Does tire weight significantly affect handling?

[Quattro Pete]

This may be a silly question or thing to worry about to some, but hey, this is the Tires&Wheels forum and being anal is what brought us to this site in the first place, so here it goes...

I'm looking at high perf. all-season tires, and I generally like the Bridgestone RE960. I like everything about it except the weight. In my size (235/45/17), they weigh 28 lbs each. There are other tires out there that weigh 21 lbs. This seems to be quite a significant difference, but the question is: will this noticeably affect steering response and other things such as fuel economy, acceleration, braking?

The tires I have now weigh 27 lbs each, so going with a tire that's just 1 lb heavier would certainly not be noticeable, but I'm just curious what a 21 lb tire would feel like, and if I should look at other (lighter) tires instead of the RE960 for that reason.

Any thoughts?

 

[JohnBrowning]

Not on smooth pavement or on cornering. Now if the suspension has to move up or down at all though it will quickly affect handling. You want to keep the tires in contact with the road any unsprung mass that is moveing up and down is going to interfer with how well the tire contacts the road! This is why unsprung mass is one of the first things to go on a race vechile!

 

[alreadygone]

Expect John's right from performance standpoint. Also, straight-line dragracers avoid unsprung also as it lowers E. T. ever so slightly. Then there's heat buildup, which is more prevalant in thicker sidewalls, though I'd doubt this to be a problem in IL.

However, beefier tires are usually tougher, more resistant to road hazzards.

As with most things, just another balancing act between pros and cons.

Bob

 

[TylerL]

I think the performance difference would be equal to adding a 200 pound person to your car. Some would notice, some won't.

 

[Zaedock]

My Jeeps handling changes slightly when going from my 35" Mickey Thompson Claws to my 38.5's

 

[Lorenzo]

I don't think you would notice any different on a street car unless you are really pushing it. 7 lbs might sound significant on a 21 pound tire, but it isn't really much considering all the other unsprung weight you've got: wheels are probably 30 pounds, plus your hubs, rotors, calipers, etc.

The rotational mass might be a bigger deal on a lightweight low power car like a Miata, but not on a beefy 5-series.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Thanks guys. Yes, I forgot to mention, this is all related to street performance. This car is not tracked, so minute differences in handling aren't really of concern.

FYI, the rims are relatively light - 20.5 lbs each.

 

[rpn453]

It will affect acceleration, braking, and fuel economy by the equivalent of adding somewhere between 1.5 to 2 times the extra weight to your car as static weight; so 42 to 56 pounds. Fuel economy could actually be affected even more than that due to changes in rolling resistance of the tire, but I don't know where you'd find the information to quantify that. And I certainly don't know any way to quantify how ride or handling will be affected!

 

[rpn453]

I'll add that my last tire purchase only added 1 lb to each wheel. The new tires (Michelin Pilot Sport A/S) feel much better than the old ones (Goodyear RS-A) under all ride and handling situations I've encountered despite the slight extra weight.

 

[Quattro Pete]

In my case, it would be going from max perf. summer tire (Dunlop SP Maxx) to a high perf. all-season tire (RE960), so things like handling and steering response will probably degrade even if weight stayed the same. Still, with the type of driving that I do nowadays, I'm willing to accept that in order to gain some winter grip.

 

[wantin150]

You could always track it and get the before and after times in the 1/4 mile, just for "fun".

 

[Dominic]

The lightest all seasons are the Dunlop Sp5000s and Pirelli Nero M&S tires. The weights reported on tirerack are not always accurate however, so I wouldnt worry a whole lot about it. The RE960 is a good riding/cornering tire btw, you will like them better than the SP Maxx tires you have now I believe.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Dominic
The RE960 is a good riding/cornering tire btw, you will like them better than the SP Maxx tires you have now I believe.

After a few weeks of driving on the RE960, I can say that in terms of steering response and dry grip, the SP Maxx was better, but then again, I fully expected it since the SP Maxx is a max perf. summer tire. With the RE960, quick direction changes are not as crisp and it's easier to get the DSC to engage when accelerating in 1st gear (not a good thing).

Still, I welcome the quietness that the RE960 provides. The howling of the SP Maxx was beginning to drive me nuts. The downsides that I mentioned above are minor in the grand scheme of things - I don't drive aggressively 99% of the time.