[fcman]

Originally Posted by David70

Interesting article but why don't they say what the wheels actually weigh?



Just seems like a strange way of talking about something and I can't tell if it is good or great. Kind of like - "My current girlfriend weighs 30 lbs. less than my previous girlfriend".

R&T did an article a couple months ago with more info
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...sa-technology/

18lbs per wheel.

[Fahrvergnügen]

Originally Posted by fcman

R&T did an article a couple months ago with more info
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...sa-technology/

18lbs per wheel.

So 3-4 lbs heavier per wheel than M3/4. 12-16 lbs more per car (depending on 18s or 19s). I wonder how much the CF wheels would be to replace.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by ChicagoM4

So 3-4 lbs heavier per wheel than M3/4. 12-16 lbs more per car (depending on 18s or 19s). I wonder how much the CF wheels would be to replace.

You're not seriously under the impression that an F8x wheel is 15#'s, are you?

[fcman]

Originally Posted by ChicagoM4

So 3-4 lbs heavier per wheel than M3/4. 12-16 lbs more per car (depending on 18s or 19s). I wonder how much the CF wheels would be to replace.

The M3/M4 19" wheels are 21.4lbs for the front and 22.7lbs for the rear. The GT350R wheels are also 2 inches wider up front and 1.5 out back, which don't really make the M3 wheels and the GT350R wheels comparable.

[Fahrvergnügen]

Originally Posted by fcman

The M3/M4 19" wheels are 21.4lbs for the front and 22.7lbs for the rear. The GT350R wheels are also 2 inches wider up front and 1.5 out back, which don't really make the M3 wheels and the GT350R wheels comparable.

In general, the GT350R and M4 are not comparable, but since this is a BMW blog I thought it would be fun to post the difference with the M4. The GT350R does not have back seats (so what?) people will still compare them.

[fcman]

Originally Posted by ChicagoM4

In general, the GT350R and M4 are not comparable, but since this is a BMW blog I thought it would be fun to post the difference with the M4. The GT350R does not have back seats (so what?) people will still compare them.

You're right, but the original statement I responded to was that the CF wheels were 15 lbs lighter than the equivalent aluminum, so I posted how much the CF wheels weigh to add to that discussion. It doesn't really make sense to throw in specs of wheels that aren't the same size. The weight savings is the focus, not the actual weight.

[David70]

I don't think a comparable aluminum wheel would be anywhere close to 33 lbs. Especially if the weights above are correct for the M3 wheels (I realize they aren't as wide).

Would be interesting to see what the standard GT350 wheels actually weigh.

[fcman]

Originally Posted by David70

I don't think a comparable aluminum wheel would be anywhere close to 33 lbs. Especially if the weights above are correct for the M3 wheels (I realize they aren't as wide).

Would be interesting to see what the standard GT350 wheels actually weigh.

I'm thinking Ford is comparing them to the weight of a cast wheel, not very many cars come with forged wheels, although some manufacturers offer them as an upgrade.

[Shredicus]

[
BMW 437M:
Front – 19″ x 9.0″ – 22.2 lbs
Rear – 19″ x 10″ – 24.2 lbs

http://customers.precision-sport.com...-wheel-weight/

GT350R -
Front – 19″ x 11.0″ – 18.xx lbs
Rear – 19″ x 11.5″ – 18.xx lbs

Looking at ~24lbs. less right there, with 7" more wheel

[David70]

Originally Posted by fcman

I'm thinking Ford is comparing them to the weight of a cast wheel, not very many cars come with forged wheels, although some manufacturers offer them as an upgrade.

Even mid price 19" x 10.5" Apex wheels only weigh 23 lbs., not 33 lbs.

http://www.apexraceparts.com/apex-pr...l#.VjKRoLerTIU

I have an Cadillac ATS as my daily and it came with forged wheels (part of "Premium" package). Not a high end car.

[fcman]

Originally Posted by David70

Even mid price 19" x 10.5" Apex wheels only weigh 23 lbs., not 33 lbs.

http://www.apexraceparts.com/apex-pr...l#.VjKRoLerTIU

I have an Cadillac ATS as my daily and it came with forged wheels (part of "Premium" package). Not a high end car.

Aftermarket performance wheels are very light compared to most factory wheels. I know the E46 M3 19x9.5s were 29 lbs and factory GT Mustang wheels run around the 30lb mark asl for 18s. Cadillac is a bit highend in my book, or at least they put their money into stuff like that to make their cars more sporty. If you look around you'll find that most cars do not come with forged wheels. Even the R8 had heavy cast wheels as standard until a couple years ago

[David70]

Originally Posted by fcman

Aftermarket performance wheels are very light compared to most factory wheels. I know the E46 M3 19x9.5s were 29 lbs and factory GT Mustang wheels run around the 30lb mark asl for 18s. Cadillac is a bit highend in my book, or at least they put their money into stuff like that to make their cars more sporty. If you look around you'll find that most cars do not come with forged wheels. Even the R8 had heavy cast wheels as standard until a couple years ago

Possibly but seems lazy or cheap on the manufacturers part when talking about performance cars. Also, adding 10 lbs. per wheel to an Apex (not forged, not high end) wheel seems extreme. I am interested if knowing if there is a 10.5" W wheel for a performance car that weighs 33 lbs. Also seems like Ford is going overboard on the benefits of these wheels. Ford saying "Each carbon wheel saves around 6 pounds over a mid priced aftermarket wheel" sounds far less impressive.

If the regular GT350 comes with 33 lb. wheels it should be very easy to get most of the performance benefit of the carbon wheels at a pretty reasonable price, with the benefit of major damage and having to replace the wheel not being nearly the problem of the OEM aluminum or especially the carbon wheel.

[fcman]

Originally Posted by David70

Possibly but seems lazy or cheap on the manufacturers part when talking about performance cars. Also, adding 10 lbs. per wheel to an Apex (not forged, not high end) wheel seems extreme. I am interested if knowing if there is a 10.5" W wheel for a performance car that weighs 33 lbs. Also seems like Ford is going overboard on the benefits of these wheels. Ford saying "Each carbon wheel saves around 6 pounds over a mid priced aftermarket wheel" sounds far less impressive.

If the regular GT350 comes with 33 lb. wheels it should be very easy to get most of the performance benefit of the carbon wheels at a pretty reasonable price, with the benefit of major damage and having to replace the wheel not being nearly the problem of the OEM aluminum or especially the carbon wheel.

Like I said, maybe not 33 lbs, but close enough. The GT350R runs 11s front and 11.5 rear. The closest I could find was the 997 GT3 rears, which are 19x12inches and 31.9 lbs. Either way, 18lbs for a 19x11.5 wheel is seriously light, maybe not 15lbs lighter, but enough to make a difference.