Now that I have 17" wheels

[MrValve]

Driving home after installing 17" '03.5 Mazdaspeed Racing Harts on my Protege 5 the car felt a little... Sluggish, tardy. The tires are BFGoodrich KDW-2s 215/40/17.

Is this because the wheels and tires are that much heavier than the 16" wheels and tires that I took off, or is it just a sign that with the new setup I need a new alignment.

P.S. One of my mazda centercaps was cracked and missing a nut. How expensive are they to replace?

 

[JOS3]

the msp racing harts are a lot heavier

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Actually the rims are lighter than the 16's. With the tires they weigh almost the same. But now you have rims that have a larger radius so they won't spin as fast as the 16's. They center cap cost a lot from the dealer. Ken at Protegegarage.com has them for $50 with free shipping. Its a good deal.

 

[aMaff]

ur right around stock size (in terms of overall diameter)...ur just BARELY larger, it shouldn't make that much difference. Huh. Dunno. Ur turn in should be a lot better tho

 

[MrValve]

Actually the rims are lighter than the 16's. With the tires they weigh almost the same. But now you have rims that have a larger radius so they won't spin as fast as the 16's. They center cap cost a lot from the dealer. Ken at Protegegarage.com has them for $50 with free shipping. Its a good deal.

I've only just driven home from the dealer in traffic, so over the next few days I'll pay special attention. I've always had cars with fairly light wheels. My Miata had 9 1/2 lb wheels. I know the extra rotational weight will affect performance, so maybe I'm being over sensitive. They look nice though.

The guy I bought two of my wheels from e-maild me back that he threw away the center caps of the other two bent wheels he had just the other day! Bad timing.

 

[Mazdacub]

Are you seroius? If the 17" Mazdaspeed Racing Harts are lighter than this i have some hunting to do?.....ok who has some for sale? lol

Actually the rims are lighter than the 16's. With the tires they weigh almost the same. But now you have rims that have a larger radius so they won't spin as fast as the 16's. They center cap cost a lot from the dealer. Ken at Protegegarage.com has them for $50 with free shipping. Its a good deal.

 

[djp5]

They aren't lighter. I have both stocks and 03 MSP wheels and the MSPs are heavier (I personally haven't weighed them, but you can feel it). I think that I found a thread where somebody did, and the MSPs w/tires are about 5 lbs heavier per wheel.

I noticed a slight slowdown when I switched mine as well. Only in straight acceleration though. The on center response of my 17's (with summer tires compared to all-season) is much crisper and faster than with my stock wheels.

ps, center caps are a pain to find...I had to track down 4 of 'em!

 

[djp5]

ur right around stock size (in terms of overall diameter)...ur just BARELY larger, it shouldn't make that much difference. Huh. Dunno. Ur turn in should be a lot better tho

The MSPs are about 4% larger. This means that if your speedo says 62.5 with MSPs on, you're actually going 65.

 

[MrValve]

The MSPs are about 4% larger. This means that if your speedo says 62.5 with MSPs on, you're actually going 65.

I need to find a mile check to know for sure, but when I was choosing tires a search of the forum someone noted 215/40 instead of the MSP stock 215/45 yields accurate mielage on the P5

 

[Black_Protege_5]

My 03 P5 wheels were 22 pounds and the MSP's were 20 not including tires.

 

[DE31]

even if they were the same weight from my experience in other stuff the distance from the edge of the wheel to the center makes a difference. say they both weigh the same but since the load is farther away from the center of the wheel it is harder to turn. its just like when you have a weight in your hand, the further out the heavier it feels. i could be wrong since there could be other forces involved but to my knowledge this is what ive concluded

 

[djp5]

My 03 P5 wheels were 22 pounds and the MSP's were 20 not including tires.

you must have got shafted with some cast-iron stock wheels...check out the pic by mazdaclub above. He gets 16.6, which is about what I've heard from other people as well. 20-21 is what is generally accepted for the MSPs.

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Yea you should be right. Traction wise the 17's will grab more but steering response is a little slower. I wish I could find someone to trade my MSP wheels for a 16x7.

 

[Black_Protege_5]

you must have got shafted with some cast-iron stock wheels...check out the pic by mazdaclub above. He gets 16.6, which is about what I've heard from other people as well. 20-21 is what is generally accepted for the MSPs.

I didn't have those style rims. I had the newer style. Those were a lighter set for the early P5's.

 

[ChopstickHero]

MSP Racing Harts are approximately about 21-22 lbs.... with tires probably about 42-45 lbs. so they are pretty heavy.

Compared to something like Enkei RPF1 17" wheels that are 15.2 lbs ... you're saving alot of rotational mass as well as just static mass per corner.

 

[Mazdacub]

I have a set of ADR rims I use for autox racing. They are 12.5 lbs. (ughdance)

 

[awsmp5]

I have a set of ADR rims I use for autox racing. They are 12.5 lbs. Not the lightest you can get but for only $98 CDN a pop it will do

what kind are they??

 

[Mazdacub]

Sorry Sorry i stand corrected I have s*** backwards. My friend has the Icon W63 and he said they weighed in at 12.5 each. I weighed mine at 13.5 lb. each. Sorry sorry sorry......I have the ADR Visions 15"

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Nice rims!!!

 

[ChopstickHero]

Sorry Sorry i stand corrected I have s*** backwards. My friend has the Icon W63 and he said they weighed in at 12.5 each. I weighed mine at 13.5 lb. each. Sorry sorry sorry......I have the ADR Visions 15"

well...we're talking about 17" rims....and i wouldn't consider your 15" rims as light anyways.