15 tire? Or will the wheel stick out of the fender and look silly? I'm all about performance, could care less for looks but I don't want the wheel sticking outside of the fender. I'll be running 2 degrees of camber up front for track days and probably just leave it at 2 degrees for daily use as well. Never had a problem with that before when I had a 2007 Honda Fit that I tracked heavily.

I was thinking of pairing those wheels with:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...R5Z222V2&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

In 225/45/15 thats a lot of weight saving, lowered gear ratio, and the tire width should make them sit with a slight stretch on a 9" wheel witch is good for performance.

Thoughts?

 

[RAAMaudio]

Unfortunately this is not a bolt on solution, might fit up front but you may have to roll the fenders a bit though you can loosen them up and move them out maybe just far enough.

Also the wheels come very close to my BC struts, I had to add the camber on the top by drilling new holes for the tops. If you get camber plates that might do the trick.

On the rear, major issue, you will have to add camber which I feel the car needs anyway, or major fender work. I cut and changed the camber and toe, it took four tries, serious amount of time, etc...to get it right, then I found out the none ST rear beam setup already has -1.5 camber but read below.....

The ST knuckles are machined at an angle, there may be a combo of none ST, if they fit, knuckles and rear beam axle needed for a bolt on solution but also it might be the knuckles only are needed on the ST beam. IF you go none ST beam then is is softer and you then may need to work out a sway bar solution.

The other option is to get shims machined but I could not find a place to make them unless I had tens sets made and nobody seemed to want them besides me.

I would look into the none ST knuckle, they are cheap but you can get one from a local yard most likely just so you can compare and see if it adds more camber and what it does to the toe setting, I wish I had thought of this as it would be a dang simple solution.

One more option, get the ST knuckles machined, just have to tell them what angles to add, they would have to set it up very very well to do it right.

Other that doing something with the rear you are better off running 15x8 and 205 tires even if a 225 fits on an 8 it might not have enough sidewall support though many have done wider tires on narrower wheels with success I prefer the sharper response of a bit of stretch.

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Wheels, Rota, I had them in the past and no issues but did not use them for long, I have heard of some breaking and seen some pics.

If you do the low cost 4x100 conversion you open up a big selection of wheels, many roll formed and great prices, there are some 15x8 at 11 lbs for a great deal on goodwinracing

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All Ford had to do is mod the fenders just a bit on the ST version, nothing major, and we could of put on 225 on 9's easily but they chose otherwise.