Smaller wheels/tires

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sr900400

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2016
Messages
18
I love my Rav4 EV but it's going to be pretty expensive to put tires on it being that they're 17".

How much would changing to 16" tires affect mileage?
 
sr900400 said:
I love my Rav4 EV but it's going to be pretty expensive to put tires on it being that they're 17".

How much would changing to 16" tires affect mileage?

What cheaper 16" tire is going to be rated for the weight of the RAV4 and be so much cheaper that it's worthwhile to buy different wheels?
 
Okay, maybe they've gotten cheaper, the last time I checked was for my wife's old Altima and they were $600+ for all four each time we would need to replace them. We paid about that price just once for 16"rims and tires, from then on it was around $400.

As far as the comment about weight, that's one of the reasons I asked, I don't know the particulars and was looking for help.
 
I always looked at the cost of tires as something you don't want to skimp on. $450-$600 is about standard on a set of quality tires installed. You may be able to find coupons or rebates as well. With tires being the only thing in contact with the road and your vehicle, best to just pay for a decent set.

I look for speed rating, wear rating, and reviews. I have had motorcycles, cars, trucks, and ev's. The one thing I will always spend a little more on are tires and brakes. Not for my own safety but for my wife and kids.

The other issue with downgrading is having to replace the tire air pressure sensors that would get you back up to the cost of just replacing the 17" tires.
 
sr900400 said:
I love my Rav4 EV but it's going to be pretty expensive to put tires on it being that they're 17".

How much would changing to 16" tires affect mileage?


If you put on smaller wheels your RAV4 EV's odometer will add up quicker because the odometer is calibrated to run on size 17". Since the wheel is smaller it goes around quicker than the bigger wheel (Ok its more technical than that but you should understand that I hope). Interestingly if you put on LARGER wheels you will travel more for the amount of spin with the wheel. Your odo will read less than the actual speed you travel so you will travel more miles at least as compared with what your odo says. People will hate this but that is one way to 'stretch' out the millage on your warranty :p. Yes I know hate all you want but its true not saying its morally right, but true.

Oh another effect of smaller wheels is faster 0 to 60 times because they have less mass to be spun so they rev faster. Top speed will be reduced.

BIgger wheels would mean slower 0 to 60 but top speed will be increased. so yes another way to by pass the software cap of 100mph on the system.
 
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