you want a better explanation than what I posted above? wider = heavier

 

No your ski analogy was perfect... what can you say to explain the thing about 17" rims are harder to spin than 15" rims? The total tire size has not changed at all so why does it matter?

 

because it weighs more!

 

go push around your tire then find a big rigs tire and push it... then you'll see lol

 

Oh I didnt know they weighed more! I thought rubber was more heavy than the rims since they have alloys and not many spokes... This thread is done, then! ARIGATOU!!!!

 

judging by the past few threads ive read the intellignece level of this forum is slipping.

what size tires are you using? that means a lot more than the size of the rim because you can put the same size tire on 4 or 5 differend widths of wheels. 205 is the biggest tire you can fit into civic fenders and not rub on corners.

 

don't say that, not all Civics are the same...

 

mm im pretty sure that thats the general rule of thumb minus the new 8G's...

 

well even some of the 7th gens came with 205s or 215s stock, so I wouldn't say it's a rule of thumb; but anyway, I think the original poster got his question answered so we're probably done here.

 

Actually, I was always under the impression that the sidewall of a tire is heavier than most rim spokes over the same surface area. The catch is the metal ring around the outside of the rim is the heaviest part of a wheel/tire combo so you want to bring as close to the center of the wheel as possable so you don't have to accelerate it as far. I could be wrong though, that was just how I thought about the small rim vs. big rim argument.

I guess if the wheel spokes were lighter there's another argument for getting smaller rims!

And remember wheel weight is HUGE... you have to accelerate it forwards with the car AND around the axis of rotation. It also affects turn in performance... things that are rotating don't want to change direction easy so the lighter they are the less resistance they have to change. (Most people agree the turn in thing really doesn't matter though.)