Vetal

iTrader: (3)

I searched a lot but could find too much info on this, only guesstimates.
How much would I gain going from 17x9.5" 275/35 wheels to skinnies? Car is ~360whp now, hopefully will be a bit better with turbo
Thanks

Old Geezer

iTrader: (3)

The difference in wt should help w/ pitch rotation. May help a bit on MPH, due to lower overall wt.

chrs1313

iTrader: (24)

1-1.5mph...

RAGENZ28

iTrader: (5)

Light weight drag rims rear with a drag tire, light weight from skinnies with a light drag type front runner I think over 0.20 in the 1/4. You'll get better weight transfer, hook better and have less rotating mass which will = faster ET and MPH gain.

getusumws6

iTrader: (9)

might be a freak but when i first bought my draglites i ran my 15x10 with a 275/50/15 on rear and zo6 wheels 17x9 on front with street tires and ran consistant 12.3's and when i switched to my skinnies w/sportsman tires and nothing diffrent don to car i picked up .3 and ran consitant 12.0xx and gained 2mph in the 1/4.

troopercar

iTrader: (6)

Looks like about a tenth in this test.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/wheels-tires/900268-lightweight-wheel-test.html

davered00ss

iTrader: (4)

I would say a tenth.

RAGENZ28

iTrader: (5)

That isn't an accurate test to compare. It's using a 15x8 and 15x4 to start with.

A 17" rim is a good deal heavier than a 15" and he's talking about going from 17's that are 9.5" wide to a 15x10 and a 15x4 or 15x3.5 up front. With a full set up drag tires and light rims he'll drop more than .10 no doubt.

troopercar

iTrader: (6)

But the originals were steel, still showed an 80lb savings start to finish.
But dropping 50lbs from steel to aluminum did nothing, the final 30 going to skinnys dropped the tenth and gained 1mph.
17x9 aluminum probably isn't much heavier, if at all, than a 15x8 steel wheel.
Now, if in the process, he gains traction that was lacking he'll gain more.

Vetal

iTrader: (3)

That's the kind of info I was after Thanks

Guys I want to know exactly what I ask in the subject - gains from switching to skinnies up front. No need to discuss rears because they are going to be changed in any case.
But I'm not convinced I should spend $$$ for fronts too, thus created this topic, to found out what are gains from skinnies

Vetal

iTrader: (3)

troopercar, thanks for the link. Not very optimistic though, guys dropped 82lbs off wheels and gained only 0.11s

TwoFast4Lv

iTrader: (8)

It is a bigger drop for our cars. Over 100Lbs on mine

TWS

iTrader: (63)

Long time ago... when my '94 was a mid 12 sec. car... I was able to do a real back to back. I did 2 runs on full size front wheels and tires (OEM salad shooters) and then bolted up a pair of skinnies on centerlines.

I then did two more passes and gained only .05 in ET.

Not a perfect test, as I believe the day did get a bit warmer by the time I made passes with the skinnies. However, I really doubt they would have taken off more than a tenth on my car on that setup.

Skinnies/lightweight front rims do help in a number of ways: you lose weight, you lose rolling resistance, and you lose a little air resistance. On a different setup they might provide a greater gain than my one little test revealed. Irrelevant to me now, the car rolls with skinnies up front all the time.

chrs1313

iTrader: (24)

damn what are you running tank rims...my 17s with rubber were like 45lbs

TwoFast4Lv

iTrader: (8)

Sorry I was in a hurry. The artical said 80Lbs saving on all four. My front tires and wheels (chrome ten spokes) were 52Lbs Ea. M/T ET Street Wheels with M/T front runners are 21Lbs Ea

That is 60Lbs on the front alone and another 40 in the back.

Sorry about that. Still worth the buy when the front wheels come off the ground

Vetal

iTrader: (3)

looks like it is the gain to be expected, but not much more...

454mag

iTrader: (17)

I picked up .2 and 2mph going from 275-40-17s on speedline wheels to 205-15 on prostars.
the prostars and "widetrack radials were 50lbs lighter than the 275s on 17s. Huge difference.

Vetal

iTrader: (3)

you mean you gained solid 0.2s from skinnies only??

mike c.

iTrader: (1)

I didn't even gain a full tenth going from stock to skinnies. At least they made my car look cool.

454mag

iTrader: (17)

Yep Solid repeatable 2 tenths from the front skinnies on my car with the same crappy 60 foot due to the shtty pefromabilt tq converter thats supposed to be a 4k but hits like a 2k.