Coyote,

Your car looks great! I like the combo of tires with the tinted glass - looks very cool.

I used a different brand - Kosei 15" and they were very light (~10 lbs) for my replacement. I think you and I may have a very interesting comparison to make over time. I went lightweight with LRR tires - would be very curious compare our two experiences.

When I was going through my upgrade, an number of forum members pointed out that my spoked wheels will likely cause more drag than my OEM wheels. I was skeptical, but after about 3K miles on the new setup, I'm wondering if it has merit. Your observation of slightly lower FE and higher speeds seems to agree with that assertion. I'm getting lower than typical FE for winter - down maybe 1-2 MPG from the prevous 3 winters. My commute is mostly 40-50 miles per hour, with maybe 30% of it at 60 MPH. I'm having a hard time concluding anything because of the cold. I'm anxious for summer to arrive, because in some warm, dry conditions I'll be able to get an accurate picture. I expect to post again with some data in August - would be interesting to compare with your results as well.

In all I'm happy with the look so if it costs 1-2 MPG so be it. I was hoping that the lightweight wheels would improve things (I dropped ~3 lbs per wheel). Would be interesting if the weight and the wind resistance was a push...

*** Retired after 65,000 outstanding miles ***