Different wheels

[HSutcliffe]

Any good websites with lightwt wheels for sale? low rolling resistant tires for sale?

[bzipitidoo]

Last time I looked into lightweight rims (aluminum, usually, but can be a magnesium alloy, hence the name "mag wheels"), I found most sites don't list the weight. But I did find one performance automotive site that had a filter for weight, so I was able to find out what all the rims for an MPV weighed by selecting "all less than x pounds" for each value from 8 (just one) to 20 (all but the stock steel rim). Learned that aluminum doesn't always mean light-- the heaviest aluminum rims were heavier than the lightest steel rims.

[GasSavers_Ryland]

I've often been suprized with how heavy alloy or mag wheels can be, and how poor their arerodinamics can be as well, with almost padel like spokes, you might as well put fan blade hub caps on insted of some of those wheels.
as for a site that sells them, I haven't found much either.

[Rstb88]

www.dymag.com Magnesium 5 its a five spoke wheel. 17x7 17x9 only weighs 11.4 by independent testing by SCC. Alot of aftermarket stuff but if u pic up the latest edition of Sport Compact Car (SCC) they have the lightest 15 wheels that where at SEMA

[thisisntjared]

woah wait wait, is this for fuel economy or for traction?

the width of the tire has the biggest effect on going either way. a 7 in wide tire is not the right decision for fuel economy.

that and i really dont think mag wheels are the best pick for a daily driven car. edgeracing.com has good prices on lightweight rims, but to the best of my knowledge they do not off lrr tires. however, for fuel economy, low rolling resistance tires do more than 3 to 4 times more than rims that weigh 6lbs less each. and this is the same size rim, same size tire, and the difference is over an all season tire, not a sports tire.

EDIT: wheel aerodynamics also matters, if not as much, more than wheel weight. so i guess what i really want to know to better help is the kind of driving you do.

[cems70]

I'm glad to see some mention of wheels and low rolling resistance tires in reference to good fuel economy. I've been onto this for almost 20 years beginning w/ my '86 CRX HF and w/ my '95 Civic VX since I bought it brand new. Anyway, here are some links to info about low rolling resistance tires:

1) http://www.wsj.consumerreports.org/wsjreport140a.html
comments: I'm personally itching for the Sumitomo HTR T4 next time I need a set of tires for my wife's '98 HX. Not only are they rated "excellent" for low rolling resistance, but they also have a maximum psi of 51. I have always used maximum tire inflation (per tire sidewall, NOT per vehicle owner's manual recommendations) to achieve maximum fuel economy. And I think these Sumitomos are the best of both worlds.

2) http://www.greenseal.org/resources/r...resistance.pdf
comments: An older article, but informative nonetheless. It rates tires with actual tested rolling resistance coefficients. I wish this organization did the same test each year for a number of tires. I went through 2 sets of Nokian NRT2 tires on my '95 VX and can vouch for their low rolling resistance as well as their superb handling. They were also very lightweight tires. Don't forget, lower rotating weight contributes to better fule economy. They handled better w/ 80k miles, worn and almost bald than the original Dunlop tires did when the car was brand new off the lot. Unfortunately, Nokian does not make a 13" tire for the US market anymore due to its scarcity. However, Many of their other tires (if you want 14" or larger) are deisgned to be low rolling resistance.

3) http://tiresbyweb.com/pc-5107-131-vr...quatrac-2.aspx
http://www.tiresunlimited.com/ALL%20...ed_quatrac.htm
comments: I found Vredestein Quatrac2 tires in one of my searches for LRR tires 18 months ago. I emailed Vredestein for more info about how much lower the rolling resistance is compared to other LRR tires, but they refused to provide any info because they claimed rolling resistance varies w/ road surface and weather conditions (true). But they insisted their Quatrac2 is the lowest among many tires tested. The links above is for US dealers that sells the Quatrac2. There may be others as well. I had the Quatrac2 on my radar screen because, like the Sumitomo HTR T4, it comes in the rare original VX tire size 165/70R13. But I sold my '95 VX before requiring new tires. Plus the Quatrac2 is pretty expensive after shipping (no local dealers in my state).

Steve

[GasSavers_roadrunner]

cems70 "I'm personally itching for the Sumitomo HTR T4 next time I need a set of tires for my wife's '98 HX. Not only are they rated "excellent" for low rolling resistance, but they also have a maximum psi of 51. "

Do you know about the Sumitomo HTR 200?
From what I know it is considered a LRR tire.

[cems70]

Originally Posted by roadrunner

cems70 Do you know about the Sumitomo HTR 200?
From what I know it is considered a LRR tire.

I have never seen the Sumitomo HTR 200 specifically described as a LRR tire, but that doesn't mean it's not. The 200 has been out for awhile longer than the T4, and perhaps no one bothered to measure the 200's LRR properties a couple of years ago when the 200 first came out, because there was not a big focus on LRR tires at that time.

[baddog671]

I'd like to find a set of light aluminum 13x4"s and have a smooth face. That should be pretty light and decent aerodynamics I would think...

Then use the stock 155/80/13's since they are cheap and offer minimal drag...too bad they dont make 155/40/13's

[Backtobasics]

The additional weight of aluminum wheels comes from their casting process.

Cheap aluminum wheels are cast, and require much more material to be strong enough to rigors of what wheels go through.

Forged wheels are much stronger and lighter, but at the expense of pricing, due to higher cost of manufacturing.

Cast are liquid metal poured into a mold (think water into ice cube tray)
Forged are pressed into shape (playdoh)

Forged is the direction if aftermarket, aluminum wheels are desired.