It has been said that TechArt did not specify the weight of the cast Formula because its really heavy.

Do you think its worth buying the wheels just for the looks, but a decrease in performance? The price is not cheap either.

I would like to hear what is your thoughts about the wheels. Thanks

 

unless you are going to track the car, weight shouldn't matter very much. The RUF wheels are quite heavy as well.

IMHO people get waay too caught up in trying to put lightweight wheels on street cars, or think that it makes a big difference, sure if you put an extremely heavy wheel on, it will have an adverse effect, but as long as you stay within reason, I doubt you will notice.
I don't think the 18" techart formulas are any heavier than say the BBS sport design wheels, but both are heaview than the MY02 Carrera Lightweight wheels.

Wheel Enhancement has the best prices I have seen for new TA Formulas at about 2999 a set. They are cheaper than CEC.

Occasionally used sets come up for sale, but not very often, and usually they are WB offsets.

 

Unsprung weight is very important, it's X4! Saving unsprung weight will give you better braking & handling.

 

Agreed Whole heartedly, but my point is that while this is extremely important on the track, and the effect will carry over to the street, there are so many other compromises that are made for street driving anyway, that a few pounds won't matter very much for street driving.

sure you could run 14lb dymags on the street, but that won't alter your street driving much compared to a 25lb Techart Formula wheel. IF you are on the track, that is a huge difference, where tenths of a second matter.

MY02 carreras are like 19lbs, and the Techarts are heavier at closer to 25lbs. so somewhere around a 5-6 lb gain per wheel, yes unsprung 5-6 lbs, but if you really like the techarts, and you are mostly driving on the street, I wouldn't worry about those 5-6 lbs. If the Techarts were 35lb each, then I might start to be concerned, even for street driving.

 

14 lb and 25 lb? i sure can tell the difference on street unless you are just putting around town and now driving hard.

stock wheels are ideal IMO... unless aftermarket wheels are just as light, you'll compromise your performance.

 

First of all, there are no 14 Lb Dymags. The 19" front weighs 17 Lbs. and the rear 20.
Unsprung weight is one of the most important factors in vehicle performance. It effects acceleration, braking, ride quality and overall handling. There are many threads on this forum discussing how much more responsive the cars feel with lightweight wheels.
The TechArts are heavy in comparison to many other wheels available. Talk to the guys over to the right who sell this stuff every day. They can help you make a good choice.

 

I agree wheel weight is a VERY IMPORTANT factor for braking, handling and acceleration. This is a HUGE concern for track, DE and aggressive street driving.
For a dedicated track car, or one that is used at more than 6 DEs a year, I think wheel weight should be a concern.

For pure street driving, a few pounds say, 4-5 or so, I wouldn't be too concerned.(NOTE: I DID NOT say 4-5 lbs doesn't MATTER, it does, but for STREET driving, the choice is between a wheel one likes better that weighs more VS one that is lighter, but is not as attractive, all I am saying, is that IN THIS CASE: go for the attractive one and don't sweat the 4-5 lbs)

If that weight difference gets to 9-10 and more per wheel, then I would think seriously about how much I like that wheel and what the downsides become.

All numeriucal figures are example only, individual's tolerances may vary.

I agree with Forgedwheeler, talk to the guys on the right, they deal with this stuff all the time. OEM wheel weights seem to be between 19 and 27lbs or so per wheel depending on size and style. I think if you stay in the general range of OEM weight you will be fine. I don't recommend going significantly higher, too many downsides.

 

Thank for the inputs guys.

I think I would go ahead and buy the 20' Formula to replace my 18' stock Cayman wheels. The weight difference is definitely gonna be huge. But I think I just have to live with it.

 

Techarts are definitely a good looking wheel. Going from 18" to 20" will be a weight gain almost no matter what wheel choice you go with, unless you start with a REALLY heavy 18. FWIW, the Techarts are probably no heavier than comparable Ruf wheels.