Wheels, Rims, and Tires

[PV1]

Yes, this does NOT affect your true range (unless rolling resistance is different), only the indicated range.

 

[JoeS]

This morning I paid attention to the speedometers: with 5000 miles on the Yokohama AVID ENVigors, for a steady GPS reading of 40mph the i-MiEV speedometer read 39mph. Pretty close to right-on, if you ask me.

Since we know that the primary variable in achievable range is the driver, I think that I will now suspend my contention/opinion that the Yokohama tires are the culprit. Lately, whenever I have needed to go further than normal, I have managed to happily hypermile and achieve the needed distance - noting that I am back to running 60psi because at this pressure, IMO, the car's handling is nicely taut (especially noticeable on the curvy roads around my home in the hills).

Our i-MiEV has two drivers: my wife is a very consistent featherfoot, whereas my own driving is very sloppy (in terms of consistency) and ranges between leadfoot to hypermiler, depending on needs; thus, we should perhaps not draw any conclusions regarding our car's mileage because of my own driving habits, which have deteriorated in the last year.

The next time we go on a longer trip I will take my voice recorder and Canion and see what we can do and consciously refrain from showing Mitsi's tail to any adjacent beemers. :roll:

 

[NeilBlanchard]

I had similar Yokohama's on my Scion a while back - and the construction of their tires is just higher rolling resistance. Michelin and Nokian, and even the OEM Goodyear tires are lower rolling resistant.

 

[PV1]

Well, it was inevitable.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hyr26ljjal2pl3w/20140710_172647.jpg

Bent my front rim on a hole the construction company was so nice to leave in the lane of a 45 mph road. Probably happened a while ago, but I just found it when I took my wheel off to chase a grinding noise in the left front.

I'm going for the Continentals. My fronts are worn out.

 

[jray3]

Bent my front rim

Sorry to see that, but guess it was good you're on steelies. Has anyone damaged one of their alloys yet? I'm wondering whether they are more rigid (but less repairable).
I'd appreciate hearing if you get pricing on the steel wheel replacement, and initial impressions on the Continentals.

 

[PV1]

I'll see if the tire shop can pound it out. The inside is fine.

I was waiting Sandange out to see how the Continentals worked out, but seeing how his car has been in the shop with a bad charger (again), one can't really put any miles on that way. :lol:

 

[PV1]

Has anyone fitted wider tires on the rear wheels? I want to verify that 175/55R15 tires will fit on the rear wheels before I order.

Also, Dunlop has a set of winter tires for the i-MiEV, and thankfully nowhere near as expensive as their Enasaves. They probably butcher the range, though.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Graspic+DS-3&frontTire=465R5DS3&rearTire=76R5DS3&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Mitsubishi&autoYear=2012&autoModel=i&autoModClar=ES

Thanks.

 

[jray3]

Also, Dunlop has a set of winter tires for the i-MiEV, and thankfully nowhere near as expensive as their Enasaves. They probably butcher the range, though.
Thanks.

LeeC isn't very active on this forum, but he described his first long range winter adventure in an earlier thread.
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1177&start=0

There's also a link to a Canadian study in that thread.

 

[melloyello]

Has anyone fitted wider tires on the rear wheels? I want to verify that 175/55R15 tires will fit on the rear wheels before I order.

175/55R15 is the same width as the stock 175/60R15, just a little bit shorter. I believe 175/55R15 is the euro/jdm tire size so I don't think there would be any problem other than your speedometer/odometer being off by 3% (less error than speedometers on most car models stock anyways).

 

[PV1]

Okay. I heard the other day that the 55 was tire width, which didn't seem right to me, but had me concerned. I looked it up, and it is the ratio for the sidewall height, so they are same width, but lower profile (less sidewall).

My speedometer was 2 mph slow when the car was new (it would show 37, GPS would say 39-40), and now that my tires are worn out, the speedometer is correct. So, the lower profile tire will help keep my speedometer more accurate.

Thanks.

 

[PV1]

Well, add me to the low-range club (for now). I just got new Continentals. Now my RR took a nosedive and I lost most of my regenerative brakes. I created a separate thread for this issue, but feel free to merge it with this one (or delete it if nobody responds).

My speedometer used to read 1-2 mph slow (indicated 38 was actually 39-40), now it's 2-3 mph fast (indicated 50 is actually 47-48).

So, word of warning right now on the 175/55R15 Continentals. They seem to handle bumps and potholes much better than the Dunlops, though.

http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2269

 

[RobertC]

I might be overthinking this. Since the front tires rev/mile just became bigger (783 to 926 or 18% increase):

I believe that the "Revs per mile" for the Dunlop Enasave's as shown on Tire Rack for the front 145/65R15 i-MiEV tires is incorrect.

Tire Rack has the "Revs per mile" as 783, but another source I found (Sam's Club http://www.samsclub.com/sams/145-65r15-72h-enasav/prod10221082.ip) has the "RPM" as 933.

It makes sense to me because both the Yokohama AVID ENVigor's and the Dunlop Enasave's have the same diameter. The same diameter equals the same revolutions per mile. (Circumference = Pi x Diameter)

Here is a comparison of the two tires from the specifications shown on Tire Rack.

I think I am going to order the Yokohama AVID ENVigor's.
My factory Dunlop Enasave's are worn out at 32,000 miles, and hopefully I can get more miles with the Yokohama's because they have a higher Treadwear rating of 560 compared to 340 for the Dunlop's, and the Yokohama's come with a 60,000 mile Treadlife Warranty.
Also, the Yokohama's are a total of $196 less than the Dunlop's at Tire Rack for all four tires. ($383 compared to $577)

 

[RobertC]

So, word of warning right now on the 175/55R15 Continentals. They seem to handle bumps and potholes much better than the Dunlops, though.

Are these the front or rear tires?
They are not the correct size.
The front tire size is 145/65/R15.
The rear tire size is 175/60/R15.

From the Warranty and Maintenance Manual.
"WHAT IS NOT COVERED
MODIFICATIONS
Damage or performance problems resulting from modifications to or racing of your Vehicle are not covered under warranty. Examples of modifications to your Vehicle that can cause damage or performance problems include the following:
-Failure to use the proper size tires or wheels."

 

[PV1]

These are the rear tires. I'm wondering if they can/will recalibrate the speedometer for these tires.

Continental no longer offers tires in 175/60R15, but they still have the 145/65R15. After hearing of Joe's issue with the Yokohamas and the combination of lousy wear and price of the Dunlops (14,000 miles and $140 a tire), I stayed away from them.

Besides, I've rotated the tires on the Cavalier before and it threw the speedometer off by 3 mph, and they were the correct size tires.

 

[sandange]

When switching from winter to summer tires, my local garage mounted the wrong tires on the wrong rims
The car would drive several hundred feet and then shut down .
The only way to get it to go was to shut off the ASC. I can't remember but think the regen shuts down when you turn off the ASC

 

[PV1]

My ASC kicked in a couple of times coming home from the tire shop. A couple of weeks ago, I was coming up my road and the ASC randomly kicked in, bringing my car nearly to a stop. Only happened once, though. I don't think they could've made it any more sensitive and have the car still be drivable.

 

[fjpod]

This is one of the biggest threads on the site. Why is there such an interest in non-standard wheels and tires? I don't get it.

It obviously causes problems and decreased performance...I.e. Range.

 

[alohart]

This is one of the biggest threads on the site. Why is there such an interest in non-standard wheels and tires?

I would love to find alternatives to our expensive Dunlops that offer the same range or better, that might last longer, and that might allow the same size tires to be used on all 4 wheels.

It obviously causes problems and decreased performance...I.e. Range.

It needn't do so, although the recent revelation of an extremely sensitive ASC makes finding suitable alternatives even less likely.

 

[PV1]

The back tires have a larger circumference than the front, and that ratio needs to be maintained so the car will be happy. The dealers I talked to say they can't recalibrate the speedometer, so in looking for new tires, you want to keep circumference the same for both front and back.

The rear Continental tires have the same circumference as the front tires, and the car didn't like it. Since I put the old Dunlops back on the rear of the car (which are larger even being worn out), the car now has regenerative braking and the speedometer is correct. Speed is extrapolated from the speed of the electric motor (single speed, so it's a direct relationship).

I can also confirm that the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) does use valve-stem transmitters. There was confusion elsewhere on the forum over whether the car used transmitters or watched through the ABS/ASC sensors.

I put 98 miles on yesterday, and the car is happy with Continental 145/65R15 on front, (worn) Dunlop 175/60R15 on the back. Handling and highway stability are much improved.

 

[Barbagris]

Euro versions (iMiev & clones) mount 175/55 rear, so recalibrate seems doable.