effect of lighweight wheels on straight line performance

[Techyd]

I'd not considered tyre weight before...is this a state manufacturers publish?  I was going to change from PZeros to MSPS4 when the time comes so be interesting to know if that comes with a weight loss or gain!

[TheKevlarKid]

@LotusLeftLotusRight

I imagine you'll get the same reply, yes we can but minimum order of 50 sets (of each size) probably.... no harm asking the question though!

[pete757]

I think that the greatest benefit from lighter wheels is in the unsprung weight, rather than rotational mass.

A reduction in unsprung weight will enhance the performance of the suspensions response to the road surface, with a minimal amount of distorted inertia from the mass of the wheel. And lets not dis-regard gyroscopic procession and cornering forces!

It's also quite curious, that tyre manufactures and tyre tests always focus on grip etc etc, with little or no mention ever made about the mass of the tyre. There will be mass differences that would probably be comparable to the mass differences from various wheels.

Either way, these wheels look great and are lighter than OEM.. so it's a win win if you like them! :>)

 

[andyj007]

7 hours ago, JayEmm said:

FWIW, I have managed to get a few miles under my belt with Steffen's wheels (video coming soon) - although I can not discern any performance difference, I am reasonably confident the steering wheel is transmitting just a little more information than before, giving the car even more of that Lotus feeling we all love.

Plus, they do look absolutely amazing.

oo er looking forward to that jayemm  your videos are always a great watch and combined with Steffens wheels should be cool

[pete757]

Indeed!

So hurry up James! 👍

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

On 27/09/2018 at 16:01, TheKevlarKid said:

@LotusLeftLotusRight

I imagine you'll get the same reply, yes we can but minimum order of 50 sets (of each size) probably.... no harm asking the question though!

Rimstock Executive Chairman David Roberts says they would make as few as 4 sets of OEM GTE wheels (gold and silver OK). Just need to garner interest and contact him directly, i’ll start another thread when I get home.

[pete757]

Mmmm, could be interesting...

 

[Steffen_Leitgeb-LSWGmbh]

After JayEmms review of the Leitspeeds there were some questions again about the Lotus original wheel weights of the forged ones for the Evora types.
We made a short comparison of the delta weights here.
https://www.leitspeed-wheels.de/en/wheel-lsl-01/#toggle-id-2

Attachment here:
A PDF-comparison sheet with all the weights of Lotus wheels front and rear for cross checking other potential offers in the market.

Weightcomparison-Evoraoriginal-vs-LSL01.pdf

[Julian73]

On 19/09/2018 at 15:54, DBG said:

Thanks for sharing.

I'm sure lightweight wheels do make a positive difference, but if you had Pirelli's on the standard wheels and PS4S on the lightweight wheels (as pictured) I'd say the grip difference between these two tyres would make more of a difference than the wheel weight. 

Also, what was the weight difference between the tyres (tyres often vary by several kg between brands), and the date of manufacture of each tyre (age)?

 

yes, tires are a bigger variable than the wheels

[KAS-118]

On 20/09/2018 at 15:15, Steffen_Leitgeb-LSWGmbh said:

Thank you for your comments @KAS-118.
You are right. I think when there is enaugh time I can repeat that on a race track with a professional driver and two identical tire sets.

The 3% improvement is a good value to explain a) the overall performance increase and b) compare the cost efficiency to other lightweight tuning products too.

What does the 0,14 s really say?
A performance gain of 0,14 s on a accel.-distance of just 125 m is not small. It is really big!  
I thought this is clear.
You are carrying this advantage all around a race circuit as you have explained very well and it may end up in an advantage in seconds over several laps.
And all without taking the car apart or changing many parts … simply change the wheels.

 

 

-> I did that special straight line testing as I was asked frequently by potential customers "how big" is an improvement in straight line acceleration.
And I thought such a testing is the most easy demonstration which can be the first basis for further judgements.

 

 

 

Hi - I just wondered if there was ever an update on this - and if a Race-track comparison was ever done?

Edited August 22, 2019 by KAS-118

[blueg33]

Interesting stuff, thanks Steffan

So light wheels make you car faster, I might go the whole hog and remove the wheels all together, save 100kg and go like a rocket

[Bruss]

Every bit of weight saved makes the car faster. It just depends on how much it's worth to you.

Colin Chapman thought it was so worth while that the f1 cars barely lasted a race before something failed.  Lotus road cars may or may not have the same philosophy!

 

Re wheels and suspension components, as stated elsewhere, there is an additional effect on suspension movement and rotating mass acceleration. Light weight components in the transmission path are always helpful, perhaps that's why the gears are made of cheese?

 

 

 

[Steffen_Leitgeb-LSWGmbh]

On 02/09/2019 at 10:47, Bruss said:

Every bit of weight saved makes the car faster. It just depends on how much it's worth to you.

Colin Chapman thought it was so worth while that the f1 cars barely lasted a race before something failed.  Lotus road cars may or may not have the same philosophy!

 

 

 

 

 

Chapman was right to built parts to last 1 race. Why should the part last longer? Today the Reglement asks longer lasting times of components as you know.

In terms of stability and safety street use parts are normally tested by a third party testing centre to ensure enaugh safety margin even when abused.
The Leitspeeds are German TÜV tested and therefore fully road legal in Germany.
This is the highest quality standard (a s the company producing must be inspected by TÜV too, ISO9000 is not enaugh any more) and roughly comparable to JWL standards.
I can not think of any other Lotus aftermarket wheel which has such a status. So the Leitspeeds are not of holed cheese - it is little more art to it. You can trust them 🙂 

[Steffen_Leitgeb-LSWGmbh]

On 02/09/2019 at 10:30, blueg33 said:

Interesting stuff, thanks Steffan

So light wheels make you car faster, I might go the whole hog and remove the wheels all together, save 100kg and go like a rocket

Great stuff. I think I could design a Leitspeed CAST (clean-air-see-through, hyperinvisible wheel replacement) with 0,0 kg weight … incl. TÜV testing and license maybe at 4.500.- EURO?
I could offer a group buy with - say 10% off?

And: Don´t forget about the brakes … they are heavy too 🙂

 

[Steffen_Leitgeb-LSWGmbh]

By the way some extra news:
As the discussion with Lotus dealers as resellers was not satisfying we are thinking Leitspeed may sell the wheels only directly to customers - no dealers involved. Maybe the way like most Lotus tuning is sold world wide.
So there will be a new attractive pricing without the dealer margin soon and also a changed online shop form on the website.
At the moment shipping inside EU and world wide at no or low cost is checked too. 

[Bruss]

44 minutes ago, Steffen_Leitgeb-LSWGmbh said:

Chapman was right to built parts to last 1 race. Why should the part last longer? Today the Reglement asks longer lasting times of components as you know.

In terms of stability and safety street use parts are normally tested by a third party testing centre to ensure enaugh safety margin even when abused.
The Leitspeeds are German TÜV tested and therefore fully road legal in Germany.
This is the highest quality standard (a s the company producing must be inspected by TÜV too, ISO9000 is not enaugh any more) and roughly comparable to JWL standards.
I can not think of any other Lotus aftermarket wheel which has such a status. So the Leitspeeds are not of holed cheese - it is little more art to it. You can trust them 🙂 

Apologies Steffen I was in no way suggesting your wheels were in any way similar to cheese. In fact I would quite happily buy a set at the right price.

It was a comment on the life of some of the gears supplied by Lotus in the gearbox.

 

 

[Steffen_Leitgeb-LSWGmbh]

No problem Bruss. Thank you.
If you are interested in a set please send me an e-mail to info@leitspeed-wheels.de and give info that you come from TLF.
I will have my demo wheels (DC finish) for sale too.