Does anyone know how many lbs. a 19" wheel,(No tire) on the 2021 CX-5 weighs? This would be the multi-spoke wheel on the USA Special Reserve, Turbo model. They're a gray color.

 

Okay, I weighed my factory (bare) wheel and each comes to almost 32 lbs. The after-market wheels I bought (Andros R10) weigh 27 lbs. each! That's almost a 5 lb. reduction in unsprung weight on each wheel!. The lower the unsprung weight means the less work the shocks and springs have to do to keep the tires in contact with the road over bumpy surfaces. the opposite, (more unsprung weight) means more workload for shocks and springs to keep tires on the road. Then there's the added bonus of less inertia to overcome when accelerating. I never gave that a thought, I just wanted better-looking wheels. When I drove it for the first time with the lighter wheels my first thought was, wow, my CX-5 (Turbo) never ran this good. It seemed quicker. But I dismissed it. My second ride was with 3 additional people. Even with the extra weight, the car was definitely faster. Perhaps it was just my imagination, or the atmosphere was denser. However, If you ever added a lighter flywheel to an engine (I do this on all my VW beetles engines that I rebuilt and modified), you definitely feel a noticeable difference. On the CX-5 It kinda makes sense, especially with the AWD. Now each wheel is accelerating 5 fewer pounds, (for a total of 20 lbs.)
Have any of you have had a similar experience?

 

I have, but not with my CX. Years ago I replaced the wheels and tires on my 350Z dropping 7# per corner. I immediately noticed improved acceleration from a stop - not dramatic but clearly noticeable to anyone intimately familiar with their ride. Driveline parts are more effected by a weight reduction than is the rest of the vehicle. AWD wouldn’t matter, the wheels/tires still have to be accelerated whether they’re driven or not.

 

Had a very similar experience with an old car that came standard with ridiculously heavy Michelin PAX tires on ~18.1 inch metric wheels. I replaced them with 19" BBS forged alloys and standard technology tires losing about (I kid you not) ~20+ pounds per wheel-tire combination or 80+ pounds weight saving. That car performed like a new and different car, light on its feet, with faster feeling acceleration and better braking...better ride.

I also experience this every winter when I replace my summer wheel tire combination 245-40/18 on 18x8.5 Enkei OEM wheels with winter tire combination of 225/50-17 on 17x8 Motegi wheels. I am guessing 5 lbs per wheel tire combo. Much lighter on its feet, probably due to the lower unsprung weight and 20 mm less width per wheel. Clearly this car is not as stable or planted in turns with that much less rubber section widith and higher sidewall, but it is much lighter feeling in the steering and feels much more tossable than the wider lower profile tires. Does not inspire high speed turning maneuvers, of course, but is much easier to change directions. My wife loves driving it with winter tires because it is softer riding and easier handling in her experience. Summer tires not so much.

 

Some years back, on a Miata I toyed with various wheel and tire combinations. Swapping the Panasport to the Enkei RP-F1 wheels dropped 5 lbs, and changing tires dropped another 2-3 lbs. Per corner. On a Miata, that made a very noticeable difference. A bit more nimble, better behavior over rougher roads.

Can't imagine only ~8lbs (total tire+wheel drop) would make that much difference on a CX-5, though there are several wheels that'd drop quite a bit of weight per corner as compared to the factory CX-5 rims. But a 15+ lbs difference might be modestly noticeable. I think I'd feel it. Some might not.

Enkei makes a 17x9" rim under 16 lbs for the 5x114.3 fitment, for example.

Konig makes a 17x9" rim (the CounterGram) under 18.5 lbs for the 5x114.3 fitment.

Plus whatever the difference in tire selection would yield.