[RPM]

If I accelerate up the hill the car responds well, better than before (i.e. WOT performance has improved). If I DWL up the hill though, it looses a lot of speed. It might have to do with the lean burn capabilities this motor has. Perhaps with the heavier wheels the load on the engine was higher, causing the engine to enrich the mixture and hence produce more power (this is just a theory).

Fortunately I didn't experience any aquaplaning yesterday, I just felt the car's progress being noticeably hindered by the water (poor coasting, more accelerator needed to maintain speed). Fortunately the tires (Michelin Pilot Exalto 2, they are sports summer tires) still have roughly 5 mm of thread and grip very well in the wet.

I will check my alignment though, thanks for reminding me. It's been maybe 20.000 miles since the last time I had it done.

Unfortunately it is impossible for me to do scientific testing of such things. I don't have the budget to buy multiple sets of wheels and professional tools to properly isolate and evaluate the variables at stake.