My 18" TSW Interlagos - SAVED 20 lbs a corner!

[EcoBrick Bob]

EB Flex Stock wheels and tires weigh 63 lbs each, pretty similar to SHO's.  I downsized my wheels/tires to 18" TSW Interlagos Rotoforged wheels that weigh only 18 lbs each.  My tires are Michelin Pilot Super Sports, that weigh only 25 lbs.  SO... 43 lbs at each corner.... an 80 lb reduction of unsprung weight.  Tire diameter is about 8% smaller, which ups my axle ratio to around 3.40!  But the real benefit is both handling and stopping. My flex is far more predictable at 95% than my 2 G8's, which can come around on you like stink!  And... my mileage hasn't suffered, and seems to be slightly better, since the inertia to speed up and slow them is considerably less.  Tunes can be adjusted so your Speedo is exact. 



In my other pictures, are my ASA wheels with Continental Extreme DW's.  They weigh a bit more... originally 48 lbs each, but I currently have worn off 4 lbs of rubber on each one!!! Still have about 7-10K wear left.  Steering with Conti's is not as crisp as with Michelins, but are still a great tire.

 

[FaSSt9602]

Good looking wheels and I love the weight savings, but I don't know if I can get rid of the 20's...I think it is a perfect size (looks wise) for the Flex...

Find me some 25lb 20's!  :blink:

 

[4DRHTRD]

The same wheels are around 19lb for the 20"....

I'm working on getting a vendor to come on site to talk about them and offer discounts to members.

 

[EcoBrick Bob]

There are 3 TSW RotoForged wheel styles that are available currently.

The lightest are the Interlagos, the other 2 are Nurburgring & Panorama (new)  You can check these all out on TSW website, looks, sizes, weights etc.

Mine came from Discount Tire... Were $256 ea. plus they gave me a $100. discount for their sponsorship at G8 Natl Meet. Also heat treated my Nitto DR's.  Michelins 235-50-18" came from TireRack.
Have dealt with them since 1987...

In 20" size the 8.5"  40 offset wheels weigh from 22 1/4 lb to slightly over 23 lbs.

In 20" x10" 40 offset they weigh about 24 1/2 lbs. 

Next you need to fit tires, which start at around 28 lbs up to 35 lbs.  So... you get lots of visual fluff, but not more than around 10 lbs a wheel/tire savings.  Stilll... 40 lbs is 40 lbs!!!!

When I was running 285-40-18" Nitto DR's on the front, those tires weighed 30 lbs each vs. my 17" 175-40-17" Hoosiers for my G8, that only weigh 22 lbs.

Another thought is that smaller diameter tires mean that the weight is closer to the hub, which also helps performance.  And, with my H & R springs, the actual space between the top of my fender well and tire is about the same as stock.  Overall, my Flex is 3" lower than stock.

 

[jdeprato]

Thread revival! I'm looking at these rims for my daily driver mazdaspeed6 in 19" size. Any news on the vendor(s)?

 

[gad]

18' fit on SHO??

 

[ajpturbo]

18' fit on SHO??

Of course...Probably even 17's if you have a NON PP...Brakes aren't that big

 

[gad]

for the track, would be perfect...