Wheels & Tires

[AriLea]

Was the actual weight at each wheel, or the actual distribution of weigh stated? Forgive me if I didn't notice that elsewhere. This is what will give you what tires are needed.
(much simpler than what I said before yes?)

 

[skygazer6033]

AriLea --- Absolutely! Few people realize just how much engineering goes into vehicle's tires and wheels. Just because a tire can be mounted on a wheel or a wheel can be bolted on a hub doesn't mean it will work as well as the original tire & wheel. People who want wide alloy wheels with wide low profile tires may actually hurt the vehicles overall performance. Might mean the difference between delightful cornering and a car that will bite you if pressed.

 

[skygazer6033]

AriLea --- I seem to recall 70/30 fwd bias with full fuel and driver (not sure of driver's weight). CG approximately tbe area of the driver's thighs

 

[Craig]

Understand that this is pure speculation since all the info on the rear tire is that it is a different size. IMHO If the rear tire has a tread width approximately twice that of the front tires which I seem to recall being 135/70/R15 or 145/75/R15 that would provide a contact patch of virtually the area as the front two tires. You would have the same rubber on the road as a 4 wheeler with the same size tires as the front. This should improve cornering as well. The only down side I can think of (other than a slight increase in rolling resistance) would be increased susceptibility to hydroplaning when the tire is well worn.

Good call, only I don't think the rear area has to match the front 100%.JMO

 

[Jambe]

The front and rear wheels will be interchangeable, even though the rear tire is wider.

 

[skygazer6033]

Jambe --- Where did you see that the wheels are interchangeable? I know we've been told they're all 15 inch. but I've seen nothing about the width or offset.

 

[Craig]

The front and rear wheels will be interchangeable, even though the rear tire is wider.

The rear tire is wider for a reason and a front tire other than the fact it will still go around will not serve the purpose the wider was intended for in the rear.

 

[Jambe]

Jambe --- Where did you see that the wheels are interchangeable? I know we've been told they're all 15 inch. but I've seen nothing about the width or offset.

It's been a while but I believe it was Elio Motors on Facebook. If you think about it, isn't it reasonable that a smaller tire would fit onto a hub where a wider tire was?

The significance of this is that if you are driving locally and have a flat and call your spouse to bring you a wheel from the garage, you only need to have that ONE spare.

 

[Jambe]

The rear tire is wider for a reason and a front tire other than the fact it will still go around will not serve the purpose the wider was intended for in the rear.

Craig, that's not what I'm saying. See post #268.

 

[AriLea]

It's been a while but I believe it was Elio Motors on Facebook. If you think about it, isn't it reasonable that a smaller tire would fit onto a hub where a wider tire was?

The significance of this is that if you are driving locally and have a flat and call your spouse to bring you a wheel from the garage, you only need to have that ONE spare.

Well sure why not! For that mater they now make very small packaged spares with attached inflator. I may investigate bolting one of those into the luggage rack. An hugely undersized tire will still get me to the next tire company, or gas station as the case requires.