Wheels & Tires

[Coss]

I totally agree...IF the weight difference between CF and Aluminum is pretty close. Certainly not worth the price difference, IMO. Upgrading to aluminum, might be worth it...maybe.
Just from my own experience...I had a '94 GMC Sonoma with an "anemic" 2.2L engine (about 130hp). I upgraded the wheels from, IIRC, factory 205 70 15" to Michelin 225 65 16". The overall tire height was identical, but the weight definitely increased by a few pounds. The first thing that I noticed was acceleration suffered. Highway mileage didn't really change, city...a bit. I had driven the Sonoma for over a year and 30K miles before upgrading, so had a pretty good feel for what was normal.
Your results may vary.

The GM 2.2 I-4 "Iron Duke" only put out 93hp, I know, I had the same motor in my 99 S10.
You would never have the air on when you had to go up a hill.

 

[outsydthebox]

....You would never have the air on when you had to go up a hill.

You got that right! Mine was an extra cab & I always had a few hundred pounds of equipment under the Roll-top bed cover.
I did overestimate the horsepower a bit...Edmunds.com had the Hp for the 1994, rated at 118 and torque at 130. Rated at 26mpg/hwy, I could average 31/ hwy.

 

[Coss]

You got that right! Mine was an extra cab & I always had a few hundred pounds of equipment under the Roll-top bed cover.
I did overestimate the horsepower a bit...Edmunds.com had the Hp for the 1994, rated at 118 and torque at 130. Rated at 26mpg/hwy, I could average 31/ hwy.

Mine too (Ext. cab)

Those were the stock wheels from Chevy, 8x15 factory rims, and I had different tires on it.

And these are what I ended up with; 9x17 BOSS302 rims.
I had to end up using 1" spacers on all 4 wheels because I couldn't get the right offset.
If I didn't use the spacers, the back tires were up against the springs, and the front tires wouldn't clear the steering links.
The tires in front were 225R40x17 the back's were 285R45x17
Weight was about the same (within a pound or 2 of old to new wheels) it handled fantastic wet or dry.
But it rode like a brick. 40 series have no sidewall "give", the 45's weren't much better.

So that's the trade off, better handling, but really rough ride.

<Oh yeah, I lowered it 3" too>

 

[Ty]

Mine too (Ext. cab) View attachment 10388

Those were the stock wheels from Chevy, 8x15 factory rims, and I had different tires on it.

And these are what I ended up with; 9x17 BOSS302 rims.
I had to end up using 1" spacers on all 4 wheels because I couldn't get the right offset.
If I didn't use the spacers, the back tires were up against the springs, and the front tires wouldn't clear the steering links.
The tires in front were 225R40x17 the back's were 285R45x17
Weight was about the same (within a pound or 2 of old to new wheels) it handled fantastic wet or dry.
But it rode like a brick. 40 series have no sidewall "give", the 45's weren't much better.

View attachment 10391

So that's the trade off, better handling, but really rough ride.

<Oh yeah, I lowered it 3" too>

Looks pretty good. I'm normally not a big fan of lowered trucks but that's probably because it is always over-done. Yours looks good. Me likey.

 

[TCBronson]

That is a good looking truck!

 

[Coss]

Looks pretty good. I'm normally not a big fan of lowered trucks but that's probably because it is always over-done. Yours looks good. Me likey.

I did it different then most people; they use air bags, I used dropped spindles, and re-arced springs. So it kept the real "rideability" of the stock truck, just lower. As mentioned, the brick part of the ride came from the tires not having any sidewall give. And for some reason I went through shocks every 30,000 to 40,000 miles; I could tell in the steering; something would just feel wrong, and it would pull to one side or the other like it had low air pressure in the tire. I actually stopped a couple of times to check to see if I had a flat.
When I was reading up on the tires and rims, a lot of people reported cracking a rim if they hit a pothole; I never ran into that problem, but I was also very careful if I saw a pothole (not too common in the PNW) Can you imagine doing that if you had the CF rims? Hit a pothole, and watch $6K go out the window with it. This is where a can of Fix-a-flat wouldn't help; it may seal a leak, but it won't fill in a missing part of the rim.

That is a good looking truck!

Thanks; but I ended up selling it about 5 years ago for a loss. I spun 2 main bearings after 140K and I didn't want to spend the money to go through a motor replacement or upgrade. So I sold it "as-is" for $3,200, blown motor and all.

 

[outsydthebox]

I did it different then most people; they use air bags, I used dropped spindles, and re-arced springs. So it kept the real "rideability" of the stock truck, just lower. As mentioned, the brick part of the ride came from the tires not having any sidewall give. And for some reason I went through shocks every 30,000 to 40,000 miles; I could tell in the steering; something would just feel wrong, and it would pull to one side or the other like it had low air pressure in the tire. I actually stopped a couple of times to check to see if I had a flat.
When I was reading up on the tires and rims, a lot of people reported cracking a rim if they hit a pothole; I never ran into that problem, but I was also very careful if I saw a pothole (not too common in the PNW) Can you imagine doing that if you had the CF rims? Hit a pothole, and watch $6K go out the window with it. This is where a can of Fix-a-flat wouldn't help; it may seal a leak, but it won't fill in a missing part of the rim.


Thanks; but I ended up selling it about 5 years ago for a loss. I spun 2 main bearings after 140K and I didn't want to spend the money to go through a motor replacement or upgrade. So I sold it "as-is" for $3,200, blown motor and all.

NICE! My Sonoma was that same red with the same stock wheels. I did the same 3" drop, except spindles & blocks. 16" wheels gave me a bit firmer ride and, yes, it handled great! I bought it with 38K mi. and a "rebuilt title" and strange "knock" in the engine...didn't hear that during my test drive . My Mechanic friend said to "drive it till you can't stand the noise''. I changed to full synthetic and finally blew a head gasket at 232K miles. I was ready to drop in a 400hp 327 with a Corvette T-56, 6-speed when the Economy "tanked" in '07. I loved that truck!

 

[Coss]

I know the feeling, me and my S10 spent a lot of time together; when I built it, I used it as a daily driver.
I had just started at the job where I was trying to redesign the entire IT system, and make it work as one.
I was putting on 2,700 to 3,500 miles a month; that's a lot of time behind the wheel.
Had some really deep conversations with the steering wheel multiple times.

 

[pistonboy]

Looks like very low profile tires. Good for handling.
I believe the Elio was to have 15 inch rims. Is this still correct?

 

[Jambe]

From Elio Motors:
Our tire sizes are as follows:
Front: 135/80 R15
Rear: 175/65 R15
Good for a less harsh ride.