I have a 2007 HCHII. Like several owners, I have been looking for a replacement wheel. I have found several light weight wheels, in the 14-17 lb/wheel range. I have been under the impression that lighter wheels would preserve the acceleration of the HCHII, eve lighter than the stock 15" wheel. Tehn I got to think that some of the members have changed to the EX 16" wheel, which I wouold guess is heavier than the stock ones. Many comment that there is little if any MPG change. This led me to think that wheel design, ie. 5 spoke, 6 spoke, 7 spoke, dual 6 and 7 spoke and other designs may alter the MPG simply because of design and not necessarily the mass of the wheel.

Anyone have any thoughts about the design of the wheel affecting MPG, and would more spokes (i.e. 7-10 spokes) reduce MPG more than fewer (i.e. 5 spokes)?

So in my effort to find interesting wheels I came across 16" JDM ITR DC2 Integra Type-R wheels. See here:
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/m...egraRwheel.jpg

Any comments appreciated.

Tdsoup

 

I must say that the stock wheel/tires are not that light. I owned an Insight for a while and those were light. I don't think any reasonably sized wheel/tire combo on the the HCH would make a big difference.

 

Weight makes more difference than # of spokes.

A long time ago, I read that for every pound you add to a wheel it's like adding seven pounds to the car.

So, if you add wheels that weigh 5 lbs more, that's 35x4 -- it's like putting 140 lbs in your car.

How much do the JDM wheels weigh?

Ian

 

FYI the 15" OEM "Pie Pan" Wheels weight 16 lb. each.

 

I am told they weight 15 -16 lbs in 16". I thought that there is/was a thread about the weight of the factory wheels and a weight of 17 lbs came from a part desk that weighed them.

So if weight is more important than # of spokes, are there specialties of the OEM wheels beyond weight, as there are a fair amount of wheels that weight less that the factory OEM and look much better.

 

Personally, I think the wheel design is more marketing than aerodynamic.

I have 2 HCHCIIs and four sets of rims. The extra rims I bought were all from the Tirerack. They are of 5 and 6 spoke design and weigh one pound more than stock. I don't notice ANY difference in FE between sets.

Also, I love to point out that the Prius has spokes and no flying saucers.

Keep the wheel weight low and you will be fine.

Don't foget about tires though. If you get some 10lbs 17"s and put Super sport tires on them your mileage will suffer. You still need Low Rolling Resistance tires.

Good luck.

nf

 

Tire width is probably more important, unless you get really heavy rims. The standard LRR tires on our cars have a quite narrow tire-patch. The wider the tire-patch is that meets the road, the more resistance there is. THAT lowers MPG.

 

I would tend to disagree, unless in an extreme case. The inertia (i.e. mass) of the wheels are probably the biggest factor in the role the wheels play in energy requirements.

 

Wider-tread tires are also heavier, adding to that inertia.
Wider tire-patch does play a role as well (I think a big role, as they are wider and heavier.)
At any rate, it all works together.