Kia Niro shows the importance of wheels on FE

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Hm, yes, just looked it up myself on Fuelly...the LX model all with 16" wheels for 2017 averaged 45.11 MPG and the Touring all with the 18" averaged 42.87 MPG. Weird though; you would expect the EX to get between that since some have 16" and others have 18", but the EX averages 47.63. Can definitely see the difference though. Makes me want to buy pizza pans for my car...except that my car has alloys not steelies so not exactly sure how I'd mount them.

[freebeard]

Heli-coil inserts and button-head cap screws.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Heli-coil inserts and button-head cap screws.

Yes but what would I screw them in to? Alloy wheels don't have all the holes in them like the steelies do. I thought about punching holes in the pizza pans and using zip ties, but that adds drag and kinda defeats the purpose, plus it probably wouldn't be as securely tied to go at any decent speed.

[California98Civic]

All 2018 trims appear to have a 6 speed with FD 3.23, but I could not find individual gear ratios. The OEM could be varying other gears, I suppose. Or the trans could be programmed to shift at different rpm ranges.

[freebeard]

Yes but what would I screw them in to?

More verbose: Put three to five [steel] Helicoils around the periphery of the alloy rim, evenly spaced so the cap won't go on only one way. They will allow purchase in the softer metal. If they are 1/4" or less they will be invisible from five feet if the cap it missing.

The buttonhead cap crews require an Allen wrench, but would be preferable to bright metal self-tapping screws. (use an Allen insert in an electric screwdriver, there will be 20 of them)

With steel wheels you weld on receivers for Dzeus fasteners. Then you can remove them with a coin.

[royanddoreen]

The 18” tires have a 1.1% larger o.d. also.

[kach22i]

There is a poster in the Pelican parts forum named Bill Verburg that often brings up the weight issues of larger wheels expressed as a loss of torque, and the issues of larger diameter wheel/tire combinations lowering acceleration times.

This is one of many examples:
https://forums.pelicanparts.com/pors...l#post10155087

A second example - more charts on page-2
https://forums.pelicanparts.com/pors...l-choices.html

The example shown on the first page of this thread as I read it has wider wheels, this would account for higher rolling resistance and higher drag.

All this is counter intuitive, as marketing directs us to the larger heavier wider wheels as being better performance, when in fact it is often not. At least not from an engineer's viewpoint of maximizing efficiency.

A search on Bill's name and the phrase "torque"
https://forums.pelicanparts.com/sear...rchid=17996103

[royanddoreen]

Thanks kach22,interesting info. I’m in the process of looking for wheels for my Kia Niro and wheel weights are hard to get. Easier than it once was but when I order online I hate to return stuff. I went to lite wheels on my car and I find it the best upgrade depending on amount of weight reduction.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by royanddoreen

Thanks kach22,interesting info. I’m in the process of looking for wheels for my Kia Niro and wheel weights are hard to get. Easier than it once was but when I order online I hate to return stuff. I went to lite wheels on my car and I find it the best upgrade depending on amount of weight reduction.

Yea, I used to be a huge fan of electric hub motors for cars, that is until I read up on "sprung mass".

Tires do not all weigh the same given the same size, even when they have comparable speed and wear ratings.

Hard to find tire weight information for sure, easier to find for the wheels/rims.

I think one of the problems with the run flat tires is people don't like the extra sprung mass.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by kach22i

I think one of the problems with the run flat tires is people don't like the extra sprung mass.

That and weight; and the speed limitations; and the distance limitations; and that it's not a permanent fix.

There's basically no good use case for run flats unless you're driving a military vehicle, or otherwise are at risk of being shot by people pursuing you.

A plug kit, inflator, and pliers for $20 can permanently repair most tire issues in just a few minutes of time, without having to change a tire. If people are really paranoid, they can carry a spare.