I read an article on one of road race magazine a while back where they tested a wheel that was lightened as much as possible vs. a normal wheel the particular wheel company sold on the market. The result was that even though the wheel was lighter on all four corners, the lap time was slower due to the additional deflection. The normal wheel was heavier but was also stiffer and was able to handle the loads better which led to a faster laptime. All the hard core road race S2000 drivers on the other forum I go on all use the widest wheel possible that can fit on all corners. Even though it is heavier, they are able to produce faster laps as well.
We tried that before with our SAE Baja car. The wheels we used were smooth-faced, spoke-less wheels. We gun drilled about six 2-3" holes into it to save weight. Although, it did make the car a little faster, those specific wheels were prone to bending and failed much quicker. That's why we kept the old design wheel and didn't modify it.
The manufacturing process of wheels make a difference too when choosing a wheel. Some of the high dollar wheels are expensive as they are due to the process. From my experience, same material, a Forged wheel will have better mechanical properties than a Cast wheel. As far as I know, Enkei's are all cast, but what makes them more superior vs other cast wheels is the material they use.
