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Old 06-27-2013, 04:46 PM   #190
Norm Peterson
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Drives: 08 Mustang GT, 19 WRX
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In mild to moderate driving and maybe up to moderately hard, I don't think a small increase in wheel weight is going to matter at all.

Damping ratio is a square root function of mass, so increasing the unsprung mass from something like 100 lbs to 105 lbs (5 lb wheel weight increase) only affects the damping ratio by 2.5% or so. Unsprung mass is mainly tied to bump damping, and I suspect that ride quality over bumps could theoretically improve a tiny bit at the expense of the wheel 'overshooting' by some other tiny amount. Probably about the same as what OE wheels would feel/behave like after the OE shocks/struts have accumulated some miles.


FWIW, damping ratio is also a square root function of spring rate. Most aftermarket springs are substantially more than 5% stiffer than OE . . .


Norm
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