I have a question for those who have or are thinking about new tires / wheels. My Dunlops are about done. I thought it would be cool to upgrade the wheels at the same time. I want to do it for looks and fuel efficiency (I want my cake and eat it too), so my criteria are low weight wheels, and keep the tire width to a minimum.
I've found most custom light-weight rims begin at 15" - most are larger. But larger requires more tire width. I'm pondering the following configuration - was interested if anyone else has considered a change (or done it!).
Wheels:
OZ Superleggera 15" x 7" (10.7 lbs!)
- Just about the lightest 15" wheel (that's silver and would look good on the car) I could find. Next best was like 9.5 lbs, but I didn't like it (very expensive too). I have the light blue (or whatever Honda calls it) 03 HCH.
Tires:
ContiTouringContact CH95 195/60/15 (18 lbs)
- Green Seal's low rolling resistance top 10 (2003)
- Reviews are decent - I need an all season (lots of rain around here)
- Modest cost (next choice was the Michelin Energy MXV4, but it's nearly twice as much).
Yeah, it's all expensive so I'm not thinking this will be a cost I recover. However, if I get a bump in the MPG, great.
Total weight should be around 29 lbs a wheel, which is less than the 31 currently on there (however, I really have to doubt the Dunlops are 16 lbs - I haven't seen a 185/70/14 that light yet).
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Also - I walked into a tire dealer and told him I had a Civic Hybrid and was looking for lightweight wheels. His response, "You gonna race it?".
