Alloy wheels , fit or not to fit

Do you own or use a EV. Then this is a good place to discuss things.
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ChrisB
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Alloy wheels , fit or not to fit

Postby ChrisB » Fri May 25, 2007 10:43 pm

Right I'm wondering if fitting lighter alloy wheels to the Berlingo is going to help it range wise.

Part of me is thinking yep get the weight down ( unsprung weight that is ), the other part of me is thinking its going to remove some of the momentum weight :?

Discuss ????

ChrisB
I reject reality and substitute my own !!!!!!

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EVguru
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Postby EVguru » Sat May 26, 2007 8:28 am

Ordinary alloy wheels are seldom lighter than steel.

Many aftermarket wheels are very heavy (very thick castings) and many OEM alloys are heavier just because they're wider.

Assuming you've found some that are lighter, then yes fit them.

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Sat May 26, 2007 9:55 am

This is what I'm thinking, it does seem that a lot of alloys are actually heavier than their steel counter parts :roll: and its the "bling" factor why they get fitted.

So if I was to find lighter ones it would be betterthen , BUT would it be better for stop/start driving or better for continouse driving ?? as the actual mass would be less which means small road changes would be seen at the batteries more if you get my reasoning ??

Bit like if you have a heavy ball rolling down a hill and up the otherside , its likley to get to the bottom faster and futher up the other side compared to say a lighter ball ??



ChrisB
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aminorjourney
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Postby aminorjourney » Sat May 26, 2007 12:15 pm

And if they're bling you'll of course need locking wheelnuts ;)

I don't know. I think a pimped Berlingo could do wonders for the EV movement!

Bling my EV... it has a nice ring to it !

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Sun May 27, 2007 7:40 am

Oh dear, surely we're not going to get all chav'd up are we :roll: :lol:

Wheres those neons I had now :lol:

ChrisB
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aminorjourney
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Postby aminorjourney » Sun May 27, 2007 9:37 am

Booom chica chica Boooom booom!

At least you'd have plenty of space for that 42 inch plasma TV in your trunk, yo!

:D

You know, Kate and I invented a new name for the colour that the new Ford Focus (RS?) is - the horrid Orange colour?... It's Chavange...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

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Peter Eggleston
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Alloy wheels

Postby Peter Eggleston » Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:36 pm

Hi
I fitted alloy wheels to my electric truck and performance improved all round. Each wheel weighed 5 lb less than the original steel wheel which meant a 20 lb reduction in the unsprung weight. Speed, acceleration, hill climbing ability and range all improved even though the alloy wheels are wider.
If you can fit alloys the same size as the original steel wheels they should be lighter and your performance should improve.
The ideal wheels for an electric vehicle should be tall, narrow and light like on Nikki's CityEl.
Peter

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Night Train
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Postby Night Train » Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:56 pm

Just wondering how easy it would be to find skinny alloy wheels.

As an aside, as there has been one left in the street outside, has anyone tried running on four space saver spares?

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EVguru
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Postby EVguru » Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:10 pm

If you're prepared to pay for three piece rims, then you can get down to 3.5" width in most diameters. They can be very light. I've got some 10" wide by 13" dia. that weigh under 5Kg.

Space saver tyres are not legal for continuous use, for a long time they weren't legal at all in the UK (despite vehicles being supplied with them).

Without testing there's no way to judge wether they'd have any advantage anyway.
Paul

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qdos
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Postby qdos » Sun Jun 29, 2008 8:30 am

night train wrote:Just wondering how easy it would be to find skinny alloy wheels.

As an aside, as there has been one left in the street outside, has anyone tried running on four space saver spares?



Some very nice alloy wheels on some quadricyles. I was just admiring some on an Aixam yesterday at the Electrathon and the Zest has alloys too with 135 tyres fitted.

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