Wheel/tire upgrade

[nozferatu]

Do you guys see better acceleration out of the hole with these tires and/or suspensions?

[RichV]

No, traction is not the limiting factor off the line in these cars. The real issue is the torque management in the software

[sv650john]

Just a thought here -
I'm sure the engineers at Chevy put a lot of thought into designing the stock wheels. Maybe part of it is cost, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, traction, range.

It's certainly possible in some situations to yield some gains by replacing the wheels/tires.
Say if you had a base Camaro with 16" steel wheels and replaced them with the 18" alloys from an SS, you'd probably see a performance gain. That increase in traction would however be at the expense of weight and rolling resistance, resulting in lower gas mileage. But that's ok because the Camaro is a performance car and you didn't buy it because of the gas mileage.

The Spark EV was designed to be the most efficient commuting car possible. The stock wheels that come with the Spark EV were calculated by an engineer to give the car the best aerodynamic advantage and the lowest rolling resistance in order to yield it's 82-mile EPA range.
By replacing the wheel/tire combo it's certainly possible that you could end up with a lower max range.
Vis-a-vis if Chevy could have replaced the wheel/tire combo and squeezed out even an extra mile of EPA range wouldn't they have done so?

I'm curious to know the real-world impact of aftermarket wheels on the Spark EV.
Fwiw I personally don't think the stock wheels look good, but this is a case of function over form.

[nozferatu]

Just a thought here -
I'm sure the engineers at Chevy put a lot of thought into designing the stock wheels. Maybe part of it is cost, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, traction, range.

It's certainly possible in some situations to yield some gains by replacing the wheels/tires.
Say if you had a base Camaro with 16" steel wheels and replaced them with the 18" alloys from an SS, you'd probably see a performance gain. That increase in traction would however be at the expense of weight and rolling resistance, resulting in lower gas mileage. But that's ok because the Camaro is a performance car and you didn't buy it because of the gas mileage.

The Spark EV was designed to be the most efficient commuting car possible. The stock wheels that come with the Spark EV were calculated by an engineer to give the car the best aerodynamic advantage and the lowest rolling resistance in order to yield it's 82-mile EPA range.
By replacing the wheel/tire combo it's certainly possible that you could end up with a lower max range.
Vis-a-vis if Chevy could have replaced the wheel/tire combo and squeezed out even an extra mile of EPA range wouldn't they have done so?

I'm curious to know the real-world impact of aftermarket wheels on the Spark EV.
Fwiw I personally don't think the stock wheels look good, but this is a case of function over form.

I don't think this car is anywhere near to being mechanically optimized as you think. That's just my opinion.

[Nashco]

Just a thought here -
I'm sure the engineers at Chevy put a lot of thought into designing the stock wheels. Maybe part of it is cost, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, traction, range.

Here's the rub: It's a compromise from GM, as with any consumer device. I do this for a living, and understand there's always a balance. If you re-prioritize you get different targets. For example, if durability and cost are not critical constraints, you could end up with composite wheels that are more aerodynamic, lower in weight, etc.

My race wheels are about 10 pounds lighter (PER WHEEL!) than the stock wheels. They cost significantly more and are significantly less durable. Different priorities! As I've said, clearly the original tires were selected for range and perhaps noise at a target price point...a top priority certainly wasn't traction!

Bryce

[fox]

Hoping I didn't donkey punch the aero too terribly but hey it no longer looks like grandmas car! Konig Dial in 15x7 saving 34lbs of rotational weight


https://ibb.co/iRf2Dv

[SparkMoore]

RichV,

I was considering the exact same set up. Can you clarify a couple of things?

You mentioned that 5mm spacers did not fix the rubbing on the set up with 205/50/16 tires. Did you leave the spacers on when you changed over to 195/50/16 tires? Or did you remove the spacers?

You chose not to use the same tire set up on front/back, although you could have set up both front and rear with 195/50/16. Why not do that?

Your post goes back to 2014. After a couple of years experience with the wheels/tires, can you speak to how your range was affected? And would you change anything now that you have some experience with this?

[sTeeve]

I put 17" x 6.5" Kia Rio wheels on my 2014:

[BEEMAN]

Forgive me if this has been addressed but I have a question. I understand the back wheels will not fit on the front as the car is. Will spacers allow the wheels to fit? Also, assuming the back wheels will fit... if I had a square setup with 4 of the back stock OEM wheels on the Spark EV what would be the impact? I assume performance would increase as the tires would be wider but I doubt it would take a significant hit. Would it affect the car in any negative way? Worsen the handling? Affect the brakes etc...? Thanks in advance!!

[NORTON]

...> I understand the back wheels will not fit on the front as the car is.
>>Will spacers allow the wheels to fit? ...
>>>.. if I had a square setup with 4 of the back stock OEM wheels on the Spark EV what would be the impact? I assume performance would increase as the tires would be wider ...

>Correct. The rear wheels make contact with the front caliper and does not spin.
>> Maybe... keep in mind thread engagement for the lug nuts.
>>> Wider tires will mean better grip in all aspects, right? Wider tires will increase rolling resistance, slightly, which theoretically will lessen range. Good Luck trying to document that, unless you are going really much wider, which you can't do with stock wheels.

I'll be posting pics of my aftermarket wider wheels and tires soon. I had to buy the correct TPMS sensors which took sometime.

Plus,,, What do we do with Photobucket no longer working???