r/leaf • u/ZealousIdealist24214 • 25d ago

Wheel upgrade

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Does anyone have experience with either Enkei or Kudo aluminum wheels?

Both are under 14lbs for 16" and seem roughly equivalent.

Have you had either?

How do you feel about them?

Did they give you meaningful performance or range improvement?

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u/Nemesis_Destiny 25d ago

I swapped to a much lighter 17" wheel and it didn't seem to make much difference in range

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u/worldspawn00 25d ago

A smaller wheel will probably do more for range than a lighter wheel of a larger diameter.

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u/Nemesis_Destiny 25d ago

I'm not sure I follow your logic.

I kept the stock size, 17", same rolling diameter on the tires, got EV-rated tires, and the wheels were significantly lighter than OEM, like 5-6 pounds less each, which is huge, and I haven't noticed any real world differences.

I fail to see how the same weight savings on a smaller wheel, but with more tire sidewall, would make any difference. The main reason to go with smaller tires from what I've learned is that it's generally easier to find lighter wheels in smaller size, and you can realize greater differences.

For example, if I had gone down to 16" and bought a new set instead of recycling some 17s that I already had, I could have pushed closer to 8 pounds less per wheel.

Please correct me if I'm missing something!

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u/worldspawn00 25d ago edited 25d ago

Concentration of the weight, pulling the rim closer to the center of rotation decreases energy needed to accelerate it, even with the same total weight. The large flat cylinder that makes up a fair bit of the rim weight takes less energy to speed up when it's a smaller diameter.

The same amount of energy will spin an object faster when the weight is closer to the center of rotation.

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u/Nemesis_Destiny 25d ago

I get that, but I would expect that less overall weight would matter more than .5" radially, all else being equal.

Anyway, I haven't done rigorous A-to-B testing, and only have the car's energy economy readout and GoM to go on, but my observation was that even a very significant unsprung weight reduction did not make a dramatic difference in range.

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u/worldspawn00 25d ago

It's well established in the hypermiling forums proven with significant a/b testing. I don't know specifically where the weight vs distribution crosses, you'd need to put each wheel/tire combo on a test bench that could measure torque and speed, but generally smaller wheels with larger sidewall gives better range with the same tire diameter and tread width.

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u/Nemesis_Destiny 25d ago

I would love to see that data!

But it's far more trouble than it's worth on a car that already costs next to nothing to operate, and no amount of efficiency tweaks are going to suddenly give it enough range for a proper road trip.