I just picked up my Silver Civic last week and I just cant stand looking at it from the side. Those space age alloys are just too much, maybe just too much silver. Has anyone changed there wheels? Wondering how much of a hit I would take on the FE, Iam interested in maybe putting the EX wheels on the car even though they are 16"

 

https://www.greenhybrid.com/share/image1250.html

https://www.greenhybrid.com/share/fi...8/HCH-2006.jpg

There's a couple.

 

I recently changed the wheel combo on my '03 (which has an overall smaller wheel diameter than the '06) I was able to get a very good price on some 16" chrome wheels, however, the impact on mileage was worse than I expected, about 8%, though I believe I can reduce this dramaticall with a different tire sometime later. Others that have run closer to stock-sized wheels with low-rolling-resistance tires have seen negligible losses. Handling however went from terrible to excellent, and while the '03 wheels weren't bad, they were nothing special -- now I have something quite distinct looking.

The biggest factor for mileage from the wheel combo is going to be the tire. A lot of custom rims require wider, lower-profile tires to be able to support the same load. This width will create more friction with the ground, and rolling resistance will be incresed by somewhat different sidewall construction as well. However, handling will improve, so it is a tradeoff.

Another effect of going to a larger wheel/lower profile is that even a combo of the same weight will distribute more of the weight of the tire outward, giving it higher rotational inertia -- an extra pound near the edge of the tires is worth about two pounds of non-rolling weight, since it must both rotate and accelerate with the car. A heavier combo will be a little bit worse still, however, this effect is very small compared to increasing the rolling resistance. Finally, a heavier wheel combo will produce a somewhat bumpier ride, as it will transmit more force through the suspension.

Finally, at very high speeds, an open spoked wheel will be less aerodynamic than a flat wheel like the '06 Civic -- While I don't know how much of an effect this would be, Honda felt it was significant enough to design flat wheels (thoguh they could have done a much better job - I've seen some flat wheels that look decent on other vehicles.

 

As soon as I got my 06'Silver HCH. I changed to the EX wheels. I didn't have the pie plates long enough to compare FE. Got the wheels and tires on ebay for $500. Sold the pie plates for $400. The EX wheels compliment the Silver color very nicely. I get over 40 mpg with the tires pumped up to 40psi. I drive it like a regular car. I'm sure if I did some hypremiling I could increase the mpg significantly.
Rick

 

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...ghlight=wheels

I saw a silver hchII the other day. It had some 18" BBS wheels and it looked so nice, but I am sure the ride is crappy and you got to be careful around some pot holes.

I am the one with the 17X8 OZ Superleggera. They improve the handling so much from the stock plates. Not to mention, they make the car look so much better!

 

Sorry, but I guess I'm one of the few who actually like the Honda "pie plate" wheels! At first I was hesitant, but I really do like them now. They also tell the world that I have a hybrid (one of the few differences between the HCH and the standard HC). Different strokes for diffferent folks!... or, since we're talking wheels.... Different spokes for different folks!

 

I wish the stock wheels were lighter and the stock tires a bit stickier. I suspect that tread width and tire width may have an impact but a stickier tire of the same width may be improve handling without too much of an FE hit. It is possible to get a wheel of the same or similar size that's about 5 lbs lighter each.

 

I'm with you on this one. They look pretty cool to me AND they didn't cost an additional $500+! They're certainly not $500 uglier than the customs.

 

Count me in as a fan of the stock wheels as well. In addition, I'm glad that I won't have to shell out $250/tire as I did for my VW Beetle and its 17 alloys and its low-profile tires!

 

I think $500 sitting in my wallet is MUCH prettier than new wheels.

Different spokes! I like that.