Aluminum wheels - Unsprung weight vs Stability

[edhchoe]

I see that people like the noticeable stability the added weight of the aluminum wheels provide. However, I also see that the punch out of turns is important in small tracks. If the wheels add enough weight to the car to be noticed it must slow the car down as well. Does the benefit of extra stability outweigh the loss of acceleration? I like the bling-factor but if it will slow the car down and make the batteries run out faster, then I probably won't use them...
I would like everyone's insight on this before I spend $$$ on the aluminum wheels to experiment myself. Thanks.

[arch2b]

ehh... another debate scaled down from mini-z to dnano....

first and foremost, it's going to depend on how serious you take racing and that competitive edge? are you going to shave the inside of the body to save weight, trim the chassis, etc? i'm sure there is material that would be deemed nonessential to a hard core racer.

it starts when you don't care so much about the die cast appearance of the scale and care more about the racing edge. there are those in mini-z that stick to derlin wherever possible, shave plastic from the autoscale, cut holes, trim back the glass, ditch the light buckets, cutting up the windows all to shave weight in an effort to make the car as fast as possible irregardless of looks.

i happen to fall into the middle ground where i don't buy every aluminum part to bling my car foresaking performance entirely however i appreciate the scale model look and refuse to butcher the car to shave tenths of seconds off my time.

i'm sure you can find polycabonite bodies somewhere from the slot car world.

[edhchoe]

I am not like what you describe at all. But if adding the aluminum wheels will slow the car down significantly, I will just live with the car as is. Mini Z's are more substantial and there is no need to add weight to make it more stable, but dNano cars are very light and do feel jumpy. That added stability people describe is what got me interested in the aluminum wheels rather than the enhanced appearance.
Also, more weight means more momentum rolling through the turns. That could be a plus as well.
In the real cars, lighter is better but with the dNano cars, we have gone so far below the scale, I guess, that some of the common laws of physics of racing do not apply any more. But having a lower center of gravity is still our goal. And the wheels are at the lowest points on the car but the wheels are also unsprung weight. So the best move would be to add aluminum T-bar, front suspension plates, and motor housing.

[arch2b]

i think your alot like me then. unless your buying the mood dish wheels and the hub web thickness it robust, then your going to have a noticeable weight gain. otherwise, most of the designs available are so sparse and delicate that i don't think it's going to present a problem at all.

i think sinister and qon will be able to give the best feedback as they own shops with dnano racing however for the casual racer like myself, i do not notice any slowdown at all in my dnano however i'm sure if you were a competitive racer you would be able to preceive it.

at this size and cost, i prefer to have wheels i know to be round and true vs. the plastic wheels which can and do deform. that being said, i'm sure its possible to bend the pn wheels provided they take a direct hit at the optimimum angle. the italian wheel spokes are actually quite robust thus i feel more durable.

i'll try to get a picture comparison of my alumatech, pn and italian wheels done.

[MrNanoTrax]

the aluminum wheels definitely make the car run smoother and 'stick' to the surface a bit more so that's a plus. they are about twice the weight of the plastic (we've weighed them with a micro scale) so yes, they slow the cars acceleration but that can be countered with 1) increasing the motor drive frequency for more torque or 2) using a 'hot' motor or xspeed motor which could use some settling down anyhow.

the added weight also reduces roll and that's a MAJOR plus. i've noticed my car 'lean' like its about to roll but drop back down as i come out of the corner due to that extra weight. with plastic wheels, it would've been gone before i saw the 'lean'. will it make or break a race? it all depends on your competitors and your abilities in the end. for me, it looks cool and i can drive more aggressively with alum. wheels so they're my preference.

the best thing to do is have BOTH as an option... get yourself a set and throw them on when you feel it'll benefit performance or just make you feel good when you see your car gliding with a lil bling bling