I know 14" rims are kinda small, but 16" rims would do me just fine. I was thinking the american racing rims that are kinda cheap at les schwabies. i am not looking for bling, but anything is better than caps. any links would be great for a nice looking 16" rim.
My BIG question is will my mileage go down going from a 14" steel rim to a 16" aluminum alloy rim? Mileage is what im worried about.
Thanks
One more question. What other stock rims will fit on our cavaliers. I just read that neon rims will, but what others... mazda, mitschubeeesheeee, ... not even going to try to spell that.
theres a stickey that says wheel and tire FAQ at the top. Check that out. And by "diff milage" are you talking baout sopeedo or gas milage? Just check the FAQ at the top, find the right tire size, and get a good tire.
BTW bolt pattern 5x100
1971 camaro 427 --- here!
Stock... and loving every minute of it.
i think bigger rims will decrease fuel efficiency a little bit if thats what you're talking about.
if you're talking about spedometer reading, then as long as you get the right size tire then it wont effect it at all.
Check out my build thread!
Steel wheels are heavy. If you get lighter 16's, then you may actually improve your mileage. I'd say the difference will be negligable though. Just ensure you get the proper sized tires.
yeah im talking about gas mileage, just trying everything i can to achieve better mileage and handling.
alloy wheels are lighter and if you go with a 16" get the same size tire a z24 comes with and your speedo and mileage will stay the same or increase slightly
http://members.cardomain.com/freakycavy
weight will have more of an effect
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
Taking out all other factors (weight, transmission, etc.) bigger rims will give better milage provided your wheels are bigger than the stock ones (example, if your new rims + tires are bigger than your stock rims + tires) because the axle doesnt have to turn as far to get the car the same distance.
Then weight comes into play, meaning the engine will have to work harder to get the car moving. Then centrifugal force comes into play, this ones hard to explain, so I'll give an example using your transmission.
There's a reason you get the car moving in 1st, simply because the engine doesnt have much stress to work against to get the car rolling thanks to the gearing. However, you try to get the car moving in 5th, the engine wont be working as fast, but a hell of alot more stress will be put on the motor. Your motor is saying "GO!" and your transmission is saying "NO!"... or "ow"... one of the two. Theoretically, if you took your tires right off (rims and all) and set the car up on blocks, you could get the axles to spin while starting in 5th gear. (Lego works educational wonders
)
So... all in all... you probably wont see a gain. You'll more likely experience a drop in milage. But, unless you're flooring it 24/7, you probably wont notice a change.
But really, its up to you, if you want to buy them, on the bright side, you've got the stock ones, if you dont like the milage with the new rims, then switch 'em back.
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Quote:
bigger rims will give better milage provided your wheels are bigger than the stock ones (example, if your new rims + tires are bigger than your stock rims + tires
wow great idea you increase rotating mass by adding bigger tires move it farther out, and make your speedo read low. no one switches to 16s without changing the aspect ratio. hes not worried about the overall tire diameter hes worried about weight
just explaining what he should expect in terms of physics. If he's only worried about weight, then yes, aluminum rims I think they are will provide better milage (if they're the light ones, I cant remember ATM).
the wheels in this pic are on my wife's 2005 LS now. They are 16" wheels 205/45 tires.
^^^sexy motor
yeah... 16" rims look stock size on that pic, mind you, could just be the tires. Dont expect much difference, I'd expect rims to be purely for looks, and not much difference (if any) in milage and speed if you get light rims.
i have chrome 17s, and i swear they are heavier than the tires on my moms truck (265s) and i have a 225/45/17. i used a gps and my speedo i 1mile an hour off. on the e way i have gotten 30+ doing 75-80 with the air full blast. so i doubt that it will affect your mileage as long as you keep to a close circumfrance on the wheel (sorry spelling is not my strong point)
keep in mind, no matter what these ppl tell ya, spellin dont matter as long as its understanable... online in unofficial business anyway
ROFL... sorry, just woke up 10 mins ago...
ok, here is one thing that is new to me.
my car if i drive nicely and never go over 60 even stop and go stuff i got on my last tank 37.89 mpg.
then i filled up and drove on the freeway 65 to 70 and got 32 mpg.
im kinda wondering if i could get some bigger tires and have it make a 300 rpm difference at 70 mph.
5 mpg when driving a few hundred miles a trip is pretty significant.
will look at the tire sizes soon when i get more time.
will probably go with 16" and a little taller tire.., well it will be less profile than my 14" rims with the same size tire, but you know...
I believe wind resistance goes up exponentially with speed. At highway speeds, most of your power is used to overcome that resistance so lowering your rpm's may actually hurt your mileage.
so many forces I neglected to mention. ^^^^ named one. Thats why cars have whats called a milage curve (or something along that nature) when you're stopped with the motor running, infinitely bad milage. The average car gets the best milage around 90-95 mph (or KPH, I cant remember)
my camaro v6 got 32.3 at 75 mph if i babied it and didnt use cruise control so i can control rpms 100%. i just think it sucks that my cavalier gets the same mileage a lower speed. my cavy is great for around town, but on the highway im dissapointed.
A 16" wheel with a 205/55 tire is only 0.2" taller than a 195/70/14.
So, you were making 815 revolutions per mile and you would now only be making 811. Your speedometer would be off by 1/2 of one percent. So, if your gauge says 70, you are really doing 70.35 mph.
Its not going to change your gas mileage unless you put some heavy chrome wheels on there. Even then, the difference would be minimal.
Here is a link to try........ you can input the stock size
tire then the custom size tire to see the diff' in the speedo
and how much farther the larger tire will travel.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
^ thats what i used for my figures
