canuck17 Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 Hi everyone, I'm looking for new 16 or 17 inch wheels for my 2010 Journey SE. I'm looking specifically for light-weight wheels as my main concern is fuel efficiency. I will also be picking up a set of Michelin Latitude Tour tires. I'm having a hell of a time finding ANY wheels for this car so any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 wouldn"t the cost of all new rims offset what very little gain you would get in MPG, i would think anything you might gain would be so small to be notice. but that would be my opinon, and of course you know what they say about...LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Agreed wheels wont make or break fuel mileage. It all has to do with your right foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webslave Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Admittedly, unsprung weight is a detriment to fuel mileage, but... I have to agree with the two posts above. If you already have the styled magnesium/aluminum alloy wheels on your DJ, you will have to spend big $$$$$ on a lighter wheel. There are materials that are lighter (carbon fibre, nano tubes, certain ceramics), but, their cost is prohibitive to automotive wheels. The best design would be a carbon fibre disk; you've seen them on racing bicycles and university "ultra high mileage" experimental vehicles. The cost is astronomical and then with a solid disk you introduce brake overheating in everyday use and handling issues due to the plate design. Couple the solid disk wheel with an "ultra low resistance" tire and you'd be in business. Of course, the tire would be very thin, only one center sipe and would not corner well or handle rain and the ride would be abysmal. You'll also notice that race cars, where mileage and handling are paramount, still use "mag" wheels - there just isn't anything better that is within reasonable cost versus return parameters for strength, brake cooling, air flow, cost and ease of manufacture. The current technology has gone about as far as is possible until costs for some of the exotic materials come down to the point where the economics of owning them would be balanced by any increase in mileage. The current "exotics" would probably result in mileage improvements measured in thousandths of mile...you'd never recoup your investment in several lifetimes. That's why you'll only see those "improved" wheels and tires on vehicles where cost is not an issue and their use is only for certain road and weather conditions just to earn a title or award for acheivement... Lightening your wheels with another "mag" wheel that is, maybe, 6 ounces lighter, would not show any measurable mileage improvement over what is currently mounted to your DJ. A DOT approved (or whatever passes for the DOT up north) tire that is rated for lower rolling resistance would be your best bet and even that, IMHO, is more an advertising gimmick as opposed to something that you could actually measure at the pump. The DJ is already designed to produce the best "mass produced" mpg available within those cost vs. results restraints...remember, the impetus now is for the industry to meet fleet "high mileage" targets; anything the industry can do to increase the mileage of their cars allows them to produce the much more in demand SUVs and trucks, typically low mileage vehicles. The DJ, itself, is a heavy vehicle and nothing you do to unsprung weight will make it a "high mileage" vehicle given the platform that rides on that unsprung weight. If a lighter wheel would make any impact on the mileage, and the cost wasn't prohibitive, it would have come from the factory with it mounted. jkeaton and rolly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck17 Posted April 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 Thanks guys you've been really helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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