Wheel/tire upgrade

[RichV]

Any idea whether the fittest for a non-EV spark would work for the EV? I'm looking at some 16x6.5" wheels with some performance 205's as an upgrade to my Spark EV. Just can't leave well enough alone...

[gmarcucio]

I'm really not sure about the upgrade but does anyone have the original wheel specs available? Bolt pattern? Wheel offset? Width? etc.?

[RichV]

It was listed in another thread:

For future reference, this is the stock Spark EV wheel specs.

Front
15x6.0
ET45
Part number 95024486

Rear
15x6.5
ET54
Part number 95024487

Bryce

[buickanddeere]

I was wondering the same thing to be able to use the same tire size on all four corners and to be able to rotate corner to corner to even wear.
Bryce has it all scienced out and those are the max tire sizes and rim offsets that fit into those weenie little wheel wells. The offset is in mm which fooled me at first.

[Nashco]

Any idea whether the fittest for a non-EV spark would work for the EV? I'm looking at some 16x6.5" wheels with some performance 205's as an upgrade to my Spark EV. Just can't leave well enough alone...

It's an extremely tight fit in the wheel wheels on this car. You can see the original sizes listed above. To my knowledge, this is the only person who has fitted 16" wheels to the Spark EV so far (see pictures, a few posts down):

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/vie ... =10&t=3496

16x7 4x100 ET45 Team Dynamics Motorsports
2mm spacers in front to eliminate caliper rubbing
215/45R16 Falken Azenis RT615 tires

He claimed they didn't rub with the stock suspension. I can say that if you lowered the car, as I have done to mine, you should expect rubbing with that combination. I'm running 15x6.5 ET45 wheels with BFG Rival 205/50R15s (fatter than most 205s!) and a couple inches lowered ride height, which required camber shims in the rear to prevent tires rubbing on the body and spacers in the front to prevent caliper contact with the wheels.

Bryce

[buickanddeere]

Any idea whether the fittest for a non-EV spark would work for the EV? I'm looking at some 16x6.5" wheels with some performance 205's as an upgrade to my Spark EV. Just can't leave well enough alone...

It's an extremely tight fit in the wheel wheels on this car. You can see the original sizes listed above. To my knowledge, this is the only person who has fitted 16" wheels to the Spark EV so far (see pictures, a few posts down):

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/vie ... =10&t=3496

16x7 4x100 ET45 Team Dynamics Motorsports
2mm spacers in front to eliminate caliper rubbing
215/45R16 Falken Azenis RT615 tires

He claimed they didn't rub with the stock suspension. I can say that if you lowered the car, as I have done to mine, you should expect rubbing with that combination. I'm running 15x6.5 ET45 wheels with BFG Rival 205/50R15s (fatter than most 205s!) and a couple inches lowered ride height, which required camber shims in the rear to prevent tires rubbing on the body and spacers in the front to prevent caliper contact with the wheels.

Bryce

That is Maxed Out.

[RichV]

Just to update:

I went ahead and ordered some 16x6.5" 45mm offset Kosei K4R wheels figuring the specs are similar to a standard Spark. Lucky for me, the wheels bolted right up, clearing the calipers and struts/suspension without any issues.

I wanted to try taller/wider tires with high performance and all-season capability (despite the lack of rain here in northern CA). I knew it would be close, but I ordered a set of 205/50/16 Kumho Ecsta 4X's and mounted them up last weekend. The rear fit perfectly but the front had issues with the overall diameter causing contact with the lower spring perch on the struts. A set of 5mm spacers on the front was unable to fix the rubbing, although it was significantly reduced.

I ended up mounting from 195/50/16's in front which solved my problem, save for some extremely minor rubbing on full lock turns at low speeds. I am a little bummed I wasn't able to keep a square setup all around, but I feel a little better maintaining the front/rear diameter difference as intended form the factory to keep the stabilitrac operating closer to it's intended wheel speed differences between the front and rear.

I am quite happy with the results so far. The light grey color of the K4R's pair nicely with the Titanium grey color of my Spark EV. The tires offer significantly better grip and stability both in turns and under acceleration. The overall combination of light weight wheels/tires resulted in a net loss of 3-5lbs/wheel. I have yet to do my regular commute with it, so I am not sure how much effect this will have on the range. Based on the drive home form the shop, it seems it will be slightly reduced.

[Nashco]

Thanks for the update Rich. Can you share some pictures? For reference, new tires will have very poor rolling resistance for a while. Don't judge their range until they're broken in a little bit, usually in 1000 miles or so you'll have a better reference. Even then, as tires wear they have less rolling resistance...so they just get better and better with mileage (which makes for a rude awakening when you go from bald tires to new tires).

I'm surprised to hear that your 205/50R16 Ecsta 4X on 16x6.5 ET45 with 5mm spacer setup rubbed, while somebody else with a 215/45R16 RT615 on a 16x7 ET45 with 2mm spacer did not rub. Goes to show you how tight the wheel fitment is on these!

Bryce

[RichV]

I was a bit surprised to have the rubbing issue myself, but it has more to do with the overall diameter of the tire than the width. It is such minimal contact that I drove it 15 mi. and barely put a dent in the tires.

I'll try to get some photos later on in the week. Car is a bit dirty right now and having sick toddler twins at home isn't allowing me the time to clean it up

[RichV]

Quick shot after a scrub: