Wheel Options

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sandange

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
907
Location
Quebec, Canada
There has been a lot of talk and interest in the group to find aftermarket or oem replacement rims/wheels.
I don't think there is a posting on this subject.

I though a new specific posting here would be help focus efforts on the subject.

Any one that has tried or found suitable wheels please share your findings, experiences, and suppliers/websites etc, with the us.
 
One of our members
Lydhig showed us some picture if his beautiful Citroën C Zero sporting some very nice wheels, thanks for sharing.. - His posting...

http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1260

He mentioned they are available in Sweden, where he bought them .

The brand name BM Hawk

BM-Hawk.jpg


With a photo search and the help from Google Translate,- I found this web site offering them for sale

http://infosite.se/Aluminiumfalgar?rim[diameter]=15

I did some poking around and found the Citroën C Zero listed in their sizing criteria.

Having problems posting the hyperlink, -
Might need to cut and paste link , & you can choose make & model only in the original language.

Priced about $ 177 Canadian each.

I don't speak Swedish or know the sizes require for our North American I Miev
Maybe some of our European members can help translate or benefit from this supplier.
 
I can't read Swedish, but the chart on their website does show that the wheels are available in both 4X15 and 5X15 with an offset of 35mm and a 4X100 bolt pattern, which is exactly correct for our car

They also come in 5.5X15 with a 40mm offset, which would work fine for the rears (with a slightly wider tire) *if* the 5X15 will work on the front

~$750 for a set of 4 wouldn't be bad . . . . if the shipping from Sweden didn't add too much

Don
 
The 19 silver MSW look good.

Now that the barrier language is gone, if someone more qualified than me could check the data, maybe we can get the necessary offset to have the same tire in front and back !

Wemcan even negociate for a forum rate, leave that to me ;)
 
Smooth and flat wheel (covers) could add miles to the range. More open wheels will likely *reduce* the range by a few miles. The wheels and the wheel openings contribute about 20-30% of the overall aerodynamic drag, and smooth flat wheels can reduce the drag by 5-10%, so if I was changing the wheels, I would choose to gain range, rather than lose range.
 
Agreed, Neil. I'm miffed that most wheel vendors don't even post the weight of each rim, let alone a max recommended vehicle weight for it, etc.. I love the look of my 'salt flat discs', but am annoyed at their crinkling sound- which got my car dubbed "Jiffy Pop". I've been thinking about simply welding a flat steel disc to the outer rim, with four tubes just big enough for a lug nut socket to enter, and also a hard-plumbed inflation valve. Then paint up the steel rim to match body color. However, that would add weight and stiffen the wheels, which obvoiously flex a lot (I hear every rotation). I wonder if the ride of an SE with the stiffer aluminum rims is measurably rougher?
My ideal wheel would be a flat-faced aluminum disc with max offset, shimmed out to meet spec.
Anybody know the weight of SE factory alloys versus ES steel rims?
 
sandange said:
Just found this site with many choices of wheels for the Miev, located in England.

http://www.wheelbasealloys.com/

Not too sure about their sizes (width) - When you select a wheel I see a green check mark with the text "Fitment checked"
Their website really needs some work. Putting in the info for our car simply gets you a list of every 15" wheel they sell, even though none of them (so far as I can tell) come in widths of 4 inches or even 5 . . . . even though 'Fitment checked' says they'll fit our car - They won't

Don
 
For those who like the smooth aero look, here's an option to the noisy steel grippers found on my salt flat discs. Links to mfr then an online dealer.
http://www.aeroracewheels.com/accessorie_pgs/alum/alum_bead_g2.html
Not terribly expensive...
http://www.scpraceparts.com/racing-wheels/mud-plugs
 
Just noticed that the alloys on this 2010 test drive JDM car and the European clones i have seen are different than the US release (though I prefer the US-spec SE rim).
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/09/29/2010-mitsubishi-i-miev-review-road-test/
I've been wanting to find a JDM accessories dealer, (despite the odds of reasonable pricing being near nil)
Here's a dealer that offers to modify both new and used rims and has some rare kei car styles.
http://www.memoryfab.com/wheels/used/15
 
Don said:
4X15 and 5X15 with an offset of 35mm and a 4X100 bolt pattern, which is exactly correct for our car

They also come in 5.5X15 with a 40mm offset, which would work fine for the rears (with a slightly wider tire) *if* the 5X15 will work on the front

Don

Personally I could give up a couple of km range to have some pretty summer rims - then again depending on the weight difference from the original steel rims there might not be any range difference

It sounds like it's best to call the suppliers and referring to these sizes before committing to buying any wheels.

The was also a mention on some other posts of a the fitting on the wheels center opening and a spacer of some sort - this might also be important for ordering wheels,
Could any one with information on this share it with us ?
 
NeilBlanchard said:
Smooth and flat wheel (covers) could add miles to the range. More open wheels will likely *reduce* the range by a few miles. The wheels and the wheel openings contribute about 20-30% of the overall aerodynamic drag, and smooth flat wheels can reduce the drag by 5-10%, so if I was changing the wheels, I would choose to gain range, rather than lose range.
I used to think the same thing as to the reason that the old air cooled VW Bug had the Full Moon hubcaps ...
 
Thanks, Don, for the wheel specs (including offset). I was having a hard time finding that anywhere else. There is another retailer (also in Europe) with a few more options for the i-MiEV: "www.performancealloys.com". They stock the MSW 19, as well, which is my personal favorite. It comes in black, too. Unfortunately, the shipping and handling to the U.S. is about as much as you would pay for the wheels! Tirerack.com stocks the MSW line, but nothing smaller than 15x6.5 (and they won't even ship those without specs from Mitsubishi).

If anyone can find someplace in the States that stocks alloy wheels in the 15x5 size, I would love to hear about it...
 
Wordman said:
...There is another retailer (also in Europe) with a few more options for the i-MiEV: "www.performancealloys.com". They stock the MSW 19, as well, which is my personal favorite. It comes in black, too. Unfortunately, the shipping and handling to the U.S. is about as much as you would pay for the wheels! Tirerack.com stocks the MSW line, but nothing smaller than 15x6.5 (and they won't even ship those without specs from Mitsubishi).

If anyone can find someplace in the States that stocks alloy wheels in the 15x5 size, I would love to hear about it...

Performance alloys supplied the Italian brand MAK. There are two models that fit the iMiEV: MAK FIORANO, MAK CRUISER.

In a UK site for the Peugeot iOn (Euro i-Miev clon):

http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/car-wheels-15-inch-PEUGEOT-iOn-11/2010-....html

Sizes:
4,0x15 4x100 ET35 56.1 (Front)
5,0x15 4x100 ET35 54.1 (Rear)

You can ask them if they could supply in the USA.
 
On our C-zero, we changed our winter tyres in early may. Mistake happen sometime and my friend put the summer rims on the rear, and then wanted to put the rear on the front : not possible !

There is a cone centering diameter smaller on the rear so impossible to mount them on front axle ! ;)


Is it the same on i-miev, in Europe ? in the States ?
 
sventchik said:
There is a cone centering diameter smaller on the rear so impossible to mount them on front axle ! ;)
Yes, the center bore for the rear wheels is smaller than the fronts - 54.1 vs 56.1 mm. There is a removable ring pressed into the hub on the fronts which prevents the rear wheels from being bolted on the front hubs - Remove that ring and the rear wheels will fit the front hubs

This is not to say there will be adequate clearance for the wheel/tire - They may rub on the front McPherson strut tube, which is probably why Mitsu installed the rings to prevent accidently installing a rear wheel on the front axle

Don
 
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