Poll - Alloy Bundts or regular wheel with hub caps

[jaymanek]

I agree that bundts make the car looks 70's or 80's and in my eye, just dont look right on our cars.

[mbzse]

What is interesting is that we now all need to know .. WHAT IS THE EXACT WIEGHT OF A BUNDT ALLOY?

The weight of the 6"wheel (A108 400 09 02) only, with valve but w/o bolts and center cap is: 6,3 kilogrammes
(13.9 lb)
/Hans in Sweden

[GGR]

10Lbs per corner = 40Lbs total unsprung weight. It is commonly stated that each pound of unsprung weight is the equivalent of 4 pounds of sprung weight in terms of handling and acceleration... so the car sees, "feels" a 160Lb weight loss... one (overweight!) female passenger gone!

There is unsprung weight and rotational weight. Reducing unsprung weight improves handling, and reducing rotational weight reduces inertia and improves acceleration and braking. According to sources, each rotational pound saved is equivalent to between 7 and 9 pounds of static weight.

Lighter wheels reduce both unsprung and rotational weight.

[scoot]

I could be mistaken because I didn't record the numbers.  But if the bundt wheels are that light, then it doesn't make sense to pay the recently advertised $400 per rim for the pressed aluminum just for the weight advantage. 

My opinion is that you buy the wheels that you like the appearance of first, and if you can get it to weigh a lot less, then it is worth it.  I have the pressed aluminum with full wheel covers on my 1971 250 C and on my 1985 300 TD.  However on my 1967 250 SL I have the steel wheels with the dog dish hubcaps and the trim rings because I like that look better than the full wheel covers.   Sidenote:  the $400 is the ebay price, I regularly sell the wheels for $300 on the forum.  (6" version, not 5.5" version).   I have never actually sold any at the $400 ebay price.

I don't think anyone is going to switch from full-wheel-cover steel to bundt just for the weight savings.  They would be far better off with the pressed aluminum and full wheel covers.  Even the 5 1/2" pressed aluminum would be just fine.