will lightweight wheels help?

[thebarber]

im not asking for the yaris, im asking for our 03 vibe gt (equipped with 2zzge and 6spd manual)

currently its winter so economy isnt great (about 9.5-10L/100km)

i picked up some oem toyota 17's last year (from canadian TRD edition matrix aka m-theory in the USA), but they weighed in at 47.5lbs for the rim/tire combo....i think the wheels themselves are about 22lbs

i drive mainly in the city taking my kids to/from school and running errands (as im a stay-at-home dad)

would switching to a lightweight wheel like the enkei rpf1 net me much, if any, increase in fuel economy? i realize the savings garnered by lightweight wheels will not pay of the light wheels....but what kind of increase can i expect? 5%? 1%?

[eTiMaGo]

I think it'll depend a lot on your route, if it's a lot of stop and go it should make a difference compared to mostly highway driving. But there will certainly be an improvement.

Personally I went from heavy 18" wheels to lightweight 15"s, with a shorter overall wheel diameter (good for acceleration, bad for economy), and even driving pretty aggressively, I ended up with more or less the same economy as before. So, a FE improvement should be quite possible if you drive sensibly :D

[thebarber]

I drive sensibly with the kids in the car. I try to avoid the highway as I find I'm prone to dropping a few gears to zip around people....and 8300rpm doesn't make for great mileage. I thought about shorter tires but I still need the car for family trips on the highway.

I think I'll put up the trd's for sale at the end of winter...if they sell, I'll buy some rpf1's or something

[WeeYari]

Winter only? Meh, steelies and be done with it.

[thebarber]

Not looking for winters...talking about summer setup

[eTiMaGo]

is the matrix 4 or 5 lug?

[thebarber]

5x100

[caineroad]

how much do new rims+tires cost? consider that and you need to replace the tires whenever it is worn, i personally think is not a good idea at all in terms of gas saving. I had the same in mind a while back and i think it's not worth it, it will never pay off.

just my 0.02

[thebarber]

Mim not so worried about paying it off...as I said....I know it'll never happen. Honestly going from 47.5lbs/corner to 35lbs would make the money worth it alone. I'm just wondering if my mileage would get better in-city. I doubt it would change much, though

[eTiMaGo]

try and find some cheap 2nd hand ones? maybe not as light as the RPF-1's, but it should give you an idea of possible gains without breaking the bank...

[Captain Slow]

hit up a junk yard and bring along a bathroom scale. try to find the smallest/lightest steelies you can. that'd probably be the only way it'd be worth it. as someone else mentioned the cost of purchasing the wheels would negate any savings if you go with something expensive.

[caineroad]

Mim not so worried about paying it off...as I said....I know it'll never happen. Honestly going from 47.5lbs/corner to 35lbs would make the money worth it alone. I'm just wondering if my mileage would get better in-city. I doubt it would change much, though

how much KM per tank are you getting already?

[cali yaris]

I'm just wondering if my mileage would get better in-city. I doubt it would change much, though

It would. Accelerating is where the savings is. You do that at lower speeds, stopping and starting a lot.

[cali yaris]

More or less....

+3 mpg = a savings of one gallon per ten (rough numbers). $4.00/gal here, so $4 per tank. A tank is worth about 350 miles.

$4 per 350 miles = $12 per thousand, so over 100,000 miles you'd save $1200.
Lightweight wheels can be had for less than $1200.

So, if you keep your car a LONG time, the wheels just barely pay for themselves. And look great the whole time.... :smile:

[docB]

Don't forget to correct your odometer reading for the undersize tires. If you go from the 185/60-15 to a 185/60-14, like I did, you lose 4.2%. This is like 3.2 inches per revolution. At over 850 rotations per mile, it adds up...
doc