Archives

As much as I would like to have the skinniest tires with moon wheelcovers on my car, I hate to be the butt of other peoples jokes.
I plan to soon replace the tires on my car and would like to go with low rolling resistance tires.
While I am at it, i also plan to replace my factory steel wheels with lightweight aluminum ones.
So...is there a LRR tire made that will take a 15" rim yet have a stock tire height. ( I guess what I am asking is if there is a LRR tire that has a narrow sidewall height )

As far as aerodynamics affecting MPG are concerned, I think weight is more of a factor than drag when it comes to wheels...after all, look at the wheels on a Lexus LS 430 ( .25 Cd ). The wheels are open spoke wheels that are far from the ideal smoolth 'moon' style wheel covers.

Thanks !

While I'm at it, I mind as well ask which is heavier : two identical size wheels - one with a small diameter rim and a normal tire vs. one that has a larger aluminum rim and the smaller ( sidewall height ) tire.
I'm new to this stuff.

Hi Wannabeclean:

___What kind of car and what rim size are you currently using? Tires will be your number one priority for maximum FE and if you are currently running a 14” rim, the Insight specific RE92’s are the best things available for lowest RR.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Nobody complains about my car running stock wheels and tires. (Well, they do want me to change my wheels but never mention the tires)

As much as I would like to have the skinniest tires with moon wheelcovers on my car, I hate to be the butt of other peoples jokes.
I plan to soon replace the tires on my car and would like to go with low rolling resistance tires.
While I am at it, i also plan to replace my factory steel wheels with lightweight aluminum ones.
So...is there a LRR tire made that will take a 15" rim yet have a stock tire height. ( I guess what I am asking is if there is a LRR tire that has a narrow sidewall height )

As far as aerodynamics affecting MPG are concerned, I think weight is more of a factor than drag when it comes to wheels...after all, look at the wheels on a Lexus LS 430 ( .25 Cd ). The wheels are open spoke wheels that are far from the ideal smoolth 'moon' style wheel covers.

Thanks !

While I'm at it, I mind as well ask which is heavier : two identical size wheels - one with a small diameter rim and a normal tire vs. one that has a larger aluminum rim and the smaller ( sidewall height ) tire.
I'm new to this stuff.

Hi,

I bet I just did not read close enough because I did not see what kind of vehicle you are wanting to upgrade your wheels/tires on.

Here is a LINK to Pics of my 2006 HCH II with Upgraded Wheels and I was able to keep the Factory LRR Tires.

Go to Tire Rack and type in your Vehicle and answer some questions and you can actually VIEW your vehicle with the Wheels of your choice. Pretty Cool Site.

I used them for my choice when I went with the New Look on my 06 HCH II.

Hope this Helps, :)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1385

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/521/DSC00996.JPG


Regards,

Terry

If anyone is going to tirerack make sure to use the link in the advertisements section to go there as it will help support cleanmpg.

Hi,

I bet I just did not read close enough because I did not see what kind of vehicle you are wanting to upgrade your wheels/tires on.


Terry

Sorry folks - I have a 1993 Civic DX Hatchback, currently with stock P175 /70 R13 82S tires.

tigerhonaker - your car looks great !

What an improvement !

Please keep us informed of any mileage drop due to the increased aero drag from the open spokes.
I'm really interested in finding this out since I was shocked to find out just how much that rims supposedly contribute to the overall .cd of a car.

Are the current rims any lighter that the ones you replaced from the factory ?

Sorry folks - I have a 1993 Civic DX Hatchback, currently with stock P175 /70 R13 82S tires.

tigerhonaker - your car looks great !

What an improvement !

Please keep us informed of any mileage drop due to the increased aero drag from the open spokes.
I'm really interested in finding this out since I was shocked to find out just how much that rims supposedly contribute to the overall .cd of a car.

Are the current rims any lighter that the ones you replaced from the factory ?

Let me try to answer some of your questions here.

1st, Yes these wheels are very-light in weight. Infact that was a "Major" Factor in my choice of them along with the fact that I could retain my Lrr Tires.

As far as FE (fuel-economy) goes I think in as few of words here as possible to give you an {Honest} reply.

Even though these wheels are very light they still are not the Streamlined wheels from Honda that the Disc Wheels are. Point here is Yes you will get "Less" gas mileage when you alter your wheels. Light weight or not. 2nd thing here that comes to mind is this. If you get away from the Lrr Tires you will really give up some "Serious-FE" and this is a Fact. As I said I kept my Factory Supplied Tires so thankfully I have not suffered any Great-Loss of FE.

However let me point out the facts here on changing from the factory wheels. You will get less FE. This is a Fact not just my Opinion. Change from the Honda factory set up and you will give up FE and the only real question here is how much "Less-FE" you will get depends on the Wheels and Tire Choice you decide upon.

In my case I just drive 4.1 miles to the office and same back home so I made the decision to take the much improved looks over the stock set up.

I think I should also share this with you. I ran 60psi in my tires on a trip to Chicago and back home and I did not see any real disaster concerning my FE on these trips. But If I had left the Factory wheels and tires on the car it would still have gotten better FE than with the New Wheels installed before the trip was made.

I think my last comment on this wheel and tire thing to you is this. What is important to you???? Gas-Mileage-Maxium !!!!!!!!! or less gas-mileage and Sharper Looking Wheels and Tires with a Compromise in your FE.

Use Discretion in your Wheel and Tire SIZES: ;)

Best of Luck and take Pics so we can see the difference in the Now-Look and then the New-Look.

Regards,

Terry

Hi All:

___Finally saw a great pic of an HCH-II w/ the EX rims. The owner picked them up for $300 with just 300 miles on them as well.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/522/HCH-II_-_EX_wheels_front.jpg
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/522/HCH-II_-_EX_wheels_rear.jpg

___Not only do the 16’s appear to fill the wells a touch better, I like them :D Mileage offset as well as slightly higher RR Michelin’s (Psy, does the EX use Michelin MXV4 Plus’s?) is something that would need to be taken into account however :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi All:

___Finally saw a great pic of an HCH-II w/ the EX rims. The owner picked them up for $300 with just 300 miles on them as well.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/522/HCH-II_-_EX_wheels_front.jpg
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/522/HCH-II_-_EX_wheels_rear.jpg

___Not only do the 16’s appear to fill the wells a touch better, I like them :D Mileage offset as well as slightly higher RR Michelin’s (Psy, does the EX use Michelin MXV4 Plus’s?) is something that would need to be taken into account however :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

My EX came with Bridgestone EL400's i believe.