Civic VX wheels or aftermarket?

[travr6]

I have a 1995 civic vx with aftermarket wheels.
I have searched around and found nothing to answer my question.

Should I go with the factory civic VX 13" wheels
or
The factory 14" Hx wheels
or
a set of aftermarket lightweight wheels?

I am thinking that the tires generally weigh more then the wheels so I think it would be better for me to go with a 14" light weight wheel and buy a lower profile tire which would save weight. IT would also give me a slightly larger tire diameter which would mean less revolutions per mile.

I am new to this so is my thinking correct?
What do you suggest?

If you suggest buying a lightweight aftermarket wheelset then what do you suggest?
It is hard to find how much wheels weigh. IS there certain brand of wheels that are hypermilers favorites?

[mini-e]

VX's are 9 lbs and HX's 11.5. lbs. They are both pretty darned light and I see them for 150 to 250 a set on Cairg's list all the time with the occasional bargain 80-120 a set popping up.. There are many more good tires available in 185 60 14 than the 175 70 13 and with 14>13 in general it is pretty hard to beat these wheels with aftermarket stuff in terms of wieght/$$. I would go with the HX myself because of the greater availability and choice of good tires. The VX setup would pencil out a bit lighter mounted with tires. Like a couple lbs a wheel or so. You can research the weight difference with specs from tire rack, they are smart enough to give tire weights on all the tires they sell.

[civic lover]

I bought a set of vx rims instead of hx for two reasons. Vx are easier to find for less money (for my area anyway) and the 13 inch tires are less expensive than 14 inch tires.

[ShadowWorks]

There is always some kind of strength difference between alloy wheels and steel wheels, go for the lightest ones, less centrifugal force to turn better FE.

[mini-e]

Originally Posted by civic lover

I bought a set of vx rims instead of hx for two reasons. Vx are easier to find for less money (for my area anyway) and the 13 inch tires are less expensive than 14 inch tires.

Good Points- I see the vx's at 150 and the hx usually more like 200-250. 13" tires are cheaper too. I value performance and the falken aziens, toyo t1r, yoko avs 100's and a bunch of other good tires are available in 14 but not 13. If you do not care about grip then 13 and VX's are hard to beat.

[travr6]

Would you get better mpg at highway speeds with a slightly larger wheel/tire combo though?

I would think the 14" would allow you a smaller/shorter tire which would mean a 14" tire would weigh less then a 13" tire. Plus a 14" wouldn't rack your mile up as quickly.

If the HX wheels are $200+ a set used is there any aftermarket wheels that are just as light I might be able to pick up for about the same price?

If I do go with stock wheels I will probably end up powder coating them. So the cost of powder coating would allow me to just purchase a slightly more expensive aftermarket wheel

[mini-e]

Originally Posted by travr6

Would you get better mpg at highway speeds with a slightly larger wheel/tire combo though?

I would think the 14" would allow you a smaller/shorter tire which would mean a 14" tire would weigh less then a 13" tire. Plus a 14" wouldn't rack your mile up as quickly.

If the HX wheels are $200+ a set used is there any aftermarket wheels that are just as light I might be able to pick up for about the same price?

If I do go with stock wheels I will probably end up powder coating them. So the cost of powder coating would allow me to just purchase a slightly more expensive aftermarket wheel

http://www.miata.net/faq/wheel_weights.html

the HX and VX wheels are hard to beat weight/$$/availability/correct offset/lug pattern....

miata wheels are civic compatible BTW.. scroll down, this is a pretty good list.

[civic lover]

I see you are wondering about getting a bigger tire to make the overall diameter larger. I would stay with the stock over all diameter because then your speedometer is correct. Yes you would then put less miles on the car then if this is your overall objective.

[mini-e]

Originally Posted by travr6

I have a 1995 civic vx with wheel and buy a lower profile tire which would save weight. IT would also give me a slightly larger tire diameter which would mean less revolutions per mile.

The gearing is so tall on the VX anyway- I second the leave the gearing stock opinion.

[Danronian]

There are some 13 inch tires which are sticky and designed for auto-cross use.

I like both the hx and vx wheels, but for me I could never find the HX ones for cheap but I did pick up an extra set of VX ones for just around $100.

[monroe74]

I am thinking that the tires generally weigh more then the wheels so I think it would be better for me to go with a 14" light weight wheel and buy a lower profile tire which would save weight

I think you'll find that the stock setup (13") is lighter, overall, than anything else you're going to come up with. And for multiple reasons cutting weight on tires/wheels is especially important.

There are many more good tires available in 185 60 14 than the 175 70 13

A lot of VXs seem to have 175/70-13, but the proper size is 165/70-13. I think using the proper size is probably a good idea. Tirerack has a couple of choices in the proper size.

I would stay with the stock over all diameter because then your speedometer is correct.

Yes. There are multiple reasons to stay with stock tires, in addition to the speedo issue. As someone mentioned, that VX gearing is already very tall. It doesn't need to be taller. When you make it taller (with tires that are literally taller), this will tend to make it a bit tougher to get the car moving in 1st gear (especially if carrying a load and/or climbing a grade). I think this could cause extra wear on the clutch.

I did pick up an extra set of VX ones for just around $100.

That's a great price. I also have an extra set of VX wheels, for snow tires.

[RoadWarrior]

By the way, I've heard that some of the GM and Saturn alloys, 15" 4x100, are very light for 15s around 12lb or so.

[Nden]

I have VX 13's in the front and 14" HX in the rear. Lookin to sell at least 2 of my spare VX rims $150, maybe all 4 VX 13"s if i can find another 2 HX rims. (san diego fyi). i like the broader choice of tires for the HX 14's myself.

[mini-e]

Originally Posted by Danronian

There are some 13 inch tires which are sticky and designed for auto-cross use.

I like both the hx and vx wheels, but for me I could never find the HX ones for cheap but I did pick up an extra set of VX ones for just around $100.

Like r compound track tires? Hoosiers or something?

[travr6]

Thanks for the replies.
I think I will stick with the 13's then.
Anyone know of any wheels other then the vx 13's that are light?

Miata wheels?
Geo Metro Wheels?
Aftermarket wheels?

[spazzer]

These Mini Cooper R81 wheels are 15x5.5" and weigh 12 pounds. They're nicknamed "holies". They have a 4x100 bolt circle and a slightly larger centerbore than OEM hondas. I've seen them priced about the same as HX rims around here, roughly $250-280 a set.

http://www.helix13.com/images/r81holies.jpg

Rota Slipstreams (an aftermarket rim) available in a bunch of sizes. Allegedly the 15x6.5" rim weighs slightly under 12 pounds as well but of course they are more expensive than HX/VX rims.

http://www.jaydm.com/wheels/rota_slipstream.jpg

Don't know if there are any good LRR tires in 15" diameter though.

The Miata shares the same bolt circle as the Honda, but has a smaller center bore in the wheels. Geo Metro uses a larger bolt circle.

I got the wheel weights from this site: http://www.wheelweights.net/

[travr6]

I like the 14" wheels and tires combo better for highway speeds.

The majority of my driving is on the highway so I think the extra mass and larger size from take off would be negated by the high amount of miles spent on the highway.

How do you find LRR tires? If you go on tire rack.com will it say LRR?

[mini-e]

Originally Posted by travr6

How do you find LRR tires? If you go on tire rack.com will it say LRR?

That sounds like a good idea.

[monroe74]

"I think the extra mass and larger size from take off would be negated by the high amount of miles spent on the highway."

I think you'll be paying for the extra mass every time you accelerate (and not just from take off). Which is something you do a lot, if you do P&G.

If you want to save gas, making the wheel/tire assembly as light as possible is a really good idea. The people who designed the VX knew what they were doing. They sweated the details, and it's not an accident that it gets great mileage.

[suspendedhatch]

Metal is much denser than rubber, so you were incorrect in that assumption.

Going up a wheel size and going down in sidewall height makes it possible to keep the same aspect ratio so that your speedo is not affected. I believe that tirerack.com has a calculator for that.

Also, because wheels are a rotating weight, a 13 inch rim that weighs 15 lbs is functionally lighter than a 14 inch rim that weighs 15 lbs.

[travr6]

I see.

13" wheels and tires it is then.

[opelgt73]

Originally Posted by monroe74

f you want to save gas, making the wheel/tire assembly as light as possible is a really good idea. The people who designed the VX knew what they were doing. They sweated the details, and it's not an accident that it gets great mileage.

True they chose 13" for a reason. But every design decision is a compromise. IE a larger rim could have been used with a smaller sidewall tire but that adversely affects the ride quality. And they want to produce a car with a certian level of comfort.

I'm of the opinion that larger rims with smaller sidewalls are better for FE as there is much less sidewall flex which I would believe adversely affects your FE worse than the added weight of the larger rim.

I happen to have the 13" VX rims on my CRX HF but that is because they were the first available to me.

[monroe74]

"I'm of the opinion that larger rims with smaller sidewalls are better for FE as there is much less sidewall flex which I would believe adversely affects your FE worse than the added weight of the larger rim."

You're making several very good points. You're right, they may have been thinking about ride quality. They also may have been thinking about cost (I think low-profile tires tend to cost more).

There are some complicated trade-offs, and it's hard to know the best answer without doing a bunch of serious testing. But I'm generally inclined to put a lot of faith in the wisdom of the Honda engineers. They have a ton of knowledge and experience that I don't have.

By the way, one of the reasons to prefer a light tire/wheel combination is that this reduces unsprung weight, which means you have better traction (e.g., for braking and cornering), especially on a surface that's rough.