Last edited by timw4mail; 09-05-2018 at 10:45 PM. Reason: Slightly more detail
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View my fuel log 2018 Mirage SE 1.2 automatic: 33.6 mpg (US) ... 14.3 km/L ... 7.0 L/100 km ... 40.4 mpg (Imp)
I bought 2 steel rims from onlywheels.com. $50/rim with free shipping. They were 14" x 5.5", and that is still within an acceptable range for 165/65-14 tires. The cheap Mitsubishi hubcaps slapped right on them, but I have steel rims with hubcaps to begin with. I would not buy 6" wide rims for snow tires, but that's me. The 2017 & up Mirages have larger front brakes. I also know these steel rims clear without issue.
If you like the thought of wider wheels (175 & 185) some day, I would use your 4.5" factory rims for 165/65-14 snow tires. They are the perfect size for that. Come next spring, you could order a set of new wheels (rims/tires). I would say order them already mounted/balanced, but our stupid TPMS creates another whole issue.
I am not a fan of TPMS. I had a tire blow out a couple weeks ago. I knew I had a problem long before the dash light came on. Being able to clone sensors would help, but I am not a fan!!!!
I understand the concept of using cheap steel wheels for winter, because that is what I am doing. I started with cheap steel rims, however. Given what you already have, I would consider a different approach. I would use your narrow 4.5" rims for factory size snow tires. If you want to go with a wider nicer looking tire later on, you can spend a little extra money on some 5-6" wide alloy rims. Why waste money on steel rims & lame looking hubcaps?
It's your decision, but I would look at how much a nice basic set of alloy wheels will cost you over new steel rims. It may not be much more than $100 dollars total. Your factory alloy wheels are a perfect size for snow tires. They are not so good for upgrading to wider tires. Given what you already have, I would take a different approach than me.
Hmm, it looks like for the iQ I had 16x5 wheels, with 175/60R16 tires.
TPMS is enough of a pain in that it's a US requirement...but it looks like Mitsubishi makes things a little worse than Toyota...
Guess I can't buy only from TireRack, because they don't have a 14/5.5 wheel.
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View my fuel log 2018 Mirage SE 1.2 automatic: 33.6 mpg (US) ... 14.3 km/L ... 7.0 L/100 km ... 40.4 mpg (Imp)
Here's what I'm thinking
Wheels: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vision-SW60...m/302861901580
TPMS: https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-TPMS-For-...r/253823206648
Tires: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...=WinterSection
And then I see about Discount Tire mounting, and getting lugs.
And if I have some more spare cash, hubcaps: https://www.ebay.com/itm/14-Full-Moo...s/231131289521
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View my fuel log 2018 Mirage SE 1.2 automatic: 33.6 mpg (US) ... 14.3 km/L ... 7.0 L/100 km ... 40.4 mpg (Imp)
A person really needs to use a tire size comparison calculator. A factory 165/65-14 tire is 22.4" in diameter. Despite what people say or do, I feel the Mirage tires should be somewhere between 22.4 to 23". I see no reason to go way beyond 23" to find all sort of options. Walmart offers 4 tires in 165/65-14. A 175/65-14 is 23" in diameter, & Walmart offers more than 80 tire options in that size. I am not promoting Walmart. I am just using that as an example.
A 175/60r16 tire is 24.3" in diameter. That's almost 2 full inches over stock tires. I know some run tires like that, but I would never do that. It doesn't matter if you use 14", 15", or 16" tires. What matters is overall tire diameter. No matter what a person does, I feel staying with 23" overall diameter is better for this car. It doesn't have great rear shocks/springs nor a lot extra clearance in the rear.
You can look up tire charts. It will give you all the tire sizes that fall within 22-23". Then it pays to see what might be offered in a size you are interested in.
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View my fuel log 2018 Mirage SE 1.2 automatic: 33.6 mpg (US) ... 14.3 km/L ... 7.0 L/100 km ... 40.4 mpg (Imp)
Agreed. Here are some useful websites for anyone tossing around wheel/tire ideas...
https://www.willtheyfit.com
http://www.wheel-size.com
https://tiresize.com
Remember that the stock Mirage wheels are 14x4.5 with a 46mm offset.
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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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View my fuel log 2018 Mirage SE 1.2 automatic: 33.6 mpg (US) ... 14.3 km/L ... 7.0 L/100 km ... 40.4 mpg (Imp)
I am going to preface this by saying I am somewhat cheap.
You have nice alloy wheels, but they are narrow. Perfect for snow tires. Not so great for adding a wider/lower profile tires some day. I wouldn’t waste my money on steel rims and cheap looking hubcaps. If my factory tires are starting to wear down enough where I am not as comfortable with them for winter roads, I would take this approach with what you already have.
I would buy four 165/65r14 winter tires this fall. I already shared some good options. I would mount the new winter tires to the factory rims, but I would remove the sensors from them first. Unless someone can clone your factory sensors, I would just live with the dash light being on for a few winter months. These new winter tires are not going to be your primary tires any more.
By next spring, I would have some new 14” rims picked out, & I would add my factory sensors to the new rims. I would put my money here rather buying ugly steel tires.
If your factory tires has some life in them & you kept them, you still have the option of using your factory tires on the new 14” rims. A 22-23” tire is just that. Whether 22-23” diameter tires are on 14” or 15” rims isn’t that big of deal to me. Personally, I prefer a higher profile tire (14”) over a lower one (15”). That’s personal preference, however. We are only talking one inch difference here, & the overall tire diameter should be approximately the same regardless of choice. Sticking with 14" rims allows to use tires you already have, & you can still buy/add new ones to match these new rims.
In summary, I would mount new winter tires to my factory alloy rims with the sensors removed. When it comes time to pull the snow tires, I would have new rims picked out. My tire sensors would be added to these new wheels, because these would be my primary wheels now. If cloning sensors works some day, you can always add a clone set to your winter tires.
I would not mess with steel wheels. I would not buy really wide rims either. My former Honda CRV had 6” wide rims. When a tire is off the rim, even 6” looks extremely wide for a small car like the Mirage. I realize others make wide rims work, but 5-6” wide rims are plenty wide for 165 to 185 tires.
The Mirage does not have the best shocks/springs, and the rear end doesn’t have much clearance. If you use 165 to 185 tires that are 23” or under in diameter, I doubt you will have little to be concerned about. I wouldn’t go overboard with large tires (width & overall diameter). It's still a small economy car. Tires alone can't make it something it isn't.
I started with steel rims. Thus, I stuck with them. If I had narrow alloy rims like you have, I would have done things quite differently. Those narrow alloy rims would be my future winter tires. If wanted slightly wider tires some day, I would focus my money on new alloy wheels for them. I wouldn't throw money at steel wheels for winter use only.
I probably over shared here, but it's just another approach to all this.