Custom/Performance tires and wheels for economy?

[ob1coby]

My 95' civic hatch need tires bad. I looked at some 90k and even some 100k mile tires because they should have harder rubber = less resistance. But, they are not available in my size, so I wanted to go up to 15 inch wheels anyway. If I go ultralight and narrow on the wheel and go as narrow as possible on the tire, can I increase my economy? What is the ruling formula (tire+wheel combo) in order to get the best economy? Thanks.

[red91sit]

Originally Posted by ob1coby

My 95' civic hatch need tires bad. I looked at some 90k and even some 100k mile tires because they should have harder rubber = less resistance. But, they are not available in my size, so I wanted to go up to 15 inch wheels anyway. If I go ultralight and narrow on the wheel and go as narrow as possible on the tire, can I increase my economy? What is the ruling formula (tire+wheel combo) in order to get the best economy? Thanks.

There should be some good LRR (low rolling resistance) tires in your tire size. As I'm sure you've noticed, most economy cars have small wheels. An ultra light/narrow wheel does reduce rotational mass, but if you go up in size, generally you'll have to run lower profile tires to keep from raising your car and screweing up the speedometer. These are generally high performance tires that sacrafice rolling resistance for ultimate grip.

The other big problem with aftermarket wheels is their open wheel design. Ideally we want nearly closed wheel designs. As flat as possible to reduce aerodynamic drag. Some cars on the forum are using these devices commonly called "moonies" that do a great job of this.

[ob1coby]

Originally Posted by red91sit

There should be some good LRR (low rolling resistance) tires in your tire size. As I'm sure you've noticed, most economy cars have small wheels. An ultra light/narrow wheel does reduce rotational mass, but if you go up in size, generally you'll have to run lower profile tires to keep from raising your car and screweing up the speedometer. These are generally high performance tires that sacrafice rolling resistance for ultimate grip.

The other big problem with aftermarket wheels is their open wheel design. Ideally we want nearly closed wheel designs. As flat as possible to reduce aerodynamic drag. Some cars on the forum are using these devices commonly called "moonies" that do a great job of this.

anyone with pictures of moonies?

[lindermant]

moon eyes brand hub caps:



http://www.mooneyesusa.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=188_52_119&products_id=474& osCsid=b3d4055ea3a9704959ac32edcbe10bb3

[LxMike]

they just snap onto your wheels??

[lindermant]

mine snap on, but moon eyes make diff models (snap on, screw on, dzeus fastener, etc).

[The Toecutter]

Do they make different colors, or do they all come in silver? If I get a set, I may have to paint my own custom design on them.

[Ryland]

I wouldn't put any tires on that are wider then 165mm wide (first number in a tire size is the width) I would prefer 155 or 145 (not sure if you can still get 145 in the US).

I've thought about getting moon hub caps, we got some for my moms geo, and they make the car look extreamly slick, but on alot of wheels the outer edge of the rim sticks out more then anything else, so I would think you could go with perfectly flat sheat/disk hub caps, insted of the slightly convex moon hub caps.