I agree that a swap to lighter wheels is probably not the best "bang for the buck", but the fact remains that reducing rotating weight has a greater effect than reducing an equal amount of fixed weight. And last time I looked, almost every race team used lighter wheels than stock.
I think you guys are confusing "rotating weight" with "unsprung weight". And generally, when teams take weight out of the car its usually because they've already reduced the unsprung weight as much as possible. And further to that point, weight is often shifted as opposed to removed - to change the center of gravity, etc..
So to the point of "rotating weight", this is more commonly referred to as "inertia" and would apply more to flywheels than to wheels and tires.
almost every race team used lighter wheels than stock.
Hmmm ... I'll bet you a Nascar wheel weighs more than a stock wheel!
Anyway, the point isn't whether there is something to be gained from lighter wheels, the point is that there are greater gains to be made spending the same money elsewhere. For the price of a set of wheels and tires he could do a cam, intake and carb and possibly more if he bought good used and does the work himself.
