What are the fastest wheels?
I'm relatively new to building and racing my cars, and I wanted to build one that was very fast. I think I have a good casting, but I wanted to know what wheels were the best. I've heard of the Faster Than Ever wheels, but I wanted to know if there were faster ones available.
Discussion
One theory I find fascinating is that wheels with minimal construction and less mass have an advantage. Less mass, less rolling resistance, more speed. I don't have the math & physics to explain deeper, sorry. Wheel diameter plays a role too, with larger wheels giving higher top-end speed and smaller wheels skewing to faster acceleration. Here are some broad examples among the dozens and dozens of styles you can find online and at the pegs, purely to illustrate this concept
These above are the styles that 1st and 2nd gen FTEs were based on. Note all the empty space within.
Not the best photo, but beyond the spokes is still plenty of that empty negative space. Now for a counter-example:
See? Very solid throughout, no spaces at all. According to the theory, these wheels will work against you in a build
These last two styles intrigue me, they show the qualities of empty space, potentially less mass. However as they are exclusive to Hot Wheels models of cars selling for well above mainline car prices, not as easy to "farm." I have not seen these frequently in modified racing events
Wheel Theory is a great rabbit hole, and everyone looks for the "next big thing." Speed is where you find it, so for now maybe rely more on practical testing with what you have on hand before diving headlong. Honestly, wheels of any single kind are only part of the whole equation and each one of THOSE other parts have theories of their own. All the best in the journey!
BTW, the Wheels & Axles collection of threads has many, many rabbit holes to jump down.
I've noticed a couple of my old matchbox cars have incredibly fast wheels. They kinda look similar to the hot wheels LW. There bigger cars and heavy, and the wheels are bigger too. But damn they are smooth. Been thinking of sacrificing the cars for some of my favourite hot wheels. Maybe putting em on one of my old beat up metal fire trucks.
- Some of the old MBX are really fast. At least two of them have held the title of the fastest car I own. — ManiacMotorsports
- Agreed, Starburst & Laser wheels from the 80s and 6 spoke spiral wheels from the 90s can be extremely fast. — GspeedR
To quickly answer, I've always found the colored/clearish wheels to be quality. I remember getting mine from the XRacers mainline - like this Stockar - series but they're all over now.
But generally speaking, I feel wheels are a decent crap shoot since they quality you need is really dependent on the hole in the wheel...is it round? ...is it in the right spot? You're looking to reduce friction and wobble. But I mean, how it comes out of the factory will be different even when you have 3 cars of the same casting.
Wheel farming is a method you can use that is really just taking wheels and testing them but I always found it quite tedious and not worth it. I usually focused on axles, weight, and other things...I was never that hardcore enough to worry about shaving fractions of a second off with wheels.
In general, you'll know if a wheel is shit as you build, but there is no perfect wheel...but if you're chasing them, just test test test. Here's another article that could help or at least give you some ideas to think about.