I just noticed that my Runflat tires are only 22lb. Thats the same as the 16" non runflat I'm looking at!
The rims I'm looking at are 14lb vs the 24lb of the S Lites. OK there is a 10lb savings, but how are people getting differences of 15-17lb?
Does this weight difference amount to much in terms of day to day driving?

 

For rims is makes a little difference for performance driving on the track but for street use it's fairly small under normal circumstances.

5 lbs per rim isn't that much benefit for normal street use.

Rims that are 14lbs are better to have than wheels that are 24 lbs if given the choice.

Weight of tires is a factor but can be also combined with the softness of the tread rubber for better handling and with the construction of the tires and stiffness of the sidewalls.

Think of the tire as a whole unit not just based on weight.

If you have the best lightest track performance tire then you'd want the strongest and lightest rim to go with it. The difference in lap time will be small but repeatable maybe 10ths of a second. In autocross we can win or loose by a few 1/1000s of a second.

I'm generally not as concerned with tire weight if I can get a good rubber compound in a size that fits well for the rim size I have to fit the MINI.

Stock MINI S-lyte rims are 25.1 lbs each. Stock MINI 15" holey rims are 12 lbs each. Aftermarket light 15" rims are close to 10 lbs each.

The holey rim is only 15x5.5 while the aftermarket rim can be 15x7.
The 15x7 rim will not only weigh less but can take a wider tire easily and allow for a wider grippy tire which can handle much better.

The narrow stock 15" rim can take a very light and narrow 175/65-15 tire for lower rolling resistance, decently fast pick up and braking and better mpg. They are really just different wheel and tire setups for a different purpose.