The weight of Prius 16" alloy wheel

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lim @ Sep 10 2007, 03:57 PM) [snapback]510300[/snapback]</div>

I think the 15's are right around 14lbs so my guess would be about 15-16lbs? As for exact I have no idea. Although I could be completely off.

 

I don't know what the heck that said. So what is the weight of the 16" wheel? Unless you hand is a scale, I would be skeptical.

 

I don't know what the heck that said. So what is the weight of the 16" wheel? Unless you hand is a scale, I would be skeptical.

 

I'm not an engineer (disclaimer!). I suppose the weight of the wheels is important, but wouldn't the weight distribution be valuable information as well? Not being a physicist either (more disclaimer!), I thought the angular momentum would be important for stability and for inertia. Of course, wouldn't this also affect the energy required to start and stop the car?

OK. Does any of this mean anything in terms of control of the car, general safety and/or mileage?

 

I am an engineer who used to work at an automotive tier 1 braking supplier, so hopefully this will make sense (even though, I'm electrical and I'm about to spout off mechanical knowledge)...

From a fuel economy standpoint, you want a lighter wheel. You want a light wheel because the less the wheel weighs, the less the electric motor and ICE will have to work to get the wheel rolling (lower rolling inertia).

Lower weight wheels not only will improve but they'll also improve braking from the same standpoint. Your brakes won't have to work as hard to get the mass of the wheel to slow down. I'm not sure about what kind of effect this would have on regenerative braking, but it could mean less wear and tear on your actual brakes. For instance, if you see some guy rolling 24" rims on a big SUV with the tiny stock brakes still on the car... not so smart from a safety standpoint

 

More unsprung weight; Bad
Less unsprung weight; Good

 

From USBSea:

CE28 ECO DRIVE (Volk Racing Wheels made for Prius)
15 inch: 4.6kg (10.1 lbs)
16 inch: 4.9kg (10.8 lbs)

Toyota OEM Rim
15 inch 6.5kg (14.3 lbs)
16 inch 6.9kg (15.2 lbs)

 

I will only add that if you want more information on wheel weight versus fuel effeciency to read up a little on "Rotational Mass".

Do not forget that some wheel designs are not meant for the street especially wheels/rims designed for certain types of racing where it doesn't require a lot of lateral force (sideways).

-Calvin