Quote:
Originally Posted by hootis
Currently have 16" x 6.5" wheels and they're steel.
Aluminum 16" wheels - Save weight
Aluminum 18" wheels - Lower the RPM of engine at highway speed
Save weight
Aerodynamic hubcaps - Est 5% based on other people guesses on this forum.
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Unless you're talking about buying very expensive forged wheels, the assumption that alloy wheels will save weight is often faulty.
OEM alloy wheels are much thicker than steel (because of the fatigue characteristics of alluminium), and will often end up heavier.
I swapped my factory 16" alloys to OE 14" steelies and saved 1.5kg per corner.
It's not helped by the fact that while your steel wheels are 6.5" wide, you'll probably struggle to find much in the aftermarket that isn't at least 7-8" wide.