RS5 owners: did you switch to lightweight wheels?

[AsherAudi]

In the never-ending quest to obtain better acceleration/performance, I'm considering lightweight wheels as I hear a lot about gains made by reducing the weight of unsprung mass etc.

Keep in mind all I'm interested in is ACCELERATION gains - throttle response, 0-60/100mph improvements etc

I found the 19" Rotor wheels on the S5 are forged and MUCH lighter than the cast steel 20" rotors on the RS5 as the RS5 wheels weigh in at an astounding: 34.6 lbs!

While I love the rotor design, I know there are 20" wheels on there that weigh under 20lbs. While that reduces weight of rims in half, the tire wight of 25 lbs remains so the reduction isn't overall that great:

35lb wheels + 25lb tires = 60 lbs
17lb wheels + 25lb tires = 42 lbs

For those of you that have gone with lightweight 20" wheels:
a. What wheels did you get?
b. What does each wheel weigh? (if known)
c. Most importantly, what REAL difference did it make, if any?

This article shows real-world testing done on lightweight wheels and despite an overall 82lb drop, the 1/4mi time only improved by a .1 sec:
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/light...ls-comparison/

[ffearless]

The RS5 wheels are not steel. They are aluminum alloy wheels. You will be hard pressed to find a 17 lb. 20" wheel. I have some 17 lb 18" forged aluminum SSR type C wheels that are considered light. I ran them on an Accord Coupe. They may a big difference over the 35 lb stock wheels. Typically 1 lb off the sprung weigh (wheels, brake rotors, etc) is equivalent to 4 lbs off unsprung weight. Of as much importance as the weight is where the weight is located. It is the moment of inertia that you want to reduce. I would run light, forged (strong) wheels on my RS 5 if I could find some that had the right dimensions and didn't cost $8000 - $12000.

[audiBoon]

In drag racing, 100lbs equates to about a .1 saved off the 1/4mi. Doesn't sound like a lot, but it's a pretty big deal. I switched to BBS CI-R wheels. Not sure if these are any lighter but didn't notice any difference. I doubt a .1 is noticeable streetlight to streetlight.

[AsherAudi]

The RS5 wheels are not steel. They are aluminum alloy wheels. You will be hard pressed to find a 17 lb. 20" wheel. I have some 17 lb 18" forged aluminum SSR type C wheels that are considered light. I ran them on an Accord Coupe. They may a big difference over the 35 lb stock wheels. Typically 1 lb off the sprung weigh (wheels, brake rotors, etc) is equivalent to 4 lbs off unsprung weight. Of as much importance as the weight is where the weight is located. It is the moment of inertia that you want to reduce. I would run light, forged (strong) wheels on my RS 5 if I could find some that had the right dimensions and didn't cost $8000 - $12000.

Thanks - so regarding your 4:1 ratio, are you stating that if I found 20" wheels that weighed 20 lbs each (and therefore reduced total wheel weight by 60lbs = 15lbs ea x 4 wheels) that the car would then feel 240 lbs lighter? If so, that would seem to be a significant improvement as I know of no other way to strip 240lbs off this car so easily.

[ffearless]

Correct.


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[AsherAudi]

Correct.


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Wow, thanks, in that case it is worth continuing to explore and locate the lightest wheels I can find (that still somehow improve the looks will be tricky) as I'd felt the Eventuri system made the car feel 5-10% lighter so this would have a similar effect.

Still interested in other people's experiences as well in addition to seeing what the lightest options are out there. Not considering those all-carbon wheels however as those are literally $15k per set lol

[JoshDub]

I went the other way on my BMW. While I still purchased lightweight wheels (12lbs a piece), since they were larger in diameter and width, coupled with bigger tires, they are a small amount heavier than stock. You can definitely feel the extra weight in that car. I'm sure the rs5 will feel a little nimbler with light wheels on it.

[JamesRS5]

I up sized to 21" but still dropped the weight to 23lbs on forged vossens, I then went bat shit crazy on weight reduction and swapped out the wave rotor brakes for the ceramics, front and rear, those brakes are the biggest weight saving you'll get on unsprung mass.

You notice it more in handling then you do in acceleration, the car responds much more crisply now.

For acceleration alone, reducing unsprung mass is an expensive way to go with relatively little gains, you'd gain as much by pulling out the seats and speakers from the interior. Reducing unsprung mass improves the handling, less gyroscopic effect by reducing the rotating mass, gyroscopes resist change in direction so reduce the rotating mass and you reduce this resistance which is why the car feels more responsive, also the suspension components work more effectively due to the reduced mass.

[s vier]

I'm heading down a similar path: Akropovic titanium exhaust (-20lbs) BBS wheels (34.5lbs vs 29.4lbs) Carbon Ceramics like JamesRS5 (fronts -26lbs rotational unsprung) (rears soon)

Basically, since there are few power adding options (Eventuri) I'd like to lower the mass without giving up anything (besides $) to do so.

Recaro Wingbacks (-60lbs) and sunroof delete will round out the final reductions.


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[Mops@Nemesis]

I always try and go with lightweight wheels. My 19x8.5 OEM S4 wheels weigh just under 30 pounds with 245/35. I have 19x9.5 BBS FS arriving soon. 20.2 pounds on 265/35. Nice difference.

[jdmnomore]

Cough I have a set of TE37s I may be willing to part with cough.

Forgive me, to answer the question I did switch to te37s and I believe they are 9-10 pds lighter then the stock rotors. I'd run the quarter at 12.5 112 with the stock wheels. I then went back in not as good DA and ran 12.4 @ 110. The car definitely felt quicker with the lighter wheels imo.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Rob, I mentioned the RS5 on 20x10 TE Ultra to @ffearless via PM. Post up some pics!

[jdmnomore]

Rob, I mentioned the RS5 on 20x10 TE Ultra to @ffearless via PM. Post up some pics!

Appreciate that Mops will get some photos this weekend was distracted by vacay and hurricane Marrria but back to business as usual.

Photos will be decent too new phone.. lol

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[JamesRS5]

I'm heading down a similar path: Akropovic titanium exhaust (-20lbs) BBS wheels (34.5lbs vs 29.4lbs) Carbon Ceramics like JamesRS5 (soon)

Basically, since there are few power adding options (Eventuri) I'd like to lower the mass without giving up anything (besides $) to do so.

Recaro Wingbacks and sunroof delete will round out the final reductions.


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Funny,

I messaged Ales 'Littledevil' about this last week, he has a new set of Audi Sports Buckets out of an R8, amazing seats, just a shame they have R8 embossed in the seat back. Did you speak to him on the ceramic rears?

[s vier]

Funny,

I messaged Ales 'Littledevil' about this last week, he has a new set of Audi Sports Buckets out of an R8, amazing seats, just a shame they have R8 embossed in the seat back. Did you speak to him on the ceramic rears?

The white backed ones right? Only issue is the R8 ones don't fold forward....

I have not yet talked to him about the rears. My fronts are in a box waiting for install. My time and $ have been on home improvements over the past 6 weeks

[JamesRS5]

That's the ones, they look superb but as you say, the rear seats would become redundant, now no one has ever sat in the back of this car but I think for the safety test, they have to have folding seats?

You will notice a difference from the fronts they save just short of 5kg per corner so that's around 10lbs in old money, rears are around 5kg per corner rotor weight but I can't remember the wave pattern rotor weight, definitely noticeable though and stupid stopping power. I find myself braking much later and putting much less effort into the pedal or you'll come to a halt 50yds sooner than you intended.

[S5CooP]

19 lbs for these rays - volk g25's... 19 inch vs 20... but I have been nothing but pleased with improved performance in the areas you're looking for... Mops hooked these up


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[S5CooP]

Also, buy some used sparco (or something similar) seats to drop another 100 lbs in the center of the car...


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[S5CooP]

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[MME1122]

I switched from the stock 18's on my S5 to the 20" RS5 rotors and there was a very noticeable difference. I don't know what each setup weighed but the car doesn't accelerate as quick and I definitely use the brakes more, especially in situations where I used to just engine brake. Having said that, it does stick to the road better in turns now with the wider tires. So I'm considering switching to lighter wheels, possibly 19" S5 rotors.

[Ape Factory]

Neuspeed makes a wheel which IMO, looks pretty good and it's light. Comes in 19" and 20" but with the OEM width of 9" (only downside). I believe the 19's are 21 pounds and a full set is like $1200.

http://www.neuspeed.com/329/24/0/327...eel.html#popUp[products]/1/

[Mops@Nemesis]

^The 102 looks so nice!

[BuyTheWarranty]

BUMP!

I need to get a second set of rims for the winter. My summers are on the Cast 5 spoke Audi wheels which look great, but weigh 35lbs each. They're using 275/30 R20 for rubber. My winter rubber is 255/30R20 and I'm looking to switch those back onto the Audi wheels.

Anyone buy the Neuspeed 102s? The weight is PERFECT but I'm not a fan of the look. I'm looking for a nice black wheel that's light. Any other lightweight rim options in a 5x112 20 x 9? Tons of websites (like 1010tires) don't list the wheel weights which is frustrating, so I've been combing through this thread (has all the weights)

[AsherAudi]

BUMP!

I need to get a second set of rims for the winter. My summers are on the Cast 5 spoke Audi wheels which look great, but weigh 35lbs each. They're using 275/30 R20 for rubber. My winter rubber is 255/30R20 and I'm looking to switch those back onto the Audi wheels.

Anyone buy the Neuspeed 102s? The weight is PERFECT but I'm not a fan of the look. I'm looking for a nice black wheel that's light. Any other lightweight rim options in a 5x112 20 x 9? Tons of websites (like 1010tires) don't list the wheel weights which is frustrating, so I've been combing through this thread (has all the weights)

I wound up going with BC Forged and they are awesome - just as good as HRE's but half the price and a lot of style options - go with the monoblock series for lowest weight. I dropped from 35lbs to 24lbs per wheel and added 1/2" width in the process. Best part is they're custom made so you can work with MOPS to get the exact level on concavity desired. Mine are all the same size/offset but my backs are more concave than the fronts and look pretty amazing imo :)

Of all the mods I did, dropping wheel weight from 35 to 24 made the largest real-world difference - and not just handling but straight-line too. I just launched the car for the first time with the new wheels and there was a big difference from when I used it with the old heavy wheels. The car now launches like a cheetah, chirping the tires, surging into 2nd and almost chirping the tires again into 3rd!!

[Ape Factory]

Check out VS Forged too...they're about $1000 less expensive per set than the BC Forged. They're both made overseas in either Taiwan or China.

What you will get with a forged set from the states like HRE, Klassen iD and a few others is better materials/manufacturing consistency and alloy quality. I would think that most of these wheels meet TUV and other ISO standards regardless. I'd also try to go with a 10" wheel over a 9".

Here's a thread with photos; https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...-2399-00-a-Set

[BuyTheWarranty]

I wound up going with BC Forged and they are awesome - just as good as HRE's but half the price and a lot of style options - go with the monoblock series for lowest weight. I dropped from 35lbs to 24lbs per wheel and added 1/2" width in the process. Best part is they're custom made so you can work with MOPS to get the exact level on concavity desired. Mine are all the same size/offset but my backs are more concave than the fronts and look pretty amazing imo :)

Of all the mods I did, dropping wheel weight from 35 to 24 made the largest real-world difference - and not just handling but straight-line too. I just launched the car for the first time with the new wheels and there was a big difference from when I used it with the old heavy wheels. The car now launches like a cheetah, chirping the tires, surging into 2nd and almost chirping the tires again into 3rd!!

Thanks for the info! It seems, most lightweight 19" wheels come in around 19-21lbs and lightweight 20" wheels come in at 24-26lbs unless you're going ultralight or carbon which isn't feasible for me. Still, saving 40lbs of unsprung weight would be closer to 250-350lbs of sprung weight (or higher depending where you look) which would be an equivalent power gain of +-30hp (which is excellent) plus all the additional benefits like handling, braking and 0-60.

I live in Canada so between the USD to CAD exchange rate and shipping most of these wheels look like they'll be around 4500-6000 which is ridiculous. I'm torn, because the rims I have now look fantastic and the panther black with the matte black wheels is a killer combo - check the picture:



Basically I'm looking for:

1. Black matte/gloss wheels in a 20x9
2. Weight ideally between 24-26lbs (and online, it's impossible to shop by weight)

[BuyTheWarranty]

Also this has been a super helpful thread - http://www.the370z.com/wheels-tires/...ht-thread.html

[AsherAudi]

Thanks for the info! It seems, most lightweight 19" wheels come in around 19-21lbs and lightweight 20" wheels come in at 24-26lbs unless you're going ultralight or carbon which isn't feasible for me. Still, saving 40lbs of unsprung weight would be closer to 250-350lbs of sprung weight (or higher depending where you look) which would be an equivalent power gain of +-30hp (which is excellent) plus all the additional benefits like handling, braking and 0-60.

I live in Canada so between the USD to CAD exchange rate and shipping most of these wheels look like they'll be around 4500-6000 which is ridiculous. I'm torn, because the rims I have now look fantastic and the panther black with the matte black wheels is a killer combo - check the picture:



Basically I'm looking for:

1. Black matte/gloss wheels in a 20x9
2. Weight ideally between 24-26lbs (and online, it's impossible to shop by weight)

Your current wheels do look sick but you will definitely 110% appreciate the difference - trust me as I was in love with the stock titanium rotors that came with the car and almost bought the OEM black ones with red stripe as an upgrade. People kept talking about rims since I was doing so many mods but I just kept telling them how much I like the OEM ones and that 95% of pics in the Aftermarket Wheels forum thread did NOT look better design/style wise to me. Then I learned just how insanely heavy those stock wheels actually are and did some research to find enough weight savings DOES affect acceleration - the Car and Driver test showed a 13lb weight drop per corner yielded over a full second reduction in 0-100mph times (that was for a slower VW so I estimated a 1/2 sec gain for our cars). It also makes the car simply feel way lighter overall where before it felt quite heavy.

The 35lbs of your stock wheels is extremely high - try finding a stock wheel that's heavier - I couldn't. I have absolutely no idea what the factory was thinking as this is a low-torque motor - if it were an S5 with boost, the super/turbocharged engines can overcompensate for the high initial moment of inertia but it's just not easy for a low torque N/A motor to spin such heavy wheels. So for this car in particular, Audi should've paid special attention and given us lighter wheels from the start as 35lbs is absurd. Plus aftermarket wheels CAN look better too if you get the right combo of size/style/specs :) These are 20x10 25ET with 5mm spacers in the rear:

[BuyTheWarranty]

Your current wheels do look sick but you will definitely 110% appreciate the difference - trust me as I was in love with the stock titanium rotors that came with the car and almost bought the OEM black ones with red stripe as an upgrade. People kept talking about rims since I was doing so many mods but I just kept telling them how much I like the OEM ones and that 95% of pics in the Aftermarket Wheels forum thread did NOT look better design/style wise to me. Then I learned just how insanely heavy those stock wheels actually are and did some research to find enough weight savings DOES affect acceleration - the Car and Driver test showed a 13lb weight drop per corner yielded over a full second reduction in 0-100mph times (that was for a slower VW so I estimated a 1/2 sec gain for our cars). It also makes the car simply feel way lighter overall where before it felt quite heavy.

The 35lbs of your stock wheels is extremely high - try finding a stock wheel that's heavier - I couldn't. I have absolutely no idea what the factory was thinking as this is a low-torque motor - if it were an S5 with boost, the super/turbocharged engines can overcompensate for the high initial moment of inertia but it's just not easy for a low torque N/A motor to spin such heavy wheels. So for this car in particular, Audi should've paid special attention and given us lighter wheels from the start as 35lbs is absurd. Plus aftermarket wheels CAN look better too if you get the right combo of size/style/specs :) These are 20x10 25ET with 5mm spacers in the rear:

Thanks for the information! Are those your rims? They look amazing! What was the price?

Basically, I'm trying to balance price, weight and look. I actually just pulled the trigger on a set of Gloss Black - 20x9.5 Fast Wheels FC04

Here's a pic I snapped (these are 18x8.5) - I think it will look sick and I'm excited to test my 1/4 and 0-60 times with the lighter wheels with my DRAGY to see what sort of real world performance I gain. I'll be sure to share for others who are curious!



Plus, the price was excellent, they weigh 24.5lbs, I added a +9mm offset all around and they'll be much easier to clean than my matte wheels (which will be my winter rims). The shape allows you see more of the brakes too which is a nice addon.

[marguello1220]

I agree with AsherAudi, BC Forged are a great wheel. It'll be hard to find better performance/$$$. I had stock 20s and they weighed 34lbs each. When i switched to BC Forged they came out to 21.5lbs. I can really feel the difference in all aspects of driving, especially acceleration. Not so much when flooring it but moving from a stop, it's more nimble.

The color is brushed dark black.

[AsherAudi]

Thanks for the information! Are those your rims? They look amazing! What was the price?

Basically, I'm trying to balance price, weight and look. I actually just pulled the trigger on a set of Gloss Black - 20x9.5 Fast Wheels FC04

Here's a pic I snapped (these are 18x8.5) - I think it will look sick and I'm excited to test my 1/4 and 0-60 times with the lighter wheels with my DRAGY to see what sort of real world performance I gain. I'll be sure to share for others who are curious!



Plus, the price was excellent, they weigh 24.5lbs, I added a +9mm offset all around and they'll be much easier to clean than my matte wheels (which will be my winter rims). The shape allows you see more of the brakes too which is a nice addon.

--Yes those are mine thanks - they have a LOT of concavity and the wider wheel, KW HAS lowering springs + spacers give it a much better overall stance. They were in the low $3k range and worth every penny imho

I agree with AsherAudi, BC Forged are a great wheel. It'll be hard to find better performance/$$$. I had stock 20s and they weighed 34lbs each. When i switched to BC Forged they came out to 21.5lbs. I can really feel the difference in all aspects of driving, especially acceleration. Not so much when flooring it but moving from a stop, it's more nimble.

The color is brushed dark black.

--those look really nice and I'm def jealous of the 21.5 lb weights! I was hoping mine would come in that low too as both of ours are same size and monoblock but for some reason mine a few lbs heavier :(

[marguello1220]

--those look really nice and I'm def jealous of the 21.5 lb weights! I was hoping mine would come in that low too as both of ours are same size and monoblock but for some reason mine a few lbs heavier :(

If yours are a few lbs heavier, mine are probably a little heavier then. My scale has been known to shave a few lbs off and relatively inconsistent. Regardless, they are plenty lighter than stock cast 20s. When I rotated my wheels a few weeks back, I was amazed at how much lighter they were even comparing them to stock 18s that came on the car. 10+lbs per corner is a great performance upgrade.

[tma5091]

IMG_6458.jpgIMG_4293.JPG
I have the Volk Te37 in a 19" for track days and they do clear a Brembo kit.
The Vorsteiners are 20". Both are 10" wide.
I run 295/30/19 and 285/30/20.


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[HMS]

IMG_6458.jpgIMG_4293.JPG
I have the Volk Te37 in a 19" for track days and they do clear a Brembo kit.
The Vorsteiners are 20". Both are 10" wide.
I run 295/30/19 and 285/30/20.


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can we see a full side shot from the two set ups please

[tma5091]

can we see a full side shot from the two set ups please

IMG_6756.JPGIMG_5530.JPG



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[HMS]

= me

[BuyTheWarranty]

Excited to try the Dragy with the lighter wheels, as they're 11lbs lighter per wheel. Not a huge increase, then again, with limited options for performance gain, from what I've read, this would 'free up' around 20whp.

Found these interesting: https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...d-tires-tested

Basically, according to their test, dropping 13lbs per wheel = a 2mph gain in trap speed in the 1/4 mile, a 0.2 second shorter time and a 0.3 second reduction in 0-60. Not bad.

Also, a good read from this year: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ar...really-better/

[S5CooP]

Wheels make a ton of difference.. certainly for those looking to optimize performance in this heavy car... Volk G25 19 x 10 inch for me... very strong, looks great, 19 lb a corner - almost 10 less per wheel/corner


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[s vier]

Wheels make a ton of difference.. certainly for those looking to optimize performance in this heavy car... Volk G25 19 x 10 inch for me... very strong, looks great, 19 lb a corner - almost 10 less per wheel/corner


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And for those who switch from the RS5 Rotor Wheels, -15lbs per corner. 60 lbs of rotational, unsprung mass! That’s enormous.

[S5CooP]

Agreed, the scallop rotor is nice, but total kit is heavy... after market brembo 6 pot, or gtr kit is the way 2 go imo. This not only saves weight but a lot of coin at each disc replacement.


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