rims and winter tires

[Thorallophon]

Hi all,
as the phrase goes "winter's coming" once again, and though I have some michellin x-ice winters on some 15" steel rims, the tread is barely 4 season worthy.

I want to get some new rims and put my current summer 'eco' tires onto them, and then put the winters on the stock aero rims. Since rim weight can have a noticeable impact on acceleration and thus consumed energy, and rim shape can account for up to 25% of overall vehicle drag, I don't want to sap too much energy by making a poor choice. So, though the steels theoretically have low drag, their weight, for winter tires or not, don't seem to make sense (and ugly to boot, imo).

So a couple of questions:
1) *most important* Does anyone know the weight of the stock rims?

2) Has anyone who has changed their rims noticed any actual impact from the shape (more drag, more noise)?

4) A favourite or a recommendation for a good winter tire (NOT 4 season, I do some serious winter weather driving and it does make a difference) that may still be a fairly LRR type?

3) And as an extra, any feedback from you guys on the TPMS system? Does it actually work? Is it useful or just annoying?

Thanks,
Jon

 

[f1geek]

1. Don’t know weight of stock rims. If you go minus one for snows, I suspect 15 inch steel wheels may weigh less than stock 16 inch rims. I don’t think weight will effect range as nearly as much as the tread pattern and tire compound of snows on a dry road. Driving through snow will probably suck even more energy.

2. I’m staying with stock rims because they are very low drag. The more drag there is, the more noise you will hear.

3. TPMS works. It alerted me to a screw stuck in a tire.

4. When I lived in Michigan, I used Blizzaks, which were great. Check out Bjorn Nyland on YouTube for efficient winter tire opinions-he lives in Norway and drives a lot of different EVs.

 

[Thorallophon]

Thanks! I agree with your assessment. I was just seeing if anyone had some hard data to support or disprove my theories.

1) I know this has been discussed in other threads, I just thought it would be handy to have the number in my pocket when shopping around. I've weighed my 15" steels but with rubber on and they weighed noticeably more than the 16" stock. However the rubber was different so maybe not proof? I agree that while running, the tread and rubber compound will have a greater effect than a couple of pounds of wheel weight.

2) I'm probably going to do that too, though if I do purchase new rims, given the overall energy requirements in winter, I'll probably use the stock rims for the winter tires in an effort maximise efficiency. That and the closed design also provides more protection from ice, snow and salt getting into the rotors and brakes, at least from the outside.

3) glad to hear the TPMS works. I'll add them when I change the rubber.

4) interesting videos. He seems to have some good insights, despite being mostly tesla's, some of it is transferable. I've used Blizzaks and Michelins and neither were as good as a set of Pirrellis I had ages ago. But, again, different vehicles, different rubber compounds, different requirements. So my search continues. I still have a couple of months before the mandatory winter tire deadline hits.

 

[Verbruggan]

Hakkapelittas studded 9's stock iron rims. gl, c u next spring.

 

[Thorallophon]

:lol:
Hakkas do look like a nice tire, but the price increase for an improvement in ice traction only makes it a hard sell, imo. And studs are technically illegal in Ontario.

 

[manybees]

I'm in New England and used Hakkapelitta R3s (non-studded) last winter, and I thought they were great in both ice and snow.

They are also considered low-rolling resistance tires, and Nokian recommends them for EVs.

https://www.nokiantires.com/winter-tires/nokian-hakkapeliitta-r3/

 

[Thorallophon]

Interesting. I'll have a look. thnx

 

[ELECTROMAN]

I'm planning on sticking with X-Ice. Just waiting for Costco's October tire sale.

Maybe you can find some stock rims on Craigslist. I think they look good, but just about every YouTube video rips on them, so maybe a lot of people getting rid of them.

 

[Thorallophon]

Ya, looked around at different lists and didn't find anything I liked, in my region or that didn't have huge shipping costs. So far the distributor out of Montreal, Quattrotires.com, seems to be the winner overall. Still looking.