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Agree with Emilio (duh, like I'm going to argue)
Acceleration and braking characteristics are noticeable/measurable with lighter wheel/tire combos, but probably have effects in the tenths/hundredths, whereas increasing grip changes cornering speed, which is probably going to change your times by full seconds. A 2 inch wider wheel/tire gives a massive increase in contact patch. While it is apples/oranges, a 3-4 lb change in a 30+ lb wheel/tire combo versus a 30% increase in contact patch is hard to argue with.
If nothing else, look at the number of really fast cars out there running on relatively "heavy" wheels compared to the number of cars on superlight but narrow wheels, and I think you can divine what most racers have discovered.
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Just to be clear so you don't think I'm crazy: I'm not suggesting a light 15x7 is better than a 15x9. My original question is whether or not it is advantageous to use a 205 tire that weighs 3 more pounds than it's 195 sibling. I have zero diagreement that the 9 is better than the 7.
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