I wish I had the space for a fender rolling get together. I'm wouldn't mind ordering the roller and heatgun if we could get a few people to chip in. I just couldn't host unfortunately. If anyone is willing and has the space please let me know and we'll do this.

 

I installed my Nitto Invo 245/40-17s today AND THEY FIT GREAT!!! WHAT A FRIGGIN BLAST!!! I keep making excuses to run out for another errand tonight and finding all the cloverleafs "along" the way!!

I plugged in my borrowed G-Tech Pro and hit the best local cloverleaf before and after the tire swap (old tires were 235/40 Sumitomo all-seasons) and the lateral g's went up by 0.05- 0.15!!!! It wasn't super scientific so it's hard to give an exact number, but I was averaging in the 0.90-0.95 g range before and now was easily holding 1.0-1.09 g!!! Wooo hooo!!! (remember that the cloverleaf's are banked) The best part is that the tires don't scream like banshees when at the limit like the all-seasons do! I almost don't care how good the tires are if they'd just shut up...

I can't wait to put my new F/R swaybars on this weekend!!! What a blast!! I'm searching for a good local skid pad spot to test these mods out better and more safely...

 

Jesus. What do those tires weigh a piece! Rotational mass must be some kind of crazy. Added G's? Sure. Acceleration? Your going backwards my son! ~ My tires weigh 18 lbs and the rims 16 lbs. For every added pound of rotational mass per corner, ADD x10 to the chassis weight. Say, 6 lbs heavier per corner, equals a 240 lbs heavier car!!!

 

They don't seem too bad to me, but now that you've mentioned it, I'll weigh one vs. the stock sized snow tires that I have. I don't really care too much though as my goal is handling, not acceleration. Do I want a brick? No, but nothing makes my grin wider than flying around a corner (I like karting a lot). On the track there are plenty of cars with more power, but I like to reel them back in during the twisty parts with a good car and the best driving I can muster. I'd probably buy a spec miata if it could hold all my stuff and drive in the snow, etc., the way my wagon can!

PS. Nice avatar...

 

I weighed my wheels today: you hit it on the nose! My current wheels (Rotas) + tires are 6 lbs heavier than stock. And just right for me.

 

This number seemed a little excessive to me, so a little searching found this spreadsheet: htthttp://www.mazda6tech.com/files/wheel_inertia.xls
on this web page: http://www.mazda6tech.com/index.php?...d=16&Itemid=50

From this, my wheels/tires at 6 lbs heavier than stock, 1" larger wheel diameter, and 1.5" wider, come in at 45 lbs equivalent chassis mass addition, including the 24 lbs actual addition, so that's ~2x, not 10x. So, this rotational mass is certainly important and would require a "chassis tuning" trade to decide what's important to you. My budget doesn't allow me to purchase the lightest components so this works great for me!

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I just edited my above post to remove the comment I made about the tires bulging in more on the inside, blah, blah, blah. I had made a stupid mistake and what I saw was simply the result of having lifted up the car and putting it back down again earlier, and forgetting, which pushed the tire temporarily to the inside! Doh! The tires fit normally.