I was thinking the other day of putting some lightweight 17's or 18's with some lower profile tires on my car to keep the acceleration. Then I got to thinkin that because of the lower weight, would the wheels tend to spin easier and lose traction? Can anyone confirm or deny this? Thanks.

 

im assuming your using stock potenza's. your best upgrade would be swapping it to UHP summer tires.

you could use there calculator
http://1010tires.com/

as far as lightweight, you wouldnt notice the difference in accelaration using your butt dyno. reducing unsprung weight from your suspension is always a good thing.

 

Sorry I wasn't specific. if I get the rims I'm prolly gonna go with BFGoodrich G-force KDW's, probably 125's. I kind of wanted to stay 17 inch so the 18's would do anything to my acceleration, however if I got a lower proile tire I'm sure the total diameter of the wheel wouldn't be enough to make any difference. Now for two more possibly noob-like questions:
1. Reducing unsprung weight from the springs does what for handling if anything, or just effects longevity of suspension?
2. as far as handling goes, the front strut bar, rear sway, stiffer springs, firmer shocks (or coilovers to replace the pair) all help to keep your car flatter in the corners...this increases your cars chance of spinning out if you get it too firm, how does the flatness HELP you with handling besides reducing body flex?

 

lighter wheels mean more acceleration at higher speeds, not lower speeds. lighter wheels also mean more responsive handling.

i have lighter wheels with good rubber and i've yet to experience the same wheelspin i had with stock wheels/tires.

the tire helps a lot more than the wheel with wheelspin and traction

 

Just lighten up the wheels. Less unsprung weight is better for handling and acceleration.

Don't change the tire profile. You'll screw up your speedo.