Steelies or Alloys?

[COMP]

Originally Posted by digitaldissent

I think i might just go with the stock Bridgestones they weigh 18lbs and are supposed to be LRR, in fact I think its the same tire on the Insight.

OK after spending some time over at yarisworld.com it looks like the steelies weight 15lbs not too bad which makes the stock combo 33lbs. It looks like the factory alloys weigh the same maybe a tad heavier.

I would have to drop some serious coin to get something lighter and I am not ready to do that.

hmmmmmm what is the size and bolt pattern are those

[digitaldissent]

not sure if you mean the wheels/rims or the tire it self

the tires it came with new are Bridgestone Potenza RE92 - 185/60/15

The wheels have a bolt pattern of 4x100 and are 15x5

[COMP]

Originally Posted by digitaldissent

not sure if you mean the wheels/rims or the tire it self

the tires it came with new are Bridgestone Potenza RE92 - 185/60/15

The wheels have a bolt pattern of 4x100 and are 15x5

4x100,,, i think that what my shadow is ,,more ideas working

[Bror Jace]

Chris D., that's a pretty impressive improvement ... almost cut your wheel & tire weight in half. When I went alloy-shopping for my car last year, I would have gotten a 1-2 pound advantage for each wheel, that's it ... hardly worth the cash involved.

I'm not surprised you noticed the truck feels more lively ... again, weight gains in the driveline are very valuable from a performance (acceleration and braking) standpoint.

Can you pinpoint any specific mileage gains ... or are you like the rest of us that eagerly make a bunch of changes and can't tell exactly which ones gave the most benefit?

[Chris D.]

Originally Posted by COMP

92 Dodge

ok, so you say your doing better on your Shadow how?
What wheels are you running, the Crab wheels?
your 2.5 with a A520 5 speed or a A568 5 speed?

[Chris D.]

Originally Posted by digitaldissent

not sure if you mean the wheels/rims or the tire it self

the tires it came with new are Bridgestone Potenza RE92 - 185/60/15

The wheels have a bolt pattern of 4x100 and are 15x5

Your 185-60-15's weigh 17lbs, now take off your wheel and weight it,
you deduct 17lbs from the overall weight and thats how much wheel weight
your working with give or take the weight of the wheel weights

my around town mpg went up almost 2mpg..

[Cd]

I'd really like to see an A-B-A-B test of this question, since I have wondered the very same thing.
At the speeds that we travel, how much of a difference in drag does a rim make ?
As we all know, it depends on the style.

I have to look at what Honda did with their mid '90s Civic VX - instead of just slapping on some smooth hub caps, they chose to use lightweight wheels instead.
If aero was such a big issue, it seems that they would have styled the wheels more streamlined than they did.

And even if it did make a difference to the drag number, at what point would it override going with a lightweight rim ?


I'd predict that you would never see a difference using 'moons' unless you drove a constant 75 - 80 MPH. And even then ... maybe a 1 - 2 MPG difference if you were lucky. Plus, your car would look dorky instead of 'cool' ( To the common non aero minded man )


( Of course you could always just get some moon wheel covers and screw them onto the a lightweight rim. Best of both worlds. )

[Chris D.]

according to some BSF racers the moons dont
get viable for areo till right aroun 120+mph..

read that on some site..

[Xringer]

Originally Posted by Chris D.

according to some BSF racers the moons dont
get viable for areo till right aroun 120+mph..

read that on some site..

I'll bet if you drove 25 mph in your Tacoma and measured the MPG and then
bolted 4'x8' sheet of plywood vertically on your tailgate, you would see a big
drop in your 25 mph FE.

I believe that cd is important at low speeds too. (Just ask anyone who races bicycles).
If the moons help the cd at 120+mph and didn't help some at 55 mph, I would be very surprised.
It's not like they are active device like a spoiler or VG, to my eye, they are pretty passive.
Kinda like rolling up your windows when you drive over 30.. It helps.

[digitaldissent]

Originally Posted by Chris D.

Your 185-60-15's weigh 17lbs, now take off your wheel and weight it,
you deduct 17lbs from the overall weight and thats how much wheel weight
your working with give or take the weight of the wheel weights

my around town mpg went up almost 2mpg..

I have confirmed the steels are 15lbs and the factory alloys are 17lbs, tirerack says my tires are 18.

2mpg that's awesome, I knew it. Thanks ChrisD for the info

who's got a couple of grand for me?