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Originally Posted by magnesium
FWIW, there is no way anyone who has mounted 22" wheels on their 300C isn't taking a noticeable, if not significant, performance hit...unless of course they happened to invest in light-weight, 3-piece forged wheels at $1500 a pop.
I ran across a program some time ago that did a fair job estimating effective HP loss/gain relative to changes in unspring weight. It was very enlightening. I will try to dig it up again. It more or less convinced me that unless I'm prepared to spend big $$$ on forged modular wheels, the payoff in style has to be worth the penalty in performance.
IMHO, if you're at all concerned about your 300C's performance, look for a nice 20" single-piece, forged wheel. They'll actually weigh less than the stock setup, give you a more sporting look and unlike the high-end, forged modular approach, won't cost you 25% of your car's purchase price 
Of course, if you're more of a cruiser and less of an adrenaline junky, there are plenty of nice (albeit HEAVY) cast aluminum 22s out there to roll. |
Thanks for the informative post Magnesium. I have read the same
thing in Road & Track, and applaud you for helping folks make an
informed decision.
If you can dig up that program, please let us know. Physics
shows wheel weight as particularly bad for acceleration,
which is why expensive alloy and modular wheels came out in the
first place. Not only do wheels have to be accelerated
forward like the rest of the car, they also have to be "spun up"
as they rotate. This is called rotational inertia, and consumes
a lot of energy, slowing acceleration.
Edit:
For example, think of the spins ice skaters do. The slow
turn with arms extended demonstrates the revs with a large rim,
the fast spin with arms at chest shows the higher revs that a
smaller rim achieves with the same amount of energy.
Best,
George Ferguson