RichV
Member
Any idea whether the fittest for a non-EV spark would work for the EV? I'm looking at some 16x6.5" wheels with some performance 205's as an upgrade to my Spark EV. Just can't leave well enough alone...
Wheel/tire upgrade
- Thread starter RichV
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gmarcucio
Active member
I'm really not sure about the upgrade but does anyone have the original wheel specs available? Bolt pattern? Wheel offset? Width? etc.?
RichV
Member
It was listed in another thread:
Nashco said:
buickanddeere
Well-known member
I was wondering the same thing to be able to use the same tire size on all four corners and to be able to rotate corner to corner to even wear.
Bryce has it all scienced out and those are the max tire sizes and rim offsets that fit into those weenie little wheel wells. The offset is in mm which fooled me at first.
Bryce has it all scienced out and those are the max tire sizes and rim offsets that fit into those weenie little wheel wells. The offset is in mm which fooled me at first.
Nashco
Well-known member
RichV said:
It's an extremely tight fit in the wheel wheels on this car. You can see the original sizes listed above. To my knowledge, this is the only person who has fitted 16" wheels to the Spark EV so far (see pictures, a few posts down):
http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3496
16x7 4x100 ET45 Team Dynamics Motorsports
2mm spacers in front to eliminate caliper rubbing
215/45R16 Falken Azenis RT615 tires
He claimed they didn't rub with the stock suspension. I can say that if you lowered the car, as I have done to mine, you should expect rubbing with that combination. I'm running 15x6.5 ET45 wheels with BFG Rival 205/50R15s (fatter than most 205s!) and a couple inches lowered ride height, which required camber shims in the rear to prevent tires rubbing on the body and spacers in the front to prevent caliper contact with the wheels.
Bryce
buickanddeere
Well-known member
Nashco said:
That is Maxed Out. :!:
RichV
Member
Just to update:
I went ahead and ordered some 16x6.5" 45mm offset Kosei K4R wheels figuring the specs are similar to a standard Spark. Lucky for me, the wheels bolted right up, clearing the calipers and struts/suspension without any issues.
I wanted to try taller/wider tires with high performance and all-season capability (despite the lack of rain here in northern CA). I knew it would be close, but I ordered a set of 205/50/16 Kumho Ecsta 4X's and mounted them up last weekend. The rear fit perfectly but the front had issues with the overall diameter causing contact with the lower spring perch on the struts. A set of 5mm spacers on the front was unable to fix the rubbing, although it was significantly reduced.
I ended up mounting from 195/50/16's in front which solved my problem, save for some extremely minor rubbing on full lock turns at low speeds. I am a little bummed I wasn't able to keep a square setup all around, but I feel a little better maintaining the front/rear diameter difference as intended form the factory to keep the stabilitrac operating closer to it's intended wheel speed differences between the front and rear.
I am quite happy with the results so far. The light grey color of the K4R's pair nicely with the Titanium grey color of my Spark EV. The tires offer significantly better grip and stability both in turns and under acceleration. The overall combination of light weight wheels/tires resulted in a net loss of 3-5lbs/wheel. I have yet to do my regular commute with it, so I am not sure how much effect this will have on the range. Based on the drive home form the shop, it seems it will be slightly reduced.
I went ahead and ordered some 16x6.5" 45mm offset Kosei K4R wheels figuring the specs are similar to a standard Spark. Lucky for me, the wheels bolted right up, clearing the calipers and struts/suspension without any issues.
I wanted to try taller/wider tires with high performance and all-season capability (despite the lack of rain here in northern CA). I knew it would be close, but I ordered a set of 205/50/16 Kumho Ecsta 4X's and mounted them up last weekend. The rear fit perfectly but the front had issues with the overall diameter causing contact with the lower spring perch on the struts. A set of 5mm spacers on the front was unable to fix the rubbing, although it was significantly reduced.
I ended up mounting from 195/50/16's in front which solved my problem, save for some extremely minor rubbing on full lock turns at low speeds. I am a little bummed I wasn't able to keep a square setup all around, but I feel a little better maintaining the front/rear diameter difference as intended form the factory to keep the stabilitrac operating closer to it's intended wheel speed differences between the front and rear.
I am quite happy with the results so far. The light grey color of the K4R's pair nicely with the Titanium grey color of my Spark EV. The tires offer significantly better grip and stability both in turns and under acceleration. The overall combination of light weight wheels/tires resulted in a net loss of 3-5lbs/wheel. I have yet to do my regular commute with it, so I am not sure how much effect this will have on the range. Based on the drive home form the shop, it seems it will be slightly reduced.
Nashco
Well-known member
Thanks for the update Rich. Can you share some pictures? For reference, new tires will have very poor rolling resistance for a while. Don't judge their range until they're broken in a little bit, usually in 1000 miles or so you'll have a better reference. Even then, as tires wear they have less rolling resistance...so they just get better and better with mileage (which makes for a rude awakening when you go from bald tires to new tires).
I'm surprised to hear that your 205/50R16 Ecsta 4X on 16x6.5 ET45 with 5mm spacer setup rubbed, while somebody else with a 215/45R16 RT615 on a 16x7 ET45 with 2mm spacer did not rub. Goes to show you how tight the wheel fitment is on these!
Bryce
I'm surprised to hear that your 205/50R16 Ecsta 4X on 16x6.5 ET45 with 5mm spacer setup rubbed, while somebody else with a 215/45R16 RT615 on a 16x7 ET45 with 2mm spacer did not rub. Goes to show you how tight the wheel fitment is on these!
Bryce
RichV
Member
I was a bit surprised to have the rubbing issue myself, but it has more to do with the overall diameter of the tire than the width. It is such minimal contact that I drove it 15 mi. and barely put a dent in the tires.
I'll try to get some photos later on in the week. Car is a bit dirty right now and having sick toddler twins at home isn't allowing me the time to clean it up
I'll try to get some photos later on in the week. Car is a bit dirty right now and having sick toddler twins at home isn't allowing me the time to clean it up
RichV
Member
Quick shot after a scrub:
RichV
Member
No, traction is not the limiting factor off the line in these cars. The real issue is the torque management in the software
Just a thought here -
I'm sure the engineers at Chevy put a lot of thought into designing the stock wheels. Maybe part of it is cost, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, traction, range.
It's certainly possible in some situations to yield some gains by replacing the wheels/tires.
Say if you had a base Camaro with 16" steel wheels and replaced them with the 18" alloys from an SS, you'd probably see a performance gain. That increase in traction would however be at the expense of weight and rolling resistance, resulting in lower gas mileage. But that's ok because the Camaro is a performance car and you didn't buy it because of the gas mileage.
The Spark EV was designed to be the most efficient commuting car possible. The stock wheels that come with the Spark EV were calculated by an engineer to give the car the best aerodynamic advantage and the lowest rolling resistance in order to yield it's 82-mile EPA range.
By replacing the wheel/tire combo it's certainly possible that you could end up with a lower max range.
Vis-a-vis if Chevy could have replaced the wheel/tire combo and squeezed out even an extra mile of EPA range wouldn't they have done so?
I'm curious to know the real-world impact of aftermarket wheels on the Spark EV.
Fwiw I personally don't think the stock wheels look good, but this is a case of function over form.
I'm sure the engineers at Chevy put a lot of thought into designing the stock wheels. Maybe part of it is cost, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, traction, range.
It's certainly possible in some situations to yield some gains by replacing the wheels/tires.
Say if you had a base Camaro with 16" steel wheels and replaced them with the 18" alloys from an SS, you'd probably see a performance gain. That increase in traction would however be at the expense of weight and rolling resistance, resulting in lower gas mileage. But that's ok because the Camaro is a performance car and you didn't buy it because of the gas mileage.
The Spark EV was designed to be the most efficient commuting car possible. The stock wheels that come with the Spark EV were calculated by an engineer to give the car the best aerodynamic advantage and the lowest rolling resistance in order to yield it's 82-mile EPA range.
By replacing the wheel/tire combo it's certainly possible that you could end up with a lower max range.
Vis-a-vis if Chevy could have replaced the wheel/tire combo and squeezed out even an extra mile of EPA range wouldn't they have done so?
I'm curious to know the real-world impact of aftermarket wheels on the Spark EV.
Fwiw I personally don't think the stock wheels look good, but this is a case of function over form.
Nashco
Well-known member
sv650john said:
Here's the rub: It's a compromise from GM, as with any consumer device. I do this for a living, and understand there's always a balance. If you re-prioritize you get different targets. For example, if durability and cost are not critical constraints, you could end up with composite wheels that are more aerodynamic, lower in weight, etc.
My race wheels are about 10 pounds lighter (PER WHEEL!) than the stock wheels. They cost significantly more and are significantly less durable. Different priorities! As I've said, clearly the original tires were selected for range and perhaps noise at a target price point...a top priority certainly wasn't traction!
Bryce
SparkMoore
Well-known member
RichV,
I was considering the exact same set up. Can you clarify a couple of things?
You mentioned that 5mm spacers did not fix the rubbing on the set up with 205/50/16 tires. Did you leave the spacers on when you changed over to 195/50/16 tires? Or did you remove the spacers?
You chose not to use the same tire set up on front/back, although you could have set up both front and rear with 195/50/16. Why not do that?
Your post goes back to 2014. After a couple of years experience with the wheels/tires, can you speak to how your range was affected? And would you change anything now that you have some experience with this?
I was considering the exact same set up. Can you clarify a couple of things?
You mentioned that 5mm spacers did not fix the rubbing on the set up with 205/50/16 tires. Did you leave the spacers on when you changed over to 195/50/16 tires? Or did you remove the spacers?
You chose not to use the same tire set up on front/back, although you could have set up both front and rear with 195/50/16. Why not do that?
Your post goes back to 2014. After a couple of years experience with the wheels/tires, can you speak to how your range was affected? And would you change anything now that you have some experience with this?
sTeeve
Well-known member
I put 17" x 6.5" Kia Rio wheels on my 2014:
BEEMAN
Member
Forgive me if this has been addressed but I have a question. I understand the back wheels will not fit on the front as the car is. Will spacers allow the wheels to fit? Also, assuming the back wheels will fit... if I had a square setup with 4 of the back stock OEM wheels on the Spark EV what would be the impact? I assume performance would increase as the tires would be wider but I doubt it would take a significant hit. Would it affect the car in any negative way? Worsen the handling? Affect the brakes etc...? Thanks in advance!!
>Correct. The rear wheels make contact with the front caliper and does not spin.BEEMAN said:
>> Maybe... keep in mind thread engagement for the lug nuts.
>>> Wider tires will mean better grip in all aspects, right? Wider tires will increase rolling resistance, slightly, which theoretically will lessen range. Good Luck trying to document that, unless you are going really much wider, which you can't do with stock wheels.
I'll be posting pics of my aftermarket wider wheels and tires soon. I had to buy the correct TPMS sensors which took sometime.
Plus,,, What do we do with Photobucket no longer working???
