Diet plan

AZEV 17by 10 on the back which are 12kg heaver than the originals, .

Talking about the weight of the wheels Somthing interesting from another forum, S--- i didnt realise the Azevs were so heavy

Wheel weight can seriously affect the way a vehicle handles. It will affect acceleration, braking, and cornering. when looking at wheels and tires vs. performance you find "a point of diminishing return". This means that you have gone beyond the beneficial aspects and now you are starting to find negative effects. As an example, if you increase your tires and wheels to a 17" combination and only gain a total of 3-4 ponds over all. The negative effects would be very little. However if you increase to a 17" fitment and add 8-10 lbs of additional weight you will see slower acceleration, longer braking distances, and a lower slip angle when cornering. This is due to additional rotational mass.

The problem with determining rotational mass is that it can't be determined by the simple difference in weight. it is determined by how far away the weight difference is from the center point. If you take two of the same wheels but two different tires, one weighing 5 lbs more than the other you will see quiet a bit of difference in the handling of the vehicle. The reason for this is because the further away from the center the weight is the more the rotational mass will be. Simply knowing the wheels weight will help you but not necessarily tell you what the end performance results will be.

I'll weigh the wheels again to make sure, but the old wheels have no tread on the tyres , so it is not quite like-for-like.

I think what you are saying is that it is best to have excess weight near the hub and not on the rim?

For me, it was the cost of tyres that justified the change in wheels.
£500 a pair Vs £200-220 a pair. A new set of wheels saving me £300 a year, bargain.

[stephendell]

If you stick to 8.5J or 9J at the rear the replacements don't weigh much more and 255's fit a treat. Also some multispokes are lighter. Azevs are generally 'chunky' designs which weigh more and there's no getting away from the extra metal in the 10Js.

The tyres should still weigh less though!

AZEV 17by 10 on the back which are 12kg heaver than the originals, .

Talking about the weight of the wheels Somthing interesting from another forum, S--- i didnt realise the Azevs were so heavy

Wheel weight can seriously affect the way a vehicle handles. It will affect acceleration, braking, and cornering. when looking at wheels and tires vs. performance you find "a point of diminishing return". This means that you have gone beyond the beneficial aspects and now you are starting to find negative effects. As an example, if you increase your tires and wheels to a 17" combination and only gain a total of 3-4 ponds over all. The negative effects would be very little. However if you increase to a 17" fitment and add 8-10 lbs of additional weight you will see slower acceleration, longer braking distances, and a lower slip angle when cornering. This is due to additional rotational mass.

The problem with determining rotational mass is that it can't be determined by the simple difference in weight. it is determined by how far away the weight difference is from the center point. If you take two of the same wheels but two different tires, one weighing 5 lbs more than the other you will see quiet a bit of difference in the handling of the vehicle. The reason for this is because the further away from the center the weight is the more the rotational mass will be. Simply knowing the wheels weight will help you but not necessarily tell you what the end performance results will be.

Logically yes, but in practice no...Who here can honestly say their car handles better with the original wheels and balloon tyres than with a set of Azevs with low profiles?

Think how much rotational mass is going to increase with big discs.....Id still have them though...

The car definately handles better with the larger rolling radius and lower profile tyres, and they arn't even scuffed up yet, so grip should improve a bit more shortly.

I ditched the spare space-saver wheel, the cover, the jack and wheel brace, so that more than compensates for the weight. The AA reckons that "on average" cars get a puncture every 96,000 miles, thats abou 20 to 25 years for the GTA.

In fact, now the weight is lower to the ground, which must be good too?

[stephendell]

The AA reckons that "on average" cars get a puncture every 96,000 miles, thats abou 20 to 25 years for the GTA.

That means I've had about 50 years worth of punctures in the last fortnight

The law of "averages" and statistics!
Judging by your experiences stephen, other GTA owners may see a lot more than 96,000 miles before a puncture.

The handles do look better in the flesh because they arent too far off the colour of the carpet, but they aint the prettiest thing Ive ever owned thats for sure!!! Scoured the whole scrap yard for black ones but these bluey grey ones were the best I could find. Most of the others were pale grey, cream or brown

1981-1991 VW polo 'b' pillar handles are what you want, and black too.

[stephendell]

Think how much rotational mass is going to increase with big discs

Was that aimed at me?

Well this whole engine in out break it all about crisis has been good for the diet!!! There are so many surplus bolts, brackets and protrusions on and around the engine I reckon Ive saved another 3 kilos in brackets and bolts and thats not even including the newer even shorter exhaust! The crank pulley has an extra surplus pulley on the end....the hacksaw took care of that and the flywheel is lardy as anything! Whats best is that its all off the back of the car

peter,
"hacksaw". Do you not need to make sure that the crank pulley is balanced?

Team Pikey Racing

I dont suppose it was balanced when it was built, but it will be sanded smooth so it wont be any worse than when it started life. Do you think Renault balanced things like the pulley when they made it????? No, I dont think so!!!

i think they made an effort.....

There are no weights or marks at all.