New wheels for the eGolf

[vwsickness]

So from the beginning I did not care for the wheels that came on the e-Golf SEL.....actually I hated them. After reading the forums on the costs of a larger wheel I decided to move forward as I typically don't go farther than 45 miles in a day. I picked up a set of Austin's and had Pirelli P7 tires in a 225/40R18 mounted. The tires are LRR and aired them up to 41 PSI. So far I have had them for a week and I am seeing between 8-12% penalty in the mi/kwh stats depending on the type of driving. My wife uses the car to commute in so I compared the morning drive (no traffic) and the return drive (lots of traffic) as this is more of an apples to apples compare.

 

[JoulesThief]

So from the beginning I did not care for the wheels that came on the e-Golf SEL.....actually I hated them. After reading the forums on the costs of a larger wheel I decided to move forward as I typically don't go farther than 45 miles in a day. I picked up a set of Austin's and had Pirelli P7 tires in a 225/40R18 mounted. The tires are LRR and aired them up to 41 PSI. So far I have had them for a week and I am seeing between 8-12% penalty in the mi/kwh stats depending on the type of driving. My wife uses the car to commute in so I compared the morning drive (no traffic) and the return drive (lots of traffic) as this is more of an apples to apples compare.

So VW will figure an 8 to 12% penalty in battery life for you too, when your's fails outside of warranty. Why? Because you modded the car, and the modification contributed to 8 to 12% less efficiency, more stress, more recharges on the traction battery.

I'd say that's a sickness, because no one really cares about how your wheels look when they are spinning, or working, or doing what they are designed and supposed to do, well, except VW when your battery dies sooner than it should, and believe me, they are logging your kwh usage, it's all stored in memory. That's a very expensive battery you are tampering with the life of. Just saying... that's how VW will call it also. Warranty void. 8 to 12% loss of functionality.

BTW, they look great, they just don't function great, not compared to the OE's.

No one seems to understand or "get it" that VW and most german car manufacturers build completely integrated car systems, completely pieced together to function and meet specific design and warranty parameters. Buy a german car exactly the way you want it from the factory. You'll save yourself a tremendous amount of grief and stress, by not tampering with it and leaving it stock. Otherwise you end up with something very out of balance and touchy to keep all the systems running as they should. Modifications expose the other weakest link in the design.

 

[ulrichw]

[...] So far I have had them for a week and I am seeing between 8-12% penalty in the mi/kwh stats depending on the type of driving. [...]

That number seems surprisingly large given some numbers I've seen online for difference in rolling resistance in tires.

I'm curious if you're seeing any differences in the distance logged for the commute - that would be an indication that the calibration of the speedometer/odometer might be off (which would potentially cause the car to misstate consumption stats).

 

[JoulesThief]

[...] So far I have had them for a week and I am seeing between 8-12% penalty in the mi/kwh stats depending on the type of driving. [...]

That number seems surprisingly large given some numbers I've seen online for difference in rolling resistance in tires.

I'm curious if you're seeing any differences in the distance logged for the commute - that would be an indication that the calibration of the speedometer/odometer might be off (which would potentially cause the car to misstate consumption stats).

A 225-40 is plus 2 over the original rims and tires. Usually, that ends up being slightly smaller in diameter than the stock wheels. Which means the gauge would record more distance that actually traveled, and the the miles per kwh should read higher, as the gauge reads more miles being traveled for amount of electricity used, than were actually traveled.

Car in pic has Euro plates, is that your car in the pic, or someone elses? I thought you bought your e-Golf from Seramonte VW?

 

[mmifsud]

This is from memory, so I may be mistaken, but I remember reading an article on Tesla's configuration page. I believe it was mentioned that larger wheels (with lower profile tires), did have a significant effect on range. Somewhere in the range of 30 miles if I recall correctly. So the 8-12% range drop is right about there.

I think the car configurator on Tesla's website is publicly accessible. So anyone interested can check it out.

 

[vwsickness]

I did get the car from Serramonte VW but for the picture I put the German export plate. From what I read where others had switched to larger wheels with non-LRR tires saw a loss in the neighborhood of 20%. For this reason I specifically picked a LRR tireand the loss I'm getting I attribute to the additional mass. The 18" wheel/tire combo is eight pounds heavier over the 16" setup. As mmifsud mentioned the 8-12% range reduction was expected.

 

[mfennell]

The width is hurting you too. More frontal area.

Tesla was brought up. They had a truly ugly "aero" wheel option for a time and only claimed a 3% improvement in range. Same size tires.

 

[miimura]

The width is hurting you too. More frontal area.

Tesla was brought up. They had a truly ugly "aero" wheel option for a time and only claimed a 3% improvement in range. Same size tires.

Probably only a 3% take rate because they were so ugly. The 19" turbines were a much better compromise of appearance and aero properties.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Aero is different for different vehicles - a lot of folks at EcoModder.com have done aero wheels, and rear wheel skirts, and the savings can be as high as 6-7%.

The tires also matter - rolling resistance of the stock Continental tires is only fair.

 

[JoulesThief]

Aero is different for different vehicles - a lot of folks at EcoModder.com have done aero wheels, and rear wheel skirts, and the savings can be as high as 6-7%.

The tires also matter - rolling resistance of the stock Continental tires is only fair.

I think my e-Golf has something like Bridgestone Ecopias Plus? May 2015 build.

 

[2doors]

So from the beginning I did not care for the wheels that came on the e-Golf SEL.....actually I hated them. After reading the forums on the costs of a larger wheel I decided to move forward as I typically don't go farther than 45 miles in a day. I picked up a set of Austin's and had Pirelli P7 tires in a 225/40R18 mounted. The tires are LRR and aired them up to 41 PSI. So far I have had them for a week and I am seeing between 8-12% penalty in the mi/kwh stats depending on the type of driving. My wife uses the car to commute in so I compared the morning drive (no traffic) and the return drive (lots of traffic) as this is more of an apples to apples compare.

So VW will figure an 8 to 12% penalty in battery life for you too, when your's fails outside of warranty. Why? Because you modded the car, and the modification contributed to 8 to 12% less efficiency, more stress, more recharges on the traction battery.

I'd say that's a sickness, because no one really cares about how your wheels look when they are spinning, or working, or doing what they are designed and supposed to do, well, except VW when your battery dies sooner than it should, and believe me, they are logging your kwh usage, it's all stored in memory. That's a very expensive battery you are tampering with the life of. Just saying... that's how VW will call it also. Warranty void. 8 to 12% loss of functionality.

BTW, they look great, they just don't function great, not compared to the OE's.

No one seems to understand or "get it" that VW and most german car manufacturers build completely integrated car systems, completely pieced together to function and meet specific design and warranty parameters. Buy a german car exactly the way you want it from the factory. You'll save yourself a tremendous amount of grief and stress, by not tampering with it and leaving it stock. Otherwise you end up with something very out of balance and touchy to keep all the systems running as they should. Modifications expose the other weakest link in the design.

Well, it's certainly not surprising you were the first reply to this thread. And as equally not surprising as to the same old silly content of said reply. OP cares what they look like. That's all that matters. This "fear the loss of your warranty all ye who change your wheels" line is ridiculous. A change in range can come from many places - driving style, geography change, etc.

There is someone around here who doesn't "get it." It's just not the OP. :roll:

 

[sirshan]

I can care less about the loss in efficiency too since my commute is even shorter. I gotta say I like the look...worth considering.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Aero is different for different vehicles - a lot of folks at EcoModder.com have done aero wheels, and rear wheel skirts, and the savings can be as high as 6-7%.

The tires also matter - rolling resistance of the stock Continental tires is only fair.

I think my e-Golf has something like Bridgestone Ecopias Plus? May 2015 build.

We have Ecopia tires on out Leaf - they coast amazingly well. That is a big part of how you got 6.1 miles per kWh; in addition to ecodriving.

 

[supramann94]

I went to America’s Tire and typed in 2015 egolf and they had a list of wheels available. I went with the 16x7 Drag DR-37. The weight is 17 pounds and hoping that is lighter than stock. I’m going to use the original tires until they wear down some.

 

[ob2s]

I still haven't received my 2016 e-golf (in transport hell, Bay Area to Portland), but I have already decided to dispense with the OE 16s. I don't spend a lot of time above 30 MPH, so aero tradeoffs aren't a concern to me. I went with a 17x7 GTi style wheel with Continental low rolling resistance tires. Most of the interesting GTi wheels are 18", and that is too big in my opinion, especially for the e-Golf.

 

[supramann94]

Wish I had gone 18" and will see if they will take them back so I can upgrade.

 

[user 1485]

Great looking wheels for those that upgraded! I've been considering this as well, but thinking of actually sticking with the 16", both for economy, rideability, and because I like when the brake rotors fill up the wheel

Since mine is brand new though, probably won't be doing anything anytime soon

 

[ob2s]

Put them on. I don't care about the gap, and am not lowering it.

 

[ms4cd]

You are hilarious... That's like stating do not drive with a passenger since it will add more stress to the battery and suspension components. No relations whatsoever...

So from the beginning I did not care for the wheels that came on the e-Golf SEL.....actually I hated them. After reading the forums on the costs of a larger wheel I decided to move forward as I typically don't go farther than 45 miles in a day. I picked up a set of Austin's and had Pirelli P7 tires in a 225/40R18 mounted. The tires are LRR and aired them up to 41 PSI. So far I have had them for a week and I am seeing between 8-12% penalty in the mi/kwh stats depending on the type of driving. My wife uses the car to commute in so I compared the morning drive (no traffic) and the return drive (lots of traffic) as this is more of an apples to apples compare.

So VW will figure an 8 to 12% penalty in battery life for you too, when your's fails outside of warranty. Why? Because you modded the car, and the modification contributed to 8 to 12% less efficiency, more stress, more recharges on the traction battery.

I'd say that's a sickness, because no one really cares about how your wheels look when they are spinning, or working, or doing what they are designed and supposed to do, well, except VW when your battery dies sooner than it should, and believe me, they are logging your kwh usage, it's all stored in memory. That's a very expensive battery you are tampering with the life of. Just saying... that's how VW will call it also. Warranty void. 8 to 12% loss of functionality.

BTW, they look great, they just don't function great, not compared to the OE's.

No one seems to understand or "get it" that VW and most german car manufacturers build completely integrated car systems, completely pieced together to function and meet specific design and warranty parameters. Buy a german car exactly the way you want it from the factory. You'll save yourself a tremendous amount of grief and stress, by not tampering with it and leaving it stock. Otherwise you end up with something very out of balance and touchy to keep all the systems running as they should. Modifications expose the other weakest link in the design.

 

[arcticClover]

So from the beginning I did not care for the wheels that came on the e-Golf SEL.....actually I hated them. After reading the forums on the costs of a larger wheel I decided to move forward as I typically don't go farther than 45 miles in a day. I picked up a set of Austin's and had Pirelli P7 tires in a 225/40R18 mounted. The tires are LRR and aired them up to 41 PSI. So far I have had them for a week and I am seeing between 8-12% penalty in the mi/kwh stats depending on the type of driving. My wife uses the car to commute in so I compared the morning drive (no traffic) and the return drive (lots of traffic) as this is more of an apples to apples compare.

So VW will figure an 8 to 12% penalty in battery life for you too, when your's fails outside of warranty. Why? Because you modded the car, and the modification contributed to 8 to 12% less efficiency, more stress, more recharges on the traction battery.

I'd say that's a sickness, because no one really cares about how your wheels look when they are spinning, or working, or doing what they are designed and supposed to do, well, except VW when your battery dies sooner than it should, and believe me, they are logging your kwh usage, it's all stored in memory. That's a very expensive battery you are tampering with the life of. Just saying... that's how VW will call it also. Warranty void. 8 to 12% loss of functionality.

BTW, they look great, they just don't function great, not compared to the OE's.

No one seems to understand or "get it" that VW and most german car manufacturers build completely integrated car systems, completely pieced together to function and meet specific design and warranty parameters. Buy a german car exactly the way you want it from the factory. You'll save yourself a tremendous amount of grief and stress, by not tampering with it and leaving it stock. Otherwise you end up with something very out of balance and touchy to keep all the systems running as they should. Modifications expose the other weakest link in the design.

I highly doubt that Volkswagen is going to void my warranty because I put snow tires with a higher rolling resistance compared to the OEM's. They can hook the car up to whatever machine thay want, but the fact is I live in a climate with a lot of snow and cold temperatures, all adding to the stress/ degradation of the battery. Your out to lunch buddy!!!!!