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.