I just discovered this forum yesterday. I've read through the threads on replacing the stock HCH II's alloy wheels. I couldn't seem to find a definative wheel weight in any of them. I had called Honda of America to find out the wheel weight, hoping that if I could duplicate it that I could shop for replacements that wouldn't adversely effect MPG and power regeneration.

They told me they didn't have the information easily at hand, but would call me back within 24 hrs. It took two weeks and I was told that they wouldn't tell me what the wheel weighed as that was 'proprietory information'. Further, they suggested that changing the wheel on any Honda product was not encouraged and 'might' have an adverse effect on future warranty claims. I was stunned.

Perhaps I missed a thread that had the actual wheel weight for the HCH II?

Honda says the weight of their rims is proprietary?
How absurd!

All you have to do is weigh one.

Need fewer troops to support.
Drive a hybrid.
Best tank 71.65 MPG.

Before this car I spent two years learning hypermiling on my 2004 HCH1.

Don't do it. They'll sue!

Now we know Honda is feminine - don't ask her weight.

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

I just bought a set of EX rims and tires on Ebay. Hate those pie plates. I hope my warranty isn't void.
Rick

I think Honda would have a hard time proving that putting different tires and rims on the standard Civic frame would void the warranty. There are laws that cover putting aftermarket products on a car, which states that the manufacturer must still honor the warranty.

I'm not sure about the details. However, I do know that I have put new tires and rims on almost every car I have owned ever since the mid-seventies, and I have never had an issue with warranty work.

The tone of the Honda phone representative was that not only will we not tell you the weight but that Honda discourages wheel replacement. She said that somewhere in the owner's manual Honda addresses 'possible' warranty problems that could arise from straying from stock condition. It seemed as if she was trying to cover the unreasonableness of Honda's refusal to answer a simple question by saying that I should have already known that I shouldn't be messing with their already perfect product.

Yes, I could remove a mounted wheel, dismount it from the tire and weigh each of them, but it seems ridiculous to have to. I asked the representative if she knew where the 06 Civic concept car was introduced- the SEMA show. The show celebrates the thousands of aftermarket parts available to modify these cars- ESPECIALLY wheels and tires.

This all reminds me of the military adage that if the Army (or service of your choice) wanted you to have a wife, it would have issued you one....

I thought I'd called Honda, not Volkswagon.

If they are of the same year.... than no chance. The problem is when you take a set of rims not made for your car... lets say you get 20" rims. Now these rims are placing loads on other parts of the car that were never designed to handle. So if something breaks and can be traced to the rims that you are driving, then yeah... you foot the bill. But, let's say that your windshield starts to leak... well your rims have nothing to do with your windshield... so they foot the bill.

In your case, I wouldn't worry... You are using another set of rims that are OEM to another version of the same car. Now, if your mpg suffers and you want Honda to fix the problem, well you are out of luck on that one.... but common sense would have told you that.

Sad, isn't it ? As a company grows larger, they grow more cautious, especially if they think there might be legal ramifications down the line.

That being said... I was looking for the specs for the Bridgstones on my car at Tire Rack a day or two ago - I believe it was listed at 14lbs /tire, if I'm not mistaken. You'd have to deflate the tire, but by standing on a scale with the tire / wheel, recording that weight, then weighing just yourself, and then finally subtracting 14 lbs (or whatever) from that amount, you'd know what the wheel weighs. A pain, admittedly - but it's better than having the tire removed from the wheel, then remounting / rebalancing it.

I have a feeling it's going to be fairly lightweight. Probably < 15lbs, as I believe the EX rims weigh that much, so these pie plates better weigh less than that. They're cast aluminum (alloy ?), so they're going to have *some* weight.

Incidentally, my issue with them isn't so much the looks (I'll deal with that, for tangible FE improvement) - it's the tight space between the valve stem and the wheel. Very hard to get a chuck on the stem.

Another option for checking, if you're registered with OwnerLink, would be to try the 'eStore' . Unfortunately, the last two times I've tried to access the 'parts' section of 'eStore', I've gotten an errormsg - this is with two diferent computers / browsers. So I wouldn't hold my breath, but I'd check that out - maybe it will work for you.

Mark

Sometimes we could all use a little less

My hybrid automobiles:

Current:
2006 Honda Civic Hybrid (CVT, w/o Nav)
Magnetic Pearl / Blue - 008661, born 12/28/05
Mods: Neck pillows, Garmin C330 Nav, Draw-tite 1.25" hitch (for bikes, not towing!), Pioneer Inno XM receiver via Aux jack, OEM mud flaps, more to come!

Hypermiler status on 3/12/06 @ 3077mi.

Previous:
2005 Honda Accord Hybrid (5AT/Navi)
Desert Mist / Ivory - 001254
Retired 1/21/06 - LMPG 34.1

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Yea... but then you [probably] didn't put 30"-ers with Tractor Tires on it, either.

You just never know when you might want to pull a cow out of a peat bog with your Honda..... just don't try to get any warranty service done the next day