Quick "how long is a piece of string" question here.
With regard to lightweight wheels like the Pro Race 1.2's, what is the weight saving over an OEM wheel, and approximately, how much do you believe to be possible with regard to lower times / higher terminal speeds over the 1/4 mile?
There are loads of "opinions" about this but I just wonder if anyone has any actual experience....
Ill try and explain it here..
The Pro race 1.2's are roughly 4kg's lighter than the OEM wheels each, so 16kg's in total. The theory is that rotational mass is equal to 4x that of static weight loss. Which would mean that changing the wheels alone should be equivalent to shedding 64kgs off a standard Golf GTI.
Say on a Golf Gti with 200BHP (1400kg base weight), to achieve the same power to weight ratio as a car weighing in at 1336kg's you would need an extra 8bhp.
That means pretty much nothing though to be honest, as the rotational mass has more of an effect from lower speeds, and would you see 8bhp on a car weighing 1400kg in a 1/4 mile test, im pretty confident not.
Its worth doing, but like any weight loss, you need to get a load off before you will see any real benefit..