...wheew! ...so many words about such a small comment. shaunv74 .. I agree with your nut comments except for the "stupid" part...as it is itself stupid, esp. when you consider you apparently use & favor McGard's design, yet ignore one of its by design benefits. You do realize, automotive engineers are paid big salaries to find & remove weight from cars they design...gram by gram? McGard Spline nuts offer a perfect example of why that philosophy can work in practice.

... the FACT is each McGard spline nut weighs .45 oz (34 grams) LESS than OEM stock acorn nuts. Not much you say? or anything to bother with?..."stupid" even to think about? Let's see...

Times 20 nuts and you have just shaved a not inconsiderable 680 grams or 9 ozs from your car's weight! That's over half a pound and also it is unsprung weight. It's "stupid" only if you don't REALLY care about cutting the fat...and the way to do it is by exorsing it gram by gram, pound by pound.

So the bottom line is... in some cases, the race track being one, spending $4/nut is not so crazy as it might appear compared to Eric's bargin bin $1/nut choice. Dare I say his prefered choice is "penny wise and pound foolish"?

People spend boocu bucks on lightweight wheels, rotors, calipers... Mcgard Spline Drive lugs are no different and a relative bargin I might add, and not just due to the light weight, as I stated earlier.


2nd. Eric, it's interesting to read of your experiences, like above. Nevertheless, all of the tidbits above have little or nothing to do with your comments about the McGard Spline lugs we were discussing..."Fancy lug nuts do nothing but empty your bank account." I wholeheartedly disagree and stated facts and opinions to back my reasons why you are so wrong, but I digress.

BTW, we all have a 'role' here on the forum, and it is the same for everyone, experience notwithstanding. It is to be helpful and informative, not critical and condesending. Offering your opinion does not equate to also trashing others, even about little things. Thanks and Peace...and end of comment.

 

Somebody needs a hug

 

wow interesting.

Well I think you're both correct.

1. They can definitely shed a lot of weight compared to the stock, cheapo, oem types of lugnuts.

2. If you don't use an impact gun and have good sockets you shouldn't round these. If you're racing and need to do quick stuff these might not work well with a cordless impact. So there lies the conundrum.

3. The weight will assist with suspension motions.

4. I don't think it will have much benefit in a "rotational" sense. i.e. included in the weight of the wheel. Since it's moment of inertia is so small I don't believe it will produce drastic results.

So if it changes a 20lb wheel assembly into an 18lb assembly, in a rotational sense, the results won't be as simple as comparing their total masses.

Kinda like WHAT'S ON TOPIC:

Going from 18" to 17". If you move the mass closer to the center it will have a greater effect.

You can have an 18" 245/40/18 = 50lbs, and a 17" 245/45/17 = 50lbs, AND THE 17" WILL HAVE FASTER ROTATION.

Hopefully this has mended all parties, EVERYONE GETS HUGS FROM RISHIE.

AND I MANAGED TO CONCLUDE ON TOPIC. Woot wooot............

Rishie

 

Thanks for the hugs guys - in fact - let's have a - all better now!

For what it's worth... I use the spline lugs for track, use a cordless impact wrench, change my 17in (of course!) RFP1s myself and change speed is no different. The 8 long cut slots on the spline nut haven't worn at all. Did look up their web site http://www.mcgard.com/Home/Automotiv...neDriveLugNuts and found...

"59% more positive engagement over socket style lug nuts"

"up to 34% deeper stud engagement "

Perhaps that 1st one has something to do with it....Notice they (OMG) come in colors now! Plus avail. weight matching tuner locks looking like OEM locks.

Rishie...do you sell or can you get these?

 

I just like that the mcgard spline drives have a seat that's on ball bearings so that they don't grind against your wheels when you tighten the lug nuts.

That, and the stock wheel locks are useless... but like I said in another thread - if someone really wants your wheels, the mcgard ones won't really stop them either.

The one thing I don't like is that if you buy a set, it includes the locks... I don't want a 5th lug nut that is a different key. I want them all to use the SAME key so I don't have to carry around a second key as I go around torquing my lug nuts or changing my wheels...!! but that's like a $20 or $30 fix, haha.

 

Is there a 17 inch rim and tire combination that will give you the same final outside diameter as when using an 18 inch (stock) rim size? I am very interested in the lighter weight available with the 17" rims but still want the care streetable as possible. I have not purchased it yet but I am going to be buying an 09 rx-8 sport and I am researching all possibilities of modification that will not void the warranty... lighter rims being the first!!

 

^yes you can do a combination to get it very very close if not exactly the same as the stock 18s. I dont know what it is but I'm runnign 17s with 245/45s with no problems as a DD. just out the will it fit thread and see what those guys there say would be a good combo for close to stock diameter from a 17.

 

This is what i'd run if it was my RX8 on a budget with good quality lightweight criteria.

Enkei RPF1
17x9.5 +38 5x114.3

Toyo T1R
255/45/17

I actually have a pair of the T1R's brand new and a pair with very little use.

Rishie

 

Miata.net's garage has a calculator for this. 17x9 RPF-1s 45mm offset have the lightest weight (vs ~21 lbs stock) at 15.4 lbs/wheel (for example) > www.goodwinracing.com ... Your car becomes more streetable on 17s with "same as stock size" as the sidewall height increases 1/2", providing more cushioning, better ride, better impact resistance with only minor loss in handling precision. Why minor? .. because the 8 already has razor sharp responses, this sight decrease is 99% unnoticeable on the street.

***just be carefull of what wheels you get as caliper clearence is pretty tight with some 17s!

 

as this will be my daily driver I am mildly concerned about having a smaller final circumference wheel affecting cruising revs and mileage, yes I know that the rx8 is not the car to buy if your worried about mileage but there's no need to exacerbate the issue... (I drive a fair ways back and forth to work)

 

Ozimandious: great name, its good to see someone familiar with literature in this day and age

 

yeah I'm familiar with the shelly poem but came by the reference outside of any kind of literature... the reality is much more lowbrow unfortunately.

 

Question... if the outer circumference of a tire is say 4% smaller then stock does that work out as a direct 4% reduction in the over all gear ratio?

 

^ everything is compressed 4% e.g., ...4% more RPMs for the same speed ...4% less distance traveled for the same RPM means ...Ideally ... better acceleration.

 

kudos, my series I downsizing to 17" wheels thread didn't generate near this much drama