While I love the fact that our SEs came with high performance summer tires, the seasons are changing here and I need something a little more appropriate for the weather. Today I installed Neuspeed RSe05 wheels (17"x7.5" ET40) with 225/45ZR17 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 tires. These wheels are available in black and gun metal. I chose gun metal to help tie in the Vigorous Grey grille and boot lid handle.
Oh those look nice. Since I doubt I'll be able to get electric revolite wheels in time for winter I may have to go with something else, and I'll give these some thought. I want a simple spoke design like that to avoid snow pack in the wheels. Wow, they're only 16.5 lbs, that's about the same weight as the Power Spoke.
@idrw They are nearly flush at the very top of the wheel arch, and poke out a bit fore and aft. Ride is a bit more communicative than stock but not harsh. I aired the tires up to 39psi in anticipation of much cooler weather, so that is likely contributing. Road noise seems to be on par with or slightly quieter than the stock Hankooks. I should get more miles on them before I form any strong opinions.
Excellent! Sometimes Michelins can be fatter than what the numbers suggest. I am glad it worked out to be just right for the SE.. Now what you need is the JCW big brake kit (or this) to go with the wheels...
Mmmm, that poke is perfect. It's amazing how half an inch makes all the difference to my eye. (That's what she said! ) I'm getting the spacers.
Yeah, these wheels were designed specifically to accommodate the larger JCW brakes. But I can't say I was really thinking about a big brake kit for this car. Doesn't seem like an EV-appropriate upgrade to me? LOL! This is maximum acceptable poke for me. (That's not what she said!) It will likely increase wind resistance at highway speeds, but that's not a big enough concern for me. It's certainly too much poke for anyone wanting to lower their SE (I don't plan to), but that could be somewhat mitigated by the next-smaller size tires. Pro tip: The North American Motoring site has a Tire Rim Calculator you can use to evaluate fitment changes between 2 sets of wheels and tires.
Dang, those look really nice. I am curious about the efficiency impact at speed, I'd imagine it would be a few % max but who knows.
Well I decided to buy these wheels so I should soon be able to find out if they impact efficiency! I kept the stock 205/45r17 tires so they're a bit more stretched than on the 17x7 cosmos rims, but it looks fine.
