ok i know this may seem like a stupid or trivial ques. but here goes anywhere? I am planning on getting a set of 18" rims for my 98 Accord (no chrome here). The prob. is the fact that i have to drive a long distance to work everyday so fuel efficiency is a must. My ques. to any who may know the ans. is this. What is the average effect + size rims have on a car's MPG? Thanks......

 

don't worry much about wheel size and fuel effiency if yur staying under the 20's, some rims are actually lighter then steelies and alloys so it'd be a good idea

 

Just stick with the size that comes stock on your car.

 

Not that much effect on mileage. Although, because bigger wheels generally tend to end up heavier, it'll take more effort to spin them, and the car will accelerate slower. I used to be able to smoke my stock 15" rims w 195/55 tires. Now i can barely make my 215/40R17's squeak. The upside is you can take the curves with a lot more confidence.

 

Bigger rims dont improve handling. http://pub227.ezboard.com/fbse...topic

Yes they'll hurt your mileage, but not a lot. It depends on whether you're keeping the same aspect ratio. You're going to have to run low low profile or else you'll actually lift your car. I see that all the time its funny. That big of an upsize wont be lighter than stock. Rim is heavier than rubber, and now you have additional weight to the outside which multiplies its effect. Worst part will be the rubbing and sucky ride quality.

 

So....What would you guys/gals recommend? Should i buy the 18's or stick with the same old 17's from my old Accord?

 

Bigger rims per se. But since bigger rims usually mean WIDER, lower rubber, then i have to say they do improve handling. Ever try taking a tight offramp curve at 70 kph on stock 15" wheels and 195 tires? Scary ****! Take the same on 17's with wider, lower rubber - no sweat. Or just plain driving on wet roads. I think anyone in his right mind should consider the aspect ratio if he plans to up his rim diameter. (In case you haven't noticed, I did go low profile - from 55 to 40.) But, yes, the world is sadly plagued with idiots. But we're talking rims AND rubber AND handling now, so maybe we're missing the point of the thread which is just asking if looking cool with 18" of metal will kill mileage.


Modified by SiRP at 9:24 PM 7/7/2004

 

If you care about mileage, stick with the smaller rims and tires. Just forget about your huge chrome dubs with spinners.

 

About the wider rims and handling, thats not excatly true, the only reason they handle better is because of some treadings of tires, but if yur tires are wider your actually seperatiing yur weight of yur car to a more displaced area which causes yur car to seem lighter because of more space displacement causing a LOST of traction, NOT gain, its pure basic physical science-

 

you'll notice a difference in miles per gallon. when i used to roll 18's on my coupe, the mpg were much lower than when rolling on my stocks.

 

If you change the aspect ratio you also change the final gear ratio, which can have a big impact on mileage and acceleration.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shaundrake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you change the aspect ratio you also change the final gear ratio, which can have a big impact on mileage and acceleration.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think its a matter of weight vs ratio. A lighter wheel as a whole with a larger diameter should yield slightly better mpg due to less weight and slightly longer gearing due to larger diameter. The problem is that larger diameter = more weight further from the center where it has the largest effect so the gear reduction is probably nullified. Basically stick with your stocks as the bigger rims/tires wont be good for mpg unless theyre extremely light.