[NMElise]

Does anyone know how much the factory wheels weigh on the latest Elise?

 

[MattG]

I don't know, but I HAVE read that they were specifically designed to be lightweight, so chances are they're in the 15-17 pound range.

 

[Randy Chase]

That would be my guess also. Heavier than that would not make sense to me.

If they were as light as 12 pounds or less, there may be some compromises?

Good things wheels are easy to change. One of the first things I will do is find some lighweight aftermarket racing rims for the sticky rubber.

 

[LarryB]

Have heard 24lbs (total) lighter then the S1. So 15lbs for the front and 17lbs, rear sounds like a best guess. Considering it a 16" & 17" wheel it's pretty light.

 

[mikester]

You might want to do a search on this website:

http://www.british-cars.co.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=lotusbbs&access=&mode=tlist&subject=2050

I seem to recall having seen a thread about that lately. Check either the General or the Technical areas.

It's a pretty good source of Elise info in general, although also a lot of NLC (No Lotus Content). Still I've learned quite a lot from these guys (and a few ladies as well).

BTW, the latest model Elise is the S2 111S.

 

[adamant]

I have 17x9's on my Boxster and they weigh 16lbs, so I hope they ae at least 17lbs. I'll probably buy an extra set for the track anyway. I don't see a problem with stress on the wheels this car is so light anyway. The Boxster is 2800lbs and the wheels I have (CCW) are used on much heavier cars than that.

 

[jrgibb]

Sadly one of the guys at SELOC has checked this;

Front - 15kg
Rear - 19kg


SELOC

 

[BrianK]

Sadly one of the guys at SELOC has checked this;

Front - 15kg
Rear - 19kg


SELOC

Is that 15kg each wheel with tires mounted, or 15kg for both of the front wheels?

 

[jrgibb]

That's per single rim + tyre

 

[LeftyS7]

Wheel weights?

Since tire weights vary greatly does anyone know the wheel weights?

 

[smoseley]

Rear Wheel + Tire mass (and corresponding radial center of mass) is really the important figure in calculating the inertial dampering a wheel will cause in acceleration of a car.

Front wheels are insignificant, because it's not an AWD car.

Good lightweight rims can get as low as 12 lb (about 5 kg ?) each, which can significantly improve straight-line acceleration times.

 

[Vantage]

A decrease in rotational inertia does increase hp put to the ground, but front wheel mass is just as important when you consider the effects of unsprung mass.

 

[Dan]

A decrease in rotational inertia does increase hp put to the ground, but front wheel mass is just as important when you consider the effects of unsprung mass.

More specifically, wheel mass affects how much work your brakes and suspension will do at any wheel, front or rear, FWD, RWD, or AWD. On some cars, brake rotors are larger in the front, and some front calipers use more pistons than the rear.

 

[Dan]

Miatas get away with using as little as 8-9 lbs. per wheel using forged 15" wheels, 10-11 lbs. for forged 16" wheels. An Elise weighs hundreds of pounds less than the Miata.

I have not seen anything stating that Lotus uses expensive forged wheels on the Elise, so I assume they are cast aluminum. New stock Miatas use cast 16x6.5 wheels that weigh 15.5 pounds each. These wheels use 5 very thin spokes, so I don't expect the Elise wheels to be significantly lighter than this. Unsprung mass nuts say even 15.5 pounds is too heavy for a Miata!

 

[Prolene]

I do hope there will be lightweight forged wheels of the LSS size avavilable.

 

[John Stimson]

Rear Wheel + Tire mass (and corresponding radial center of mass) is really the important figure in calculating the inertial dampering a wheel will cause in acceleration of a car.

All four wheels soak up energy as the car accelerates. You claim to know physics, so think about the energy situation. When a car is moving at a certain speed, there is translational energy in the chassis. All four wheels are moving with the chassis, so they have translational energy too. There is rotational energy in the rear wheels, because they are turning at a rate to match the ground speed. There is also rotational energy in the front wheels, because they too must turn at a rate to match the ground speed.

All of this energy has to come from the engine, because there is no other source of energy. It may not be fed to the front wheels directly through the axle, but they are spun up by the reaction force from the ground as the chassis accelerates.