Aftermarket Alloys for Snows

[J. Barron DeJong]

Reducing unsprung mass definitely has an effect on performance because the lower the unsprung mass, the easier it is for the suspension to control that mass (meaning the contact between the road and the tire is more consistent), and the sprung mass isn’t upset as much.

Since wheels rotate, yes energy goes into both getting them up to speed linearly (moving down the road) as well as rotationally.

No idea the exact additional amount that goes into rotation, since it depends on the moment of inertia of the steel wheel vs. the alloy wheel, but the effect is less than if, say, the weight was added to the tread of the tire. It’s not going to be anywhere near 10x the additional energy to get the heavier wheel moving forward though; maybe 1-2x.

FWIW, just put the winter tires mounted on steelies onto the car last weekend. Went from stock all-season 215/50-R18 on factory alloys to 205/65R16 on steelies. Lower pressure in the winter tires as well. No noticeable change in fuel economy from what the car is saying.

[Shorty_J]

^^^ fair enough.

I'm not sure what else would cause the mpg increase in my case... particularly since my summer mileage was the same 2 summers in a row... so I don't think it's the car.

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[El Chupacabra]

Rolling resistance is different between winter tires and all seasons. Likely also different between different winter tire brands.

[XXX-er]

I believe the point of alloy rims on race cars was so the lighter wheel / lighter suspension reacted better and therefore the car handled better because of unsprung weight not to get better fuel milage and in fact I have never heard that theory

I think you would have to prove it by more than just checking milage cuz there are differences in tires, driver, routes taken and a whole bunch of yada but i think its probably more about rolling resistance/ tire size

[lowsparkco]

Tire Rack delivered the Moda MD29's in dark gray mounted to General Tires Altimax Arctic 12's to a local mobile installer. I've got a floor jack, some jack stands, and an impact wrench in storage, but I figured it was worth the 40 bucks to watch him do it as I'd never removed the little lug covers (he had a good trick... there's a little special tweezer tool to pull them inside the jack compartment) and I thought it looked like some kind of special super thin bodied 17 mm socket, turns out it's not, plus they had the torques for the lugs which I could have looked up, but it was nice to have them hand delivered. So, they'll probably come on and off at home from now on. Took it for a short little test spin, the taller tire (17's instead of 18's) definitely soften the ride which is fine. In the stiff suspension mode with the lower profile 18's it's pretty boardy. I think it will be a good compromise for a tire I'll probably only run for 4 months. I did use Singleslines advice and order the little center cap stickers, I figured for $15 it would be interesting to see how they look. I can't say that I would consider it stoke, but I thought I'd post a pic for those who are interested in the alloys....

[54-46]

I have an extra set of staggered OEM BMW 18” alloys off an e92 coupe if anyone around the Bay Area is interested. Would make decent set up for snows. Would let them go cheap.


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[Duffman]

Tire Rack delivered the Moda MD29's in dark gray mounted to General Tires Altimax Arctic 12's to a local mobile installer. I've got a floor jack, some jack stands, and an impact wrench in storage, but I figured it was worth the 40 bucks to watch him do it as I'd never removed the little lug covers (he had a good trick... there's a little special tweezer tool to pull them inside the jack compartment) and I thought it looked like some kind of special super thin bodied 17 mm socket, turns out it's not, plus they had the torques for the lugs which I could have looked up, but it was nice to have them hand delivered. So, they'll probably come on and off at home from now on. Took it for a short little test spin, the taller tire (17's instead of 18's) definitely soften the ride which is fine. In the stiff suspension mode with the lower profile 18's it's pretty boardy. I think it will be a good compromise for a tire I'll probably only run for 4 months. I did use Singleslines advice and order the little center cap stickers, I figured for $15 it would be interesting to see how they look. I can't say that I would consider it stoke, but I thought I'd post a pic for those who are interested in the alloys....

Not bad. Looking for a set of 17 cheap alloys for my A4, those could do the trick.

[bourbonisgood]

Not bad. Looking for a set of 17 cheap alloys for my A4, those could do the trick.

I’m on season number 6 with the Velox wheels costco sells. Still look new. They are on sale now I believe, though not as dirt cheap as they were 6 years ago. I almost like them better than the stock wheels

[lowsparkco]

I thought about Costco and forgot to price them. Good reminder.

[Duffman]

Looks like at least for Audi fitment, Costco only has 18 in wheels. Wanted a 17 but only a +$400 forged wheel is available in that size

[lowsparkco]

Looks like at least for Audi fitment, Costco only has 18 in wheels. Wanted a 17 but only a +$400 forged wheel is available in that size

I think you’re wise to hold out for the 17’s.

I knew I wanted to go an inch smaller, but I was still a bit surprised when I pulled the stock 18’s. They look wider and lower profile off the car. The 17’s still look wide off the car.

I went full bore down the rabbit hole on this one, hence the thread, but I’m more pleased every trip on this setup.

[gaijin]

These aluminums were on the cheaper end, so I’ll keep you posted. Entering winter 3 but I love them. And Blizzaks shred.

Aluminum aftermarket wheels for snows are the norm in Japan. Every once in a while I see a purist with his black steels, though.

[bourbonisgood]

I think you’re wise to hold out for the 17’s.

I knew I wanted to go an inch smaller, but I was still a bit surprised when I pulled the stock 18’s. They look wider and lower profile off the car. The 17’s still look wide off the car.

I went full bore down the rabbit hole on this one, hence the thread, but I’m more pleased every trip on this setup.

I’m sure 17’s are a good call for a lot of reasons. I stuck with 18’s in the stock tire size with Nokian Hakka R3s. The AWD system in these cars are so damn good, I’ve never thought twice about going to 17s or studs for that matter. You have to work hard to lose traction even when it’s really icy

[old goat]

Random cheap alloys from Tire Rack or Discount Tire/Discount Tire Direct should be fine for the most part. Sport Edition, vision, velox, or other brands like that.

.

I've had America's (Discount) Tire cheap alloy rims on 2 different cars, 4 years on each, driving around Truckee. Haven't managed to dent one yet. And I'm famous for driviing over curbs, through potholes, over road debris. Knock on wood. I'm sure the Michelin X Ice's would prefer to be on something fancier, but it's just a Subaru, so why?

[k2skier112]

I’m on season number 6 with the Velox wheels costco sells. Still look new. They are on sale now I believe, though not as dirt cheap as they were 6 years ago. I almost like them better than the stock wheels

My son put them on his Forester. Awesome rim

Winter tires, good high traction ones,, will have 5-10% worse gas mileage than all season or summer tires. What about a rack or box? Hudge mileage difference in anything on the roof

[Duffman]

I think you’re wise to hold out for the 17’s.

I knew I wanted to go an inch smaller, but I was still a bit surprised when I pulled the stock 18’s. They look wider and lower profile off the car. The 17’s still look wide off the car.

I went full bore down the rabbit hole on this one, hence the thread, but I’m more pleased every trip on this setup.

I had the Conti DWS06 in the OEM 245/40r18 size in my stock rims the past 2 seasons. Worked incredibly well for a A/S, better than some performance winters I had in the past on my dearly departed Subie Legacy GT. But with wear they are toast for winter while still fine for summer, so if I need a new 4 winter capable tires anyway seems to make more sense to go 17 w cheap wheels . Not sure how going down to a 225 from the current 245 will affect dry / wet handling which is most of my driving though.

[lowsparkco]

I had the Conti DWS06 in the OEM 245/40r18 size in my stock rims the past 2 seasons. Worked incredibly well for a A/S, better than some performance winters I had in the past on my dearly departed Subie Legacy GT. But with wear they are toast for winter while still fine for summer, so if I need a new 4 winter capable tires anyway seems to make more sense to go 17 w cheap wheels . Not sure how going down to a 225 from the current 245 will affect dry / wet handling which is most of my driving though.

That's a tough call. I feel like it was similar to my situation on our other car, a Subaru Forester. Bend is dry for a lot of the winter, but it gets a lot of freeze thaw and when that freeze covers the roadways in the mornings it turns the place into an ice skating rink. My wife is a therapist in home health so she has no choice but to go out in all but the most severe weather. I decided to stud the Forester on an alternative set of steel wheels. I think it makes sense to prepare for the worst situation and throttle down and deal with it the rest of the time.

That being said, we were waiting on the snows from Tire Rack and came over the pass in a pretty big fall storm. It turned into an absolute debacle after we got over, but the allroad with the stock Conti's had no issues. I was a bit tense as I didn't want to push it on an all season tire, but it really performed better than I could have expected. The only kryptonite for this car is tall snow under the center of the vehicle which wants to pick it up. Is to be expected, and wouldn't be much of an issue somewhere like Colorado where they plow religiously, Oregon DOT is a little slow to respond and seems under funded. Not surprising, Oregonians like adventure.

[Duffman]

That's a tough call. I feel like it was similar to my situation on our other car, a Subaru Forester. Bend is dry for a lot of the winter, but it gets a lot of freeze thaw and when that freeze covers the roadways in the mornings it turns the place into an ice skating rink. My wife is a therapist in home health so she has no choice but to go out in all but the most severe weather. I decided to stud the Forester on an alternative set of steel wheels. I think it makes sense to prepare for the worst situation and throttle down and deal with it the rest of the time.

That being said, we were waiting on the snows from Tire Rack and came over the pass in a pretty big fall storm. It turned into an absolute debacle after we got over, but the allroad with the stock Conti's had no issues. I was a bit tense as I didn't want to push it on an all season tire, but it really performed better than I could have expected. The only kryptonite for this car is tall snow under the center of the vehicle which wants to pick it up. Is to be expected, and wouldn't be much of an issue somewhere like Colorado where they plow religiously, Oregon DOT is a little slow to respond and seems under funded. Not surprising, Oregonians like adventure.

Ha. I would imagine the Oregon heavy wet snowfall can accumulate and stay that way for a while unplowed. Everything gets plowed pretty quickly around here, and surprisingly when I got caught driving Rt 4 from NY to VT way way too late in a dump, the snow was light enough that my A4 w sport suspension which is way lower than the Allroad, managed to push through it pretty well, even w the 245 tires. The DWS is very impressive for an all season especially in fresh snow, but packed down slushy or refrozen snow is where it shows that its not a real winter tire

[lowsparkco]

When I was on the fence about the All Weathers I kept thinking, what happens when they have enough tread for summer but not winter?

I’m actually kinda excited to drive the Forester with 16’s and studs next time it get real nasty. Not looking forward to the road noise on dry pavement.