Hi there,

after three years with a MkII VRS TDI, I'm loving the idea to have a MkIII (still undecided between VRS or plain TDI). I was wondering which are the lightest rims among those available from Skoda but couldn't find anywhere the weight specs.

Anybody can help?

Thank you,

Stefano

Haven't a clue of the weight of Skoda OEM 17" wheels but the Dezent RE 7x17 I bought for my winter tyres weigh 9.5kg each.  My Skoda 7.5x18 Neptune wheels weigh 13.4kg each.

If you are concerned about the effect on handling due to unsparing weight - don't - the Octavia isn't a precision enough driving tool to make any noticeable difference.

If you are concerned about the effect on handling due to unsparing weight - don't - the Octavia isn't a precision enough driving tool to make any noticeable difference.

I'd beg to differ on that - my wife's 207 had some pretty heavy OZ racing wheels as winters until recently and, while not affecting acceleration too much, there was a noticeable difference to how the car handled lumps and bumps and also the feel of turn in at speed. Thankfully we sourced a second set of oem alloys and it's back to normal (ie still pretty crap!)

What do you expect from a Pug? 

My VRS had 18" rims and - notwithstanding a remap - I had the feeling the car should have had a quicker acceleration.

I have no doubt that inertia given by wheels has a great effect on acceleration, but it seems I can't find a table for the weights of the different skoda rims, while a great stress is on rim design (which I couldn't care less).

Turning limit was dictated by suspension, and by FWD, in itself.

All vw group rims are fairly heavy. For light rims you need aftermarket. I run oz superlegerra in 17" and they are very light for the size.

If you are concerned about the effect on handling due to unsparing weight - don't - the Octavia isn't a precision enough driving tool to make any noticeable difference.

Exactly what I was thinking, why worry about stuff like wheel weight if you you're buying an octavia?

I'm not worrying.

Having already tried the feeling of 18" rims, actually my choosing criteria for rims is 90% functional.

So, the lesser, the better.

My latest VRS with a whiteline rear arb, albeit not so precise as a 320d, was a honest drive.

Anyway, I just e-mailed skoda.cz and will inform you, should anybody be interested.

Best,

Stefano

That's all well and good, but I would suggest that if you drove an Octavia with the lightest road wheels and then immediately drove an identical car with the heaviest you would not tell the slightest difference. The car just is not that precisely set up, any more than you would with any family type car - even a BMW.

Far better to choose the style that appeals.

Edited 1 January, 201412 yr by Timoctav

The car only carries the full weight of the wheel if it is within the boot, otherwise it is the wheels which are carrying the weight of the car. Heavier wheels create additional inertia, but the affects on a road car will be imperceptable.

Light rims make a noticeable difference. My neuspeeds save about four and a half kg unsprung weight per corner and you really feel it - car accelerates faster, rides bumps better too.

Stefano - I'd guess most oe rims will be around the same sort of weight- if you want light go aftermarket. Lots of choice only limited by how much you want to spend .

Thank you Rob,

SWMBO's Honda has some nice OZs, but I'm just configuring a company car.

 

Best,

 

Stefano

Even on a big lump as my Audi is, you will immediately feel the difference of lighter wheels.

Changed from std 19" 15.2kg wheels to BBS forged 9.8kg wheels and the difference is felt immediately after changing and driving out of the Garage.

Steering is lighter, response more immediate and the ride is better.

 

They feel even lighter than when the car is on its heavier winter wheels (18" also BBS).

I think you guys are feeling the placebo affect. The driveshaft will indeed transfer it's power to lighter wheels, which in turn require less force to rotate, but the wheels themselves still carry ~1400kg (with driver aboard), which is 350kg per wheel or 700kg per driven wheel. Shaving 4 or 5kg off of 700kg loaded rotational resistance is going to be very hard to notice unless measuring lap times with a stopwatch. My opinion is handling differences will be much more noticeable than performance enhancement, especially when fitting 17's instead of the stock 18's.

 

edit: There is a comparison here which shows performance differences between wheels of vastly different weights (from 107lb to 189ib combined). The measured performancer difference over a quarter of a mile was just 1/10th of a second, with terminal speeds being 113.11mph for the lightest and 111.99mph for the heaviest wheels.

 

quote:-

Quarter mile drag

Total weight reduction = 82.08 lbs.
Total performance gain = -0.111 sec, +1.12 mph

Edited 4 January, 201412 yr by Orville

Thanks for sharing Orville,

as it's often sad, YMMV. Nonetheless it seems the differences are pretty straightforward to some of us and we're not selling lighter rims

 

Anyway I'm still on hold with Skoda's official answer.

 

Best,

Hi!

 

I recently changed the originals Golus (11,5 kgs) for a Mercedes Benz wheels named "Toliman" in 16". This wheels weight are only 5,9 kgs.

 

My car is an elegance tdi 150cv, but now looks like a VRS. 

 

Has greatly improved its response and significantly lowered the consumption.

Edited 4 January, 201412 yr by buitrictor

The wheels count as unsprung weight which has a much greater affect on handling than it will for performance. Lighter 17's with higher profile tyres will typically be more compliant and refined than 18's with low profile tyres, but this does depend somewhat on the suspension setup and tolerances. If the suspension has a soft/refined setup then smaller rims and higher profile tyres can make the car feel mushy and be detrimental. It depends on the car and the roads it is driven on. The VRS has quite stiff suspension so 17's benefit the car more often than not as they add compliancy.

Lighter wheels will improve acceleration (slightly), but they will have a far bigger impact on handling and ride refinement. In regards to fuel economy, the tread width and tyre pattern/type will have a greater impact on mpg than reducing 10-20kg of unsprung weight.

I think most people realise that the VRS is fitted with 18's for cosmetic value only, rather than any real performance/handling benefits.

Edited 4 January, 201412 yr by Orville

Thank you Orville,

so, in the end, you seem we agree

 

When looking at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsprung_mass I find particularly interesting the following sentence:

"The amount of movement, for short bumps, is inversely proportional to the weight - a lighter wheel which readily moves in response to road bumps will have more grip and more constant grip when tracking over an imperfect road."

 

And it makes a lot of sense. Improved traction is always a great point.

Yep, on a VRS 17's should handle better and be more refined upon most UK/European roads. If the rims are lighter and wear equally or more energy efficient tyres there will also be a small performance and mpg improvement. Remember that on top of pulling body weight the engine has to fight progressively higher drag as speed increases. Hence saving ~20kg will actually provide less performance boost than it's 1.5% combined body weight reduction would suggest.