what are the best lightweight alloys?

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tyson

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have spoken to many people about this and have been told lightweight alloys make alot of difference to both handling and acceleration?

can anyone confirm this? and if so what lightweight alloys would be best? been looking at BBS RE-MG 18" (7KG a wheel) , Volk SE37K 18" (7.6KG a wheel) , Dymag MG/CF 18" (6.4KG a wheel) , OZ Superleggera 18" (8KG a wheel).

any other suggestions?
 
tyson said:
have spoken to many people about this and have been told lightweight alloys make alot of difference to both handling and acceleration?

can anyone confirm this? and if so what lightweight alloys would be best? been looking at BBS RE-MG 18" (7KG a wheel) , Volk SE37K 18" (7.6KG a wheel) , Dymag MG/CF 18" (6.4KG a wheel) , OZ Superleggera 18" (8KG a wheel).

any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Best suggestion - 17"
 
the only thing is i currently have the 18" S3 standard alloys and really preffer the look of 18s on the car plus hoping to go for a BBK soon and they may not fit under 17s?
 
Alais DJA said:
Best suggestion - 17"
Click to expand...

+1... The S3 was released with 17" alloys as it was tried and tested to give the best handling/ride comfort. If you want the best handling go with 17" if you want sexy arch filling looks, go with the 18"
 
Define 'best'.
For me theyd have to suit the car aswell as being light, in which case i might not choose the lightest available.
Go with what you like or can afford.
If looks and price dont mattrr, go for the lightest available.

Also, what do you use the car for?
 
@ Benjiman46 liking them carbon wheels :icon_thumright: bet there around 2k a rim!

how much difference will there be in handling between 17s and 18s and will a big brake kit fit under 17s?

i've taken the car to santapod a few times and want to do a few trackdays.

its a 4WD S3 i know the wheels i currently have on are around 15 KG each!
 
Depends how big the brakes are. It's dependant on spoke design really, the standard 17 inch s3 alloys can house some big calipers, theres lots of roim behind them.

Some say 17s are better handling, some say 18, i think, having had both, that the 17s were better, not only lighter, but the extra sidewall height gives more under hard cornering, proving a little more grip to an extent, you can feel the grip alot better too.

I think whatever lightweight wheel you choose they will have big brakes taken into account when rhey wer designed, so that's not much of a worry if you keep disc size sensible and not ott.

I've always liked team dynamics 1.2 but not entirely sure if they suit the s3.

My personal favourite tho out of the few lightweight wheels available in 5x100 fitment are rota force.
 
superkarl said:
aand to add, if its 2wd with a lot of power, lightest may not be best.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Like anything on here, it's about application. Unless on a track or driving very hard all the time, i doubt you are really going to notice weight/handling benefits of a set of lightweight wheels unless spending serious cash.

18" , generally, are the go to size although like the others say...the cars were tested on 17"s when developed but they look too small.

In my opinion, the tyres are a more important facet, but again thats subjective.
 
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I have been looking to buy lightweight wheels for my s3 for a while now, i still havent found any that i think would suit it. Also, have you put the standard 17" wheels with standard tyres next to 18" wheels with say a 225/40/18 tyre... theres not much difference in size.
 
Lee172 said:
I have been looking to buy lightweight wheels for my s3 for a while now, i still havent found any that i think would suit it. Also, have you put the standard 17" wheels with standard tyres next to 18" wheels with say a 225/40/18 tyre... theres not much difference in size.
Click to expand...
Yeh. There should never be a differwnce in size when changing wheels/tires. It's the sidewall heights that make the differences, and tire choice. Circumferences should always stay the same, within +-5mm.

I want to go back to 17s with bigger sidewall now im running 18's.
 
superkarl said:
Yeh. There should never be a differwnce in size when changing wheels/tires. It's the sidewall heights that make the differences, and tire choice. Circumferences should always stay the same, within +-5mm.

I want to go back to 17s with bigger sidewall now im running 18's.
Click to expand...


I preferred the way my car drove with the 17s however i would say the 18s handled better. Although, iv got goodyear eagle f1s on my 18s and sh*te tyres on my 17s so not really a fair comparison.
 
Hmm... I think it would definately have to be 18s the arches to me look empty with 17s. Had a look at td pro race 1.2s seem to be cheapest option? And am a right in saying every 1kg lost off wheel weight is equivalent to 6kg sprung weight? Or is this a myth? If so had a look at some options that would be the equivalent of loosing 140kg sprung weight!! Sounds too good to be true
 
tyson said:
Hmm... I think it would definately have to be 18s the arches to me look empty with 17s. Had a look at td pro race 1.2s seem to be cheapest option? And am a right in saying every 1kg lost off wheel weight is equivalent to 6kg sprung weight? Or is this a myth? If so had a look at some options that would be the equivalent of loosing 140kg sprung weight!! Sounds too good to be true
Click to expand...
its something like for every 1kg =4.
either way, you WILL notice a difference.

my 18s weigh near as dam it 22kg with tires, i think my 17s were 20-21kg with tires. the difference was instantly noticeable.

if you think, swinging a 1kg weight in a circular motion fast takes quite a bit of effort. adding 1kg makes it a hell of alot more difficult.
 
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17's for handling definitely, rims are cheaper to buy, tyres are cheaper to buy, more commonly available on both counts.

I have loads of sets of rims for mine, and the difference when running my lightest wheels is clearly noticable.
 
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