Rim weight vs. Performance

[Nullity]

I've decided on 15 inch rims, but now I cannot choose between the 18lb Enkei RS5s and the 12lb Rota Subzeros. I'm getting Falken ZE-512s if that information is needed. I'm guessing there will be performance differences because of the weight difference, but is Enkei stronger or better made than the Rota? My stand-point is that the RS5s look better but will perform worse than the Subzeros.

[88LXi68]

subzeros are not 12lbs, they are 14.5. The rota slipstreams are 12lbs.

[Justin86]

Yes the weight will affect the performance. It won't as noticable as having 17" but there will be a difference. If you really like the Enkei go with them unless you REALLY care about performance and think that the extra 14lbs will kill you.

[NXRacer]

eurotuner did a really cool article on rims a little while ago. They compared 15's, 16's and 17's and their different performance issues. They said that if you're looking for cornering and handleing performance, get 17's with a 40+ series tire, but if you're looking for drag type performance, go with a 15 with like a 50 series. It all depends on what kind of performance you're looking for.

18lbs seems kinda heavy for a 15. The Rota slipstream wheels are fat as hell and are awesome for dragging.

I have a friend that used to have a 92 hatch with an H22 swap and he was running the rotas with falcon tires and those tires were so sticky that he could launch like a mofo and they wouldnt chirp a bit. of course they were only like 10,000 mi tires.