Unsprung weight and wheels

[C M Smith <cmsmith@domain.elided>]

Adding 4 lbs per wheel of unsprung weight is a significant deterioration. 
The wheel/tire package probably weighs less than 40 lbs so that is 10%. 
(try adding 10% to the sprung weight and note the performance penalty). No 
sense spending money on light alloy wheels and light strong performance 
tires only to add unsprung weight you don't need (to be fair not all the 
coil over will be unsprung, usually about half)

Torsion bars require beefier suspension components than stripped down coil 
over suspension. But for a heavy road car the A arms need to be beefy 
anyway. For racing cars note the coil overs have been mounted in fully 
sprung weight position for many years with only the actuating rocker arms 
unsprung.

Cheers

Michael


Michael Smith
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
91 Alfa 164L, White, original owner

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