Installed 18x8.5 Enkei TS-V and alloy lug nuts, and shaved 6.7 lbs per wheel

[dtbaker61]

I'm thrilled with results.... new wheels are an inch wider, 6.5# lighter, and the alloy nuts take off about 10oz more per wheel!

I finally got all the bits in house, and had a local tire shop slide the stock tires from my Select onto my new wheels. I figure I will run the OEM tires until worn out, and then go for nicer, wider, sticker summer tires. I'll put some nice Snow/Ice tires on the factory wheels for winter when it snows since I do hit the mountains for skiing, etc...

My goals in wheel selection were to stay at stock diameter, reduce weight as much as possible while sticking with a 700kg rated wheel, and hold the cost down as much as possible.... which means one-piece alloy, probably with pretty much straight 'spokes'. I found choices somewhat limited with correct bolt circle and offset; but decided on:

18x8.5 Enkei TS-V, part number 522-885-3140 - 19.5#, 5x108bc, 40mm inset, 72.6 bore
I got mine from pattersonperformanceparts.com
set of 4 delivered for $1000 even

note that OEM Select wheels are:
18x7.5 - 25.6#, 5x108bc, 63.4 bore

This means I also had to get
+ $14 for 72.6-63.4 centric rings :
.amazon.com/ZHTEAPR-Wheel-Centric-72-6mm-63-4mm/dp/B08L8VVDDW/ref=asc_df_B08L8VVDDW/?

+ $164 for valves+TPS+'activator' : .americanmuscle.com/search?keywords=389789

+ $55 for 14x1.5 lug nuts because factory nuts have a chrome cap that doesn't fit in Enkei holes : vmsracing.com . I got Alloy, which are almost 2 oz lighter than stock per nut! but.... you do have to be careful with them, use anti-seize, and hand-torque rather than impact wrench

 

[cjk422]

Very nice! The Infinite Blue color was made for black wheels. What did this entire setup cost you? I want to go the black wheels route. I might go with the piano black HyperDip from dipyourcar.com and see how that works out.

 

[dtbaker61]

Very nice! The Infinite Blue color was made for black wheels. What did this entire setup cost you? I want to go the black wheels route. I might go with the piano black HyperDip from dipyourcar.com and see how that works out.

$1000 for wheels, delivered

 

[Mathington]

Do you think that this will help your efficiency over the OEM select wheels? I know it’s only July but I’ve been considering getting some lightweight aero wheels for winter to maximize the range of my SR AWD.

I know that the Fastwheels EV01+ are pretty good for Tesla and other EVs.

 

[Nklem]

I see you went with the OEM tires. Any issues mounting them on 8.5” wide wheels? Will you track your mi/kWh for a few weeks and see how it compared to the OEM wheels (If you have any previous data). I do not foresee any issues. I do see the wheel edge is pretty prominent over the tire, be careful of curbs until you get wider tires with rim edge protection. My town is all granite curbing. Murder on wheels. Hopefully the auto parking avoids them. They do look great!

 

[dtbaker61]

Do you think that this will help your efficiency over the OEM select wheels? I know it’s only July but I’ve been considering getting some lightweight aero wheels for winter to maximize the range of my SR AWD.

I know that the Fastwheels EV01+ are pretty good for Tesla and other EVs.

no, the Enkie TS-V are not 'aero' wheels; they are open spoke design with weight loss for performance (and looks) being the primary goal. Most of my daily driving is 'around town' at less than highway speeds, so efficiency was not my goal.

 

[dtbaker61]

I see you went with the OEM tires.

I just couldn't justify ditching tires with less than 3000 miles on them.... I'll run the OEM tires until they wear out, and then put something +1 on front, +2 on back.

Any issues mounting them on 8.5” wide wheels?

no problems.... sidewall is slightly flatter, which may stiffen handling with the same profile a little as a bonus, but there is still a little 'bulge' in the sidewall.

Will you track your mi/kWh for a few weeks and see how it compared to the OEM wheels (If you have any previous data).

I don't expect to see much if any change in kWhr/mi since the tires are the same. I do hope there is a measurable difference in accelleration, which I will measure against some base numbers I took a couple weeks ago using ODB and the CarScanner app. There is a fair amount of variability depending on 'launch' technique, but my 4-run (two in each direction on a flat road) 0-60 times were 5.80 +/- .03 ... I have the Select AWD-SR

I do not foresee any issues. I do see the wheel edge is pretty prominent over the tire, be careful of curbs until you get wider tires with rim edge protection. My town is all granite curbing. Murder on wheels. Hopefully the auto parking avoids them. They do look great!

There is a 'little' tire past the rim, but not much! These particular wheels have a little bit of a rim sticking out past the spokes... If I get some curb rash I may sand the paint off the entire rim edge and clear coat for a bright silver 'bead'. I've never used auto-park, and don't plan to. We have odd height curbs in Santa Fe, and many people line their driveways with big rocks or low stucco walls that tend to be uneven and make parking in the dark pretty exciting.

 

[mkhuffman]

Do you think that this will help your efficiency over the OEM select wheels? I know it’s only July but I’ve been considering getting some lightweight aero wheels for winter to maximize the range of my SR AWD.

I know that the Fastwheels EV01+ are pretty good for Tesla and other EVs.

no, the Enkie TS-V are not 'aero' wheels; they are open spoke design with weight loss for performance (and looks) being the primary goal. Most of my daily driving is 'around town' at less than highway speeds, so efficiency was not my goal.

The two biggest impacts on efficiency are rolling resistance and aerodynamics. Wheel weight does matter, of course, but I have not seen a study that compares the impact of weight vs. rolling resistance and aerodynamics.

Since the OP didn't change the tires, the rolling resistance should be the same. But as he said, aerodynamics will be worse with the aftermarket wheels. From the data I have seen, aero starts to have a measurable impact on efficiency after 25 or 30 mph. The faster you go, the bigger the impact. As a guess (and only a guess), I guess the range impact for this modification is probably around 5% (or less) at highway speeds, since rolling resistance is the same.

Once the OP puts stickier tires on, it could be 10% or more. Tire rolling resistance varies greatly depending on the tire material. Personally I plan to change my tires to wider rubber, but I plan to try a low rolling resistance tire when I do that. Typically low rolling resistance tires don't do as well in the snow and have poor tread life, but I think I can live with that.

I also guess efficiency will be better below 25 mph, because of the reduced wheel weight. But that will be hard to measure and most people frequency exceed 25 mph. There is probably a break even point somewhere above 25 mph where areo dominates and weight is irrelevant. Weight is basically irrelevant at a constant speed anyway.

 

[dtbaker61]

The two biggest impacts on efficiency are rolling resistance and aerodynamics. Wheel weight does matter, of course, but I have not seen a study that compares the impact of weight vs. rolling resistance and aerodynamics.

... Weight is basically irrelevant at a constant speed anyway.

exactly.

The reduction of 'unsprung weight' in wheels, tires, and suspension will not change efficiency measurably.... but it does improve suspension recovery on bumps a little.

The primary effect of lighter wheels is reduction in angular inertia when accellerating. depending on exactly where the weight loss is in a wheel/tire system (further from the hub makes more of a difference), acceleration/braking can be improved significantly as less power is used to overcome interia and more is available for better acceleration/deceleration.

 

[tacobellcow]

Very nice! The Infinite Blue color was made for black wheels. What did this entire setup cost you? I want to go the black wheels route. I might go with the piano black HyperDip from dipyourcar.com

I'm thrilled with results.... new wheels are an inch wider, 6.5# lighter, and the alloy nuts take off about 10oz more per wheel!

I finally got all the bits in house, and had a local tire shop slide the stock tires from my Select onto my new wheels. I figure I will run the OEM tires until worn out, and then go for nicer, wider, sticker summer tires. I'll put some nice Snow/Ice tires on the factory wheels for winter when it snows since I do hit the mountains for skiing, etc...

My goals in wheel selection were to stay at stock diameter, reduce weight as much as possible while sticking with a 700kg rated wheel, and hold the cost down as much as possible.... which means one-piece alloy, probably with pretty much straight 'spokes'. I found choices somewhat limited with correct bolt circle and offset; but decided on:

msrp $250ea -
18x8.5 Enkei TS-V, part number 522-885-3140 - 19.5#, 5x108bc, 40mm inset, 72.6 bore
I got mine from pattersonperformanceparts.com

note that OEM Select wheels are:
18x7.5 - 25.6#, 5x108bc, 63.4 bore

This means I also had to get
$14 + 72.6-63.4 centric rings :
.amazon.com/ZHTEAPR-Wheel-Centric-72-6mm-63-4mm/dp/B08L8VVDDW/ref=asc_df_B08L8VVDDW/?

$164 + valves+TPS+'activator' : .americanmuscle.com/search?keywords=389789

$55 + 14x1.5 lug nuts because factory nuts have a chrome cap that doesn't fit in Enkei holes : vmsracing.com

and see how that works out.

Were you able to sell the old rims? I'm considering buying new ones and these might be perfect but I don't want to toss out brand new rims from the manufacturer.

 

[my2ndstang]

Those rims look great!

 

[Blinkin]

exactly.

The reduction of 'unsprung weight' in wheels, tires, and suspension will not change efficiency measurably.... but it does improve suspension recovery on bumps a little.

The primary effect of lighter wheels is reduction in angular inertia when accellerating. depending on exactly where the weight loss is in a wheel/tire system (further from the hub makes more of a difference), acceleration/braking can be improved significantly as less power is used to overcome interia and more is available for better acceleration/deceleration.

Did your lighter wheels noticeably change the driving feel?

 

[dtbaker61]

Were you able to sell the old rims? I'm considering buying new ones and these might be perfect but I don't want to toss out brand new rims from the manufacturer.

I never intended to sell them, I will put Snow tires on the factory wheels and switch back and forth as needed during the winters.

 

[dtbaker61]

Did your lighter wheels noticeably change the driving feel?

not really, but I have not re-run my 0-60 accelleration times, nor did I ever to any before/after auto-X slalom runs or known track lap times to quantify. I'll do another set of 0-60 runs when I have time...

 

[jeffdawgfan]

Now if you had only gotten the chrome version of those wheels.....(Yes, I am president of the "I hate black wheels club"). LOL

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