acceleration vs wheel size and weight

[Doc Zaius]

Leave the noob alone! (We're not talking about overall diameter changes... we're flogging the much-discussed bigger wheels = more weight = less performance on our small cars).

But yeah, Loren's totally right: rubber for bigger wheels definitely weighs more (usually). Those sidewalls don't weigh very much at all. And of course you have to consider that with larger wheels, you're moving the weight distribution further from the center of rotation, which also hampers performance.

I've seen a couple comparisons around the Web, and the "general consensus" is that a reduction of 1lb of unsprung (wheel, tire, brake) weight works out to feel closer to 4lbs of sprung (normal) weight during handling & braking. So if you have larger wheels that weigh 5lbs more each, then that's kind-of equivalent to 20lbs of normal weight, times four for each wheel = 80lbs of extra weight. Not desirable!