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Thoughts on lighter wheels? (First post)

Skander727

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Jeep Wrangler JL Thoughts on lighter wheels? (First post) Screenshot_20230308_002008

Smashed my factory passenger side wheel and let discount tire talk me into the 17×8.5 lonestars so I can safely install 35s soon. Factory rims are like ≈30lbs a piece but these are only ≈12??? That blew my mind and I'm wondering if anyone else notices (besides fuel economy going up) any changes with these lighter wheels. Mostly I notice the tail shakes around alot more when accelerating, wanders alot more too on the highway. What is fun is being able to swing my tail when I send it on a sharp turn. Other than that I wonder if bigger tires will help restablize the jeep? Or if I gotta put some kind of weight on it? (Thinking a small roof rack on the back end). Finally, is weight shedding on a Jeep especially the rims a good idea to begin with? Haven't sold my factory wheels yet might just buy a new replacement. This is my first jeep only had it 2 years so I really would love as much random input as possible!

Edit: thank you everyone for the input, yes the 12lb was actually in kg, as an American I don't actively pay attention to the metric used at the end! Getting the Mopar lift today and hopefully the alignment will help!

Jeep Wrangler JL Thoughts on lighter wheels? (First post) Screenshot_20230308_002008
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2nd 392

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Smashed my factory passenger side wheel and let discount tire talk me into the 17×8.5 lonestars so I can safely install 35s soon. Factory rims are like ≈30lbs a piece but these are only ≈12??? That blew my mind and I'm wondering if anyone else notices (besides fuel economy going up) any changes with these lighter wheels. Mostly I notice the tail shakes around alot more when accelerating, wanders alot more too on the highway. What is fun is being able to swing my tail when I send it on a sharp turn. Other than that I wonder if bigger tires will help restablize the jeep? Or if I gotta put some kind of weight on it? (Thinking a small roof rack on the back end). Finally, is weight shedding on a Jeep especially the rims a good idea to begin with? Haven't sold my factory wheels yet might just buy a new replacement. This is my first jeep only had it 2 years so I really would love as much random input as possible!

Screenshot_20230308_002008.jpg
12 lbs ???— I even looked them up, no wt listed 😖, even the lightest wheels are ~twice that. Did you lift one before mounting, or DT say 12 lbs ?
 

TheBirdie72

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Yeah, 12 pounds…? No way. That’s light even for a bowling ball… 🤔 What are they made of?
 

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I'm pretty sure that those are American Outlaw Railcar wheels and not the Lonestar. Either way, the lightest Lonestar is listed at 24 lbs and the lightest Railcar is 25 lbs (well, 11.4 is listed, but the kg to lb conversion means 11.4 Kg is 25 lbs). Ain't no way you're rolling around on 12 lb wheels.
 

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Bill_BCNtoNY

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BigLebowski

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Wow 12lbs would be ridiculously light. The Konig flow formed wheels on my Miata are 12lbs and they are only a 15x8 wheel. I think Bill_BCNtoNY is may be right 12kgs not 12lbs. The American outlaw site lists them at 25lbs.

17" x 8.5"5x12771.6250025Satin Black
 

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Jeep Wrangler JL Thoughts on lighter wheels? (First post) Screenshot_20230308_002008

Smashed my factory passenger side wheel and let discount tire talk me into the 17×8.5 lonestars so I can safely install 35s soon. Factory rims are like ≈30lbs a piece but these are only ≈12??? That blew my mind and I'm wondering if anyone else notices (besides fuel economy going up) any changes with these lighter wheels. Mostly I notice the tail shakes around alot more when accelerating, wanders alot more too on the highway. What is fun is being able to swing my tail when I send it on a sharp turn. Other than that I wonder if bigger tires will help restablize the jeep? Or if I gotta put some kind of weight on it? (Thinking a small roof rack on the back end). Finally, is weight shedding on a Jeep especially the rims a good idea to begin with? Haven't sold my factory wheels yet might just buy a new replacement. This is my first jeep only had it 2 years so I really would love as much random input as possible!

Jeep Wrangler JL Thoughts on lighter wheels? (First post) Screenshot_20230308_002008
Your handling is mostly the tires. I am a big fan of lightweight wheels, but the lightest I've seen for us is about 20 lbs with thinner spokes (Motegi).
 

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Thank you for choosing Discount Tire @Skander727!

I looked into the weight and American Outlaw lists 25lbs online for their 17x8.5 RailCar. To confirm, I called their customer support line and the rep I spoke with stated 12.4 lbs (which is what we list as well).

We both agreed that couldn't be correct and the assumption is the weight listed in pounds is acountally in kg, with the 12.4 kg being the total shipping weight. My apologies for the confusion with this - I'll pass this along to our marketing team to update our website.
 

The Last Cowboy

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factory Rubicon wheels are closer to 19/20 lbs
The Rubicon wheel and the Willys wheel are the same, just with different finishes. They are about 22-23 lbs.

@Skander727 , the difference in handling is due to a different offset and the way the tire is seated on a 1" wider wheel. Also, since those are brand new wheels, get a torque wrench out and retorque the lugs to 130 ft lbs. This is especially important if the wheels are not hub centric.
 

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sanman357

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Jeep Wrangler JL Thoughts on lighter wheels? (First post) Screenshot_20230308_002008

Smashed my factory passenger side wheel and let discount tire talk me into the 17×8.5 lonestars so I can safely install 35s soon. Factory rims are like ≈30lbs a piece but these are only ≈12??? That blew my mind and I'm wondering if anyone else notices (besides fuel economy going up) any changes with these lighter wheels. Mostly I notice the tail shakes around alot more when accelerating, wanders alot more too on the highway. What is fun is being able to swing my tail when I send it on a sharp turn. Other than that I wonder if bigger tires will help restablize the jeep? Or if I gotta put some kind of weight on it? (Thinking a small roof rack on the back end). Finally, is weight shedding on a Jeep especially the rims a good idea to begin with? Haven't sold my factory wheels yet might just buy a new replacement. This is my first jeep only had it 2 years so I really would love as much random input as possible!

Jeep Wrangler JL Thoughts on lighter wheels? (First post) Screenshot_20230308_002008
Check the tire pressures. Might need to lower a couple of pounds. Do a chalk test to check for full contact.
 

aldo98229

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I just weighed my factory Sahara 18” wheels the other day: they are 25.4 lbs each. The Sahara wheels make extensive use of machined surfaces, so paint adds little weight.

My guess is the factory Rubicon/Willys 17” wheels, being one inch smaller and more heavily painted, must weigh around 22-23 lbs each.
 

Shibadog

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I'm pretty sure that those are American Outlaw Railcar wheels and not the Lonestar. Either way, the lightest Lonestar is listed at 24 lbs and the lightest Railcar is 25 lbs (well, 11.4 is listed, but the kg to lb conversion means 11.4 Kg is 25 lbs). Ain't no way you're rolling around on 12 lb wheels.
Maybe 12 kg? I agree that there are no 12 lb wheels.
 

aldo98229

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Maybe 12 kg? I agree that there are no 12 lb wheels.
Yeah. That'd make more sense. Twelve kilos is about 26 lbs., which would be on the lighter side for Jeep wheels. Most aftermarket Jeep wheels are around 30 lbs.

I have a set of 16x8 König wheels on my Fiat Spider; they weight around 14 lbs. They are among the lightest wheels on the market in that size.
Jeep Wrangler JL Thoughts on lighter wheels? (First post) 1679504234200
 

azwjowner

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Seems to me Jameson, you got talked(salemanship)into the false ideology that a lighter Wrangler wheel is better. Along with a larger size wheel comes heavier weight when it's engineered for durability. IE, both the Mopar and AEV wheels are engineered for a Wrangler specificly and the use of larger heavier tires. Yes they weigh more than OEM sized wheels. I suggest you go back to where you purchased them for a return. If Discount tire, they offer satisfaction.
He mentions though that they're 17x8.5 and he needs them for 35s, which is true if he's running 35x12.5 (though some squeeze them on stock wheels).
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