[ronin951]

Originally Posted by rallybull

I had been doing some research on trying to find an answer to the question:



There seems to be some amount of misinformation on the internet on this subject and perhaps I'm guilty too of adding to the misinformation in a separate thread on this forum on the M-performance suspension.

I consider tirerack a credible source for information and they feel that heavier wheels improve the comfort. Here is a link to a tirerack article: http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/...jsp?techid=108

Here is a quote from that article:



On the other hand I found at least a couple of articles that have stated that by increasing the sprung to unsprung weight ratio (like by reducing wheel weight?) the bumps actually reduce.

Here is the first article which seems pretty well written:

http://www.rqriley.com/suspensn.htm

Here is a snippet from that


Also wikipedia article on unsprung mass actually makes it a bit clearer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsprung_mass

It appears that lower unsprung mass (like lighter wheels) results in a less bumpy ride over poor roads. However, the downside is that it could increase the "fine vibrations" that you feel over some "relatively smooth surfaces" such as concrete roads or an asphalt road with gravels.

Based on the above, I would like to conclude that tirerack was actually wrong in making that statement. Light weight wheels do make for a less bumpy ride.

Anyone care to agree/disagree?

I agree, just never knew why. Great info. Thanks for posting!