lemketron
Well-known member
Hi Tony,TonyWilliams said:ELROY said:That setup is probably quite a bit heavier than stock....any noticeable effect on economy? How does tire noise compare to stock?
Also does anyone know how much heavier the Juke wheel is than stock? I might be able to get a fairly cheap set next week.
I had a very similar setup on my black LEAF; the only difference is 215 tires, instead of 225.
When the tires were new, the hit to economy is noticeable, however after 500 miles, the hit to economy is only a few percent.
Do you remember what load rating you had on your 215s? America's Tire told me the Michelin Primacy MXM4s in a 215/45R17 are 87V and the LEAF spec (probably due to added weight of the battery) is 89H. So I'm looking at 225/45R17 90H MXM4s instead (which are $181 each - yow!).
I should have been watching for a set of Juke rims as I certainly don't want to pay $400+ each for a set of new ones from Nissan. I asked about the 17" LEAF rims and they're over $450 each. So I'm planning to go with MB Icon rims from America's Tire, at $106 each (plus $50 for "install kit" and hub rings). Still, that's all four rims for about the price of one rim from Nissan.
The MB Icon rims are 20 pounds which I think is about a pound lighter than the LEAF or Juke rims, but the tires are 23 pounds which are a little heavier than the 20 pound Ecopias so it looks like the new wheels will net about two pounds heavier. The 215 MXM4s are lighter but the 87V load rating seems to be a problem...
If the MXM4s can do 50K miles, that's twice what I got out of the stock Ecopias, so the first set should pay for themselves including the rims, and the second set will be almost half the cost (per mile) compared to the Ecopias since I'll already own the rims. Total initial cost of upgrading to the 17" rims and 225 MXM4s is about $1400 (plus tax).
I'm looking forward to better handling, and hoping for low noise and not to rough of a ride (for my family)... I'm anticipating a range hit for the first 500 miles or so, but hope it will be minimal after that.
Any other comments or feedback on the 225/45R17 90H Michelin Primacy MXM4s would be greatly appreciated, but I'm not sure if anyone else has tried those.