wheel and tire weight and construction

Eddie Greenlee

Eddie Greenlee

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I have noticed when looking at tires online that most sites do not give the weight of tires and wheels.
In the whole scheme of things(((( I THINK)))) if your running 33s or 35 you should be looking for the best construction of both for durability off road, but also the LIGHTEST. So do most moderate to heavy trail riders buy steel wheels or aluminum or what? Im not talking about buggies modified to the top for bolder crawling, but, well you get the picture. If you buy the best and lightest wheel/tire combo for wet or dry trail mud/sand/few rocks/ logs..... its got to be better for your jeeps performance and ware and tare on all components.
please advise me , thanks
 
Lighter is better but the lightest tires are usually weaker. My Authorities are some of the lightest tires I've picked up but their sidewall is pretty soft. It works for me though because I don't do rocks or any serious gnarly wheeling.
 
When you're buying tires, one thing I always pay attention to is the weight. Unless your vehicle is a 100% dedicated off-road vehicle (meaning you do a lot of on-road driving with it), then weight is indeed something you should pay attention to, as it can greatly affect the performance of your vehicle.

The problem is, you can't really have your cake and eat it too. What I mean by that is that if you require a true Mud Terrain tire, there's no way you're going to get a Mud Terrain tire that is "light". You can look for one that is lighter than the others, but none of them would be as light as something like an All Terrain tire (which is probably a better choice for the majority of us anyways).

Steel wheels are garbage. I've said that before and I'll say it again. I'm pretty sure @Jerry Bransford will agree with me on that. If you're looking for a wheel, try to avoid the steel ones. There's a reason they're so cheap!

If I remember correctly, Tire Rack does give the weight of the tire. I know for sure they give the weight of the wheel though, but I'm also pretty sure the tire weight is there also.
 
Light is best (for the type of driving I do). When i bought my duratracs, I bought the "c" load range specificallly because they were lighter and had a softer sidewall than the "e" load range (better ride in my opinion).

I also had to look through most of manufacturer's website to get the weight data. Then I put them on aluminum rubicon wheels. Overall I'm happy with the weight of both tires and the wheels.
 
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Really, the tire's diameter is what has the most effect on performance, not its weight. Think leverage.

The primary effect a tire has on performance is how much leverage it has against the drivetrain. The lever in this case being the tire's radius and thus its diameter. Increase the tire's available leverage by increasing its diameter and you've made a big effect on performance. The tire's weight has very little to do with it, within reason of course.

Take into mind that when we're calculating the correct ratio for the axles, only the tire's diameter is considered in the calculations. Of course a tire's weight has some effect but it is really very little when compared to its diameter. Which is why we only talk about tire diameters when making ratio recommendations. And of course engine and transmission types. :)
 
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Chris said:
How about steel wheels Jerry?
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I dunno, do they affect the tire's diameter? ;)

Seriously, I've changed between steel and aluminum wheels multiple times over the years and because I was never looking for any change of performance, never noticed any difference in performance. Which is to say changing between steel & aluminum wheels never had a placebo effect on me since I wasn't looking for or expecting a performance change. :)

Edit: Not to mention aluminum is not always lighter. My 15x8 Walker Evans forged aluminum beadlock wheels weight something like 36 lbs. each and most 15x8 steel wheels are more like 27 lbs. :)
 
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Well you have me thinking . If I had a tire and wheel 30" tall at 40lbs. And another set 40" tall at 30lbs. Both with identical tread and with respectable gear ratio. Which would be less abusive on all wear components.
 
Something that is say 24" and weighs 10lbs is going to be easier to slow down and speed up than something equally sized and weighs 40lbs.
Rotational mass applies to rims/tires as well. A heavier combo will cause increased distances for acceleration and braking as it stores more energy than a lighter but equivalent size combo.
 
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derekmac said:
Something that is say 24" and weighs 10lbs is going to be easier to slow down and speed up than something equally sized and weighs 40lbs.
Rotational mass applies to rims/tires as well. A heavier combo will cause increased distances for acceleration and braking as it stores more energy than a lighter but equivalent size combo.
Click to expand...

X2
 
I really find it interesting that diameter/height has more to do with overall performance and ware of steering/ball joints/breaks/gears.... than weight of the tire.
Now Jerry's response ended with "within reason of course"
so, of course weight is part of the overall equation but the larger part being leverage against the drive train due to larger diameter tires from what i understand him saying, well I had not thought about that.
 
Eddie Greenlee said:
I really find it interesting that diameter/height has more to do with overall performance and ware of steering/ball joints/breaks/gears.... than weight of the tire.
Now Jerry's response ended with "within reason of course"
so, of course weight is part of the overall equation but the larger part being leverage against the drive train due to larger diameter tires from what i understand him saying, well I had not thought about that.
Click to expand...

Yep, you got it. The leverage is a bigger part of this and how it affects the wear on your steering, ball joints, axles, gears, etc.
 
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