did a search but never saw it discussed anywhere on here. I am considering upgrading the wheels on my wife's mazda CX-7 ( I know its not a Ford but this board is active and the knowledge flows). it would be an upgrade from an 18" wheel to a 20" wheel which also means an increase in weight. talking 23 lbs to almost 40 lbs a wheel (aluminum factory to chrome KMC's). Does this really make THAT much of a difference over the life of the vehicle?

I saw some stuff on some other forums stating you might need to upgrade the suspension, etc. to compensate but that seemed a little out there considering the size wheels people are throwing on everything nowadays. It is a small SUV so I thought it should be considered. thanks for the help guys!

 

I would say no, not really, but you can expect you fuel economy to decrease. In a small way, everything has to work harder to push the heavier combo. Kind of like you having to roll a 100lb tire uphill by hand, and then a 150 lb tire. You will have to work harder to push the heavier wheel. An extreme example perhaps, but you get the point.

 

thats what I thought......nothing to worry about with the suspension at all? I am probably being paranoid but never put rims on a car so I dont really know if there are any differences.

 

I'm in the same boat, looking to upgrade the 17"s on my aviator to 20"s, but the ones I like the best are 40lb boat anchors too. It's amazing to me how many sites/ebay ads don't list weight and/or load rating, but I guess most people just go for the look and don't worry about anything else.

I've read estimates of for every 1 pound it's like 10 when it comes to unsprung weight, but haven't seen anything definitive, and it depends on if all the mass is the all at the center or all at the extremities.

I REALLY like that wheel, but I just haven't been able commit to what I suspect will be a fairly substantial hit on acceleration and fuel economy.