What is the typical weight difference between the performance wheel vs. Show wheel? Also, what are the costs associated with both of these? I was thinking of getting some Axis wheels. I was told they were pretty solid wheels for the lightweight type.

 

It just depends on the size (18 vs 20), the material (aluminum usually), construction (ie cast vs forged), and bling (ie chrome). On the low end I would think 20-25lbs would be pretty light, but you can easily work you way into the 30lb+ range with 20s, especially if they are cast with chrome. I dont know what stock wheels weight, but if you can, go lighter or at least the same weight. I had some Axis Milano wheels a while back and they were fairly light for a cast wheel, but it may very between the models.

Brandon

 

Bling can mean different things to different ppl, Volk's are preformance yet due to the buy-in cost, imo its bling too...

All depends what you want, is your car gonna do track duty? Is it gonna be a crusier with limited track time? Define your uses for your car, then it will be easier to decide.

My car is a garage ornament, it makes it look so nice just sitting there

 

bling or baller? Bling to me is flashy when it comes to looks, baller is when you KNOW they cost some coin. IMO.

I think any of the forged multipiece are baller, they are very pricey. You can buy bling wheels for cheap and you see alot of them on SUV's and such.

 

In all honesty, unless if you race your car, there is not that much difference in performance/handling (for everyday driving) between sporty and bling wheels. You can get the same performance by decreasing the weight of the car, such as unloading the spare tire.

What is more important is the quality of the wheel, not the weight...

 

Which one? the one in the trunk or the one around the wasteline?

 

I wouldn't consider Axis wheels performance wheels. IMO they're more of a decently-priced, decent-quality wheel but nothing special when considering weight. Volk, Work, Advan, HRE, BBS, iForged, etc. might be considered high quality/lightweight wheels; then there's always OZ or Kosei which make good quality, lightweight wheels without the expensive price tag.

 

I would go for a lower weight any time if possible.
Heavier wheels make the car slower, harder to stop. Because it is unsprung weight, 1lb lighter on the wheel is similar to shaving 4 lbs off the chassis.

Stock wheels weight plenty though, about 28 lbs?

 

it also depends where you reside .I can get away with 20" Dropstars 'cause my IS is GFM and I live in Vegas.Where in any other more conservative states it'd be considered gaudy or even "GHETTO".

 

No no, 'ghetto' is putting 28" chrome rims and rasing your car.

 

A quality set of forged 18" wheels will usually be around 18-20 lbs. Chrome 20" wheels can easily weigh in excess of 35 lbs. The stock 18" wheels are 24-25 lbs. IIRC.

Much of it depends on the construction and design of the wheel itself but as someone mentioned earlier, each lb of unsprung rotational weight is about 4 lbs of dead/curb weight.

Therefore, the driver with 20" chromed wheels staging next to someone with 18" forged wheels can be at an effective ~250 lb. disadvantage.

As Philip mentioned, this is somewhat minor if you're not tracking your car as a general rule of thumb is a + .1 in the 1/4 mile for every 100 lbs of weight or so. However, the extra weight will negatively affect other things besides acceleration such as MPG, stopping distances, increased moment of inertia, wear and tear, etc. That's not even taking into consideration the degraded ride quality, more expensive tires that will wear out much faster, pothole protection, etc.

 

AND traction... to some extant, since 20's will actually lower your off the line umph by changing your final drive ratio so... maybe thats a mute point the more i think about it

 

Its all about the looks with 20's and for performace thats another hole new game. its what do you want with it and you will answer your question.

 

Hey fellas, sorry it took so long for me to respond. **** hit the fan at work. Anyway I appreciate all the info that has been handed down to me. When I said Bling I mean the 20" Chrome wheels or bigger. I am still not sure whar size to get. 19" sounds nice but then I realized the tires are more expensive vs. 20" wheels.

 

HA HA HA!!!! Yes that is true...