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Thread: Alternative light-weight 15-inch wheels

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    The lightest wheel/tire combination in the Tire Rack test had the best handling and lap time (which would be expected), but it didn't beat the fuel economy of the stock wheel/tire. That seems odd...but notice the tires used in the test.

    Only the stock tires were Low Rolling Resistance. When they tested lighter 17" wheels, they also changed to wider, non-low rolling resistance performance tires.

    This test may help illustrate another point: Don't underestimate the impact of using LRR tires. Dropping weight off the wheels didn't appear to offset the loss of fuel mileage from wider, regular tires. I would think the mileage would have improved if they could have matched the lighter 17" wheel with a LRR tire. That would have been interesting.

    People have the same issue running 16" wheels on a Mirage. I don't think there's a LRR tire that will work. Even wider 15" tires are a problem. I don't think there's such a thing as a 195-50-15 LRR tire.

    And some of the wider 15"-16" tires out there weigh 5-7 pounds more than a stock Enasave. The weight of the tire is even more important than the weight of the wheel...as it takes more energy to rotate a mass as it moves away from the axis of the rotation.

    If maintaining maximum fuel mileage is important, run a light wheel if you can. But don't forget to match it with a quality (and hopefully lightweight) LRR tire.
    I'm a little late to the party, but wanted to share my seat of the pants experience. I've put +1 wheels/tires on several cars without paying attention to weight. While the grip may have been improved with the wider cross section, in each case, the car lost some of its nimbleness and willingness to change direction. Also, as a cyclist, I can say for sure that rim and tire weight make a big difference in how easily the bike accelerates.

    12lbs for those Mini wheels is extremely light.

    I use 15" Blizzaks on my car in the winter and do like the high speed stability and little bit of extra height they give the car and was thinking about a 15" option for summer use. Those Mini rims would work nicely.

    FWIW, the Mirage can plow throw huge amounts of snow with the Blizzaks. Just remember to turn off traction control because the computer cuts power when the wheels spin too much.



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    personally i almost prefer a set of the factory g4 wheels for the offset but will probably go with a set of the Imola rims due to availability.. i am unsure of actual factory g4 rim weight to compare either
    i picked up a cheep white set of Imola, not really sure how i will feel about white rims but, will see..
    i have been trying to decide what to couple them with in a 175/55R15 for a light weight summer package as i run winter tires in the winter..
    i have been leaning towards the Vredestein Quatrac5,, as they seem to get very good reviews and from what i can see weigh less than other comparable tires,, my problem is finding tire weights??? do any of you know a reliable place that lists tire weight by sizes or compares such things?

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    Quote Originally Posted by A-Aron View Post
    personally i almost prefer a set of the factory g4 wheels for the offset but will probably go with a set of the Imola rims due to availability.. i am unsure of actual factory g4 rim weight to compare either
    i picked up a cheep white set of Imola, not really sure how i will feel about white rims but, will see..
    i have been trying to decide what to couple them with in a 175/55R15 for a light weight summer package as i run winter tires in the winter..
    i have been leaning towards the Vredestein Quatrac5,, as they seem to get very good reviews and from what i can see weigh less than other comparable tires,, my problem is finding tire weights??? do any of you know a reliable place that lists tire weight by sizes or compares such things?
    Tirerack lists weights on the specs tab of the tire description page, and, surprisingly, they had Vredestein in the model and size you referenced above. They list it as 13 lbs. Sorry for the raw link - I don't know how to hyperlink on this site.

    https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...5QT5&tab=Sizes

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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by A-Aron View Post
    ...have been trying to decide what to couple them with in a 175/55R15
    If you're moving to a 15" tire, I would consider a size other than 175-55-15. That size tire is very unusual in the US market. Other than the Mirage, I think the only car that has used this size tire in the last 20 years was certain model Smart cars that used these on the front wheels. As a result, 175-55-15 tire choices are limited and the prices tend to be high.

    A 185-55-15 tire is much more common because it's been used on multiple vehicles in the last 10 years (Aveo, Spark, Fit, Mazda2, Fiat 500). You can find at least a couple of tires in this size that combine low rolling resistance and long tread life.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    I have seen these in junk yards on Mini Coopers after 2006 (up to 2013) - 7 hole, 15" x 5.5". Do you know if they are the same offset, lug hole spacing, etc?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ranny View Post
    I have seen these in junk yards on Mini Coopers after 2006 (up to 2013) - 7 hole, 15" x 5.5". Do you know if they are the same offset, lug hole spacing, etc?
    Are you talking about wheels that look like this?

    Name:  Mirage22.jpg
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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by MightyMirageMpg View Post
    The weight is leveraged from the center of the wheel - it makes a bigger difference. The motor spins the tire from the center.

    Another example could be a lightweight vs heavy flywheel. It takes more energy to spin the big fly wheel but get it moving and it'll restart your volkswagen at a stop and go light. The lighter flywheel doesn't have the mass too keep inertia long enough but it's easily thrown around so your engine revs quicker... So you put them in road racing cars where response is key
    Just as a side note, if I rev up my Jeep in neutral, put the clutch in and let the rpms die then shift into 1st and release the clutch, the flywheel alone will move me forward a good half foot.


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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2018 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 43.5 mpg (US) ... 18.5 km/L ... 5.4 L/100 km ... 52.2 mpg (Imp)


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