Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

[Syclone#2960]

C5 magnesium wheels
17lbs. 17x8.5 front
18.5lbs. 18.9.5 rear

Are these the lightest corvette OEM wheels made?
It's either these or the OEM Z06 from 2000.

Search turned up nothing.

 

[s_blazin]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

i think i remember with tires the 18's weigh the exact weight as a stockers do with tires. maybe i'll do a weight comparison again tomorrow

 

[Syclone#2960]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

i think i remember with tires the 18's weigh the exact weight as a stockers do with tires. maybe i'll do a weight comparison again tomorrow

So even though the stock wheels weight in at 21 lbs. the difference in savings is made up by the heavier tire on the c5's?

 

[s_blazin]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

 

[Syclone#2960]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

Thanks for posting the pixs...looks like Weld's will be my best bet.

 

['JustDreamin']

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

C5 magnesium wheels
17lbs. 17x8.5 front
18.5lbs. 18.9.5 rear

Are these the lightest corvette OEM wheels made?
It's either these or the OEM Z06 from 2000.

Search turned up nothing.

They are the lightest OEM wheels. They're also fairly pricey, known to have the clearcoat peeling off, and the metal is soft, so they're prone to bending / dings / other damage.

The OEM ZO6's are heavier, but they're also both 1" wider (which is important to consider). They're forged or spuncast (depending upon the year of production). But they're still pretty light considering what they are (factory wheels which have passed durability testing in a big size).

I think the next lightest wheel in the 17x8.5" & 18x9.5" sizes are the thin spokes (2000+), followed by the wagon wheels (97 to 99). My 18x9.5" wagons are in the neighbor hood of 22lbs+ each bare.

There are definitely some lightweight aftermarket wheels out there in those sizes. I think I'd seen 17x9.5's down in the 14 or 15lb range, but they might be race only, not suitable for street use where they might encounter potholes.

'JustDreamin'

 

[thunderace31]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

Welds are lighter but there also other Really Nice billet wheels done By American racing that are for the street and lighter even than a weld
The ones in the photo below are the American Racing wheels on a Ty (Stole photo from this site sorry)

There are what Im thinking of going with they also make a 17X11 and a 17X9 size so you could run a ZR1 style tire combo
I think the ones on this ty he said were 15X10 with 275/50/15 Drag Radials :tup:

 

[vanillagorilla]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

Welds are lighter but there also other Really Nice billet wheels done By American racing that are for the street and lighter even than a weld
The ones in the photo below are the American Racing wheels on a Ty (Stole photo from this site sorry)

There are what Im thinking of going with they also make a 17X11 and a 17X9 size so you could run a ZR1 style tire combo
I think the ones on this ty he said were 15X10 with 275/50/15 Drag Radials :tup:

Those are actually Billet Speciaties street lites and they do make a bunch of sizes. They're probably the lightest, most configurable and affordable wheel on the market.

 

[msheller]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

while debating rotating weight, and tires vs wheels, keep in mind that tire weight is more important due to the fact that the tire is further from the center of rotation than the wheel and exerts greater resistance to inertia. Drag radial are lighter than street tires and slicks are lighter than drag radials. I had a very light setup on the sy with weld draglites running skinnies on the front with a runout matched small 8inch slick on rear mounted to 15x7 rear dralites. Very light.

 

[Rice Eater]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

There are (2) styles of 'thin' spoke C5 wheels. The first gen are forged and were produced by Alcoa, the 2nd gen are cast and made by I believe a company called Speedline. They are similar from 10' but definitely different next to each other, Alcoa's have flat spokes/face and the Speedlines have more contour to them. They only offered painted Alcoa wheels for what looks to be about the first (6) months of the 2000 C5 production. I learned the hard way and it took me a year to find (2) nice complete sets of the Alcoa wheels. The 17's were around 18 lbs and the 18's were 21 lbs. The weight is nearly identical to the Mag wheels. As noted, the mag wheels are not very robust.

If you want exact weights I can get them next weekend when I get home.

Chris

 

[Rice Eater]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

while debating rotating weight, and tires vs wheels, keep in mind that tire weight is more important due to the fact that the tire is further from the center of rotation than the wheel and exerts greater resistance to inertia. Drag radial are lighter than street tires and slicks are lighter than drag radials. I had a very light setup on the sy with weld draglites running skinnies on the front with a runout matched small 8inch slick on rear mounted to 15x7 rear dralites. Very light.

What where you 60' times with such a narrow tire? Where you still AWD?

Chris

 

[Damian]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

This is a 6 year old thread, just an fyi.


That being said, I'm pretty sure my magnesium wheels are the lightest Vette wheels out there.

 

[nastety92]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

There are (2) styles of 'thin' spoke C5 wheels. The first gen are forged and were produced by Alcoa, the 2nd gen are cast and made by I believe a company called Speedline. They are similar from 10' but definitely different next to each other, Alcoa's have flat spokes/face and the Speedlines have more contour to them. They only offered painted Alcoa wheels for what looks to be about the first (6) months of the 2000 C5 production. I learned the hard way and it took me a year to find (2) nice complete sets of the Alcoa wheels. The 17's were around 18 lbs and the 18's were 21 lbs. The weight is nearly identical to the Mag wheels. As noted, the mag wheels are not very robust.

If you want exact weights I can get them next weekend when I get home.

Chris

I have four stock 18x9.5" Y2K aka Thin Spoke C5 wheels on my Ty. I remember weighting them with tires 245/40/18's BFG KDW 2's and they were almost identical weight to stock rims with MT drag radials. They also made reproduction wheels that are painted silver and black.

Mine are the Alcoa's but are polished not painted.

Nick

 

[Rice Eater]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

The polished wheels are a different story, mine are painted silver. I have a scale in my garage and weigh everything that goes on and off my vehicles. The Alcoa wheels are slightly lighter than the Speedline wheels and just a hair heavier than the mag wheels. I have (10) thin spoke wheels in the garage - (2) full sets of Alco painted wheels and (2) Speedline wheels.

I will have to reweigh them when I get home as I don't remember the exact weights.

Chris

 

[GarnetTy1473]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

The polished wheels are a different story, mine are painted silver. I have a scale in my garage and weigh everything that goes on and off my vehicles. The Alcoa wheels are slightly lighter than the Speedline wheels and just a hair heavier than the mag wheels. I have (10) thin spoke wheels in the garage - (2) full sets of Alco painted wheels and (2) Speedline wheels.

I will have to reweigh them when I get home as I don't remember the exact weights.

Chris

You are talking about the C5 Z06 wheels then. The Alcoa ones were for the 2001 model year Z06, then they went to the Speedlines in '02. And I'm pretty sure the Alcoa's are heavier than the Speedlines. I researched this pretty heavily back when I was looking for my wheels. Took me forever to find 4 17" Alcoa wheels.

 

[Rice Eater]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

You are talking about the C5 Z06 wheels then. The Alcoa ones were for the 2001 model year Z06, then they went to the Speedlines in '02. And I'm pretty sure the Alcoa's are heavier than the Speedlines. I researched this pretty heavily back when I was looking for my wheels. Took me forever to find 4 17" Alcoa wheels.

Alcoa may have made the C5 Z wheels but they are heavier than the Alcoa thin spokes. I did a lot of research when I first bought my Ty regarding the lightest OEM Vette wheels. I was going to buy Mag, the lightest, until I found out that they are soft and prone to bending. 2nd was the Alcoa forged thin spokes so I went with those. I can get you the part #'s when I get home.

Chris

 

[GarnetTy1473]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

Alcoa may have made the C5 Z wheels but they are heavier than the Alcoa thin spokes. I did a lot of research when I first bought my Ty regarding the lightest OEM Vette wheels. I was going to buy Mag, the lightest, until I found out that they are soft and prone to bending. 2nd was the Alcoa forged thin spokes so I went with those. I can get you the part #'s when I get home.

Chris

Ok. I was thinking from your previous post when you put the (10), you were referring to the 10 spokes on the Z06 wheels. I'm now thinking you mean you have 10 of those wheels?

 

[Rice Eater]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

Ok. I was thinking from your previous post when you put the (10), you were referring to the 10 spokes on the Z06 wheels. I'm now thinking you mean you have 10 of those wheels?

Sorry, I have a qty of (10) thin spoke painted wheels in my garage - (2) complete sets of Alcoa and (2) Speedline wheels I bought thinking all thin spoke wheels were the same.

I believe Alcoa had a capacity issue during the launch so they kept the polished qty from GM and the painted capacity requirements were shifter to Speedline.

Chris

 

[msheller]

Re: Are the C5 vette wheels the lightest?

What where you 60' times with such a narrow tire? Where you still AWD?

Chris

1.7 and yes awd on pte 52