15 inch rims, anyone tried them? they fit, with pics

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minispeed

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 6, 2014
Messages
681
Location
Ancaster, ON
I searched and found some talk about it but no one who's tried them. I'm thinking of getting rota slipstreams or attack in 15in. If anyone has used any 15in set up let me know the specs.

I see tire rack has some listed but not as many 15s as other cars with 5x114.3

edit:

SSR Compe (type C) 15inx7 9.9lbs each



It's a tight fit.

 
Why would you want to? Among other things, it is going to mess up the speedometer and odometer calibration unless you go to higher profile tires...
 
nader discussing looking into it here:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=3184&start=90#p134127" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

VorlonZ said that he was running 15" wheels, but later in the thread people said that
they believe the wheels are actually 16":
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=134768#p134666" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I had a heck of a time finding another set of 16" wheels that clear the Leaf's front caliper. The Leaf is a fairly heavy car, and those front brakes are pretty beefy.
 
TomT said:
Why would you want to? Among other things, it is going to mess up the speedometer and odometer calibration unless you go to higher profile tires...

Because it's my car and I want to.

I like light weight wheels, they are more effecient, cheaper and a higher profile tire in the winter which I'll run on those 15s isn't a bad thing. 195 65 15 is pretty close to stock. It's also the prius tire size which is the wife's car so if I sell one I can keep the best tires for the one I keep. I do a 90 mile round trip commute, I have a 120v plug at work but it's not mine and it's not dedicated to charging for my car so I can't always get a whole charge. If this winter is anything like last winter I'll be using the heat a lot. I would like to maximize my winter effeciency as much as possible. I do have a 480v quick charge near my work, it's the oposite way from home, but I really don't want to spend the whole winter having to make a stop off just to get home.

It won't mess up the speedometer or odometer. Most cars send their speedos out of the factory showing a higher speed than you are actually going and then an odometer that calculates an estimate based on the original signal not the speed displayed on the speedo. If you go with a slightly taller tire the speedo becomes more accurate and the ODO less accuratel. That means you put slightly less millage on the car than you drive and have a better idea of your actual road speed.

That's not such a bad thing. Now I just got the leaf and haven't done a test yet but that's been the result of every other car I've tested and most cars others have talked about in other forums.


garsh said:
nader discussing looking into it here:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=3184&start=90#p134127" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

VorlonZ said that he was running 15" wheels, but later in the thread people said that
they believe the wheels are actually 16":
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=134768#p134666" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I had a heck of a time finding another set of 16" wheels that clear the Leaf's front caliper. The Leaf is a fairly heavy car, and those front brakes are pretty beefy.


Yes those are the best 2 I found when I searched. For the second one they can't be RP01 since they don't come in 5x114.3 in 15inch as far as I can find. If they did then that would be a leading contender for my wheel choice.

Nader actually referenced the wheels I now want to buy but from the sounds of it he never tried them.
 
I actually made a jig out of cardboard that mimics the cross section of the front caliper. When shopping for wheels, I insert it into the hub hole & make sure the "caliper" part doesn't hit the spokes (or in your case, the rim). Might be worth creating one yourself.
 
garsh said:
I actually made a jig out of cardboard that mimics the cross section of the front caliper. When shopping for wheels, I insert it into the hub whole & make sure the "caliper" part doesn't hit the spokes ( or in your case, the rim). Might be worth creating one yourself.


All the deals are online though. Most places don't stock many 15in rims.

I'm not worried about the spokes, that can be usually be solved with spacers if needed.
 
I took the plunge and bought a set of 15x7 ssr comps (type c). 10.4lbs. I was going to go for Volk te 37 but they were just too much money.

Some searching found that ssr comps fit on Miata with the sport brakes, factory 16s, that can't use the 15s that most other Miata run. Those rotors are about the same size as the leaf. Tire rack doesn't recommend any 15s on that car but they do on the leaf.
 
SSR Compe (type C) 15inx7 9.9lbs each



It's a tight fit.




For my summers I found a very rare set of kei office dd06, I didn't know the weight when I bought them but they are 2 piece welded made by rays engineering. Turns out they are 19.5 lbs, it's an ok weight, based on the construction I think the outer rim will be made of a lighter material and be better for economy than the 19.5lbs would suggest.

I'm in the middle of reconditioning them in bronze, here it is, after sanding curb rash.





After primer.

 
Those Ssr look clean and you should gain some efficiency with a lighter rim. I gained a little going to the ce28n which are still 16in as I am just running stock tires. On this set up I am averaging 4.2-4.5 m/kw while still driving a decent 65mph.
Compared to when I had some 17x7 Work Equips, the efficiency was bad even with LRR tires I would only get 3.1-3.3.
Ley me know how those rims end up looking. I wouldn't mind running old school Jdm wheels but I think the car would sit low.
 
minispeed said:
SSR Compe (type C) 15inx7 9.9lbs each
Wow! That's about 9 lbs saved per corner.
It's a tight fit.
Hmmm. I guess there shouldn't be a whole lot of deflection. I would be curious if you see any evidence of rubbing after running with them for a while.

The 16" Altima wheels that I use for my snow tires have spokes that are within a couple mm's of the caliper, and I've never had a problem with them.
Altima wheels with Blizzak tires
IMG_20120723_172308.jpg
 
I had a Subaru that had both 15" and 16" fitments. The 15" was so close a small build up of dirt on the caliper would bridge the gap!

But the Subaru wqas homologated with a 15" rim. I tend to fit smaller rims to my cars when I buy them, both for ride comfort and that replacement tyres are usually cheaper in the higher profile sizes. However, I would only do that within the homologated sizes. Uk insurance companies get funny if you swap your rims from standard, but I figure if you stick with one of the standard rim sizes then there is no argument that it is homologated for that size.

What is the situation in the US? Could you be prosecuted, or your insurance invalid, if you use a wheel hub size that the vehicle is not specified with, or is there a 15" rim option for the Leaf already?
 
eglee413 said:
Those Ssr look clean and you should gain some efficiency with a lighter rim. I gained a little going to the ce28n which are still 16in as I am just running stock tires. On this set up I am averaging 4.2-4.5 m/kw while still driving a decent 65mph.
Compared to when I had some 17x7 Work Equips, the efficiency was bad even with LRR tires I would only get 3.1-3.3.
Ley me know how those rims end up looking. I wouldn't mind running old school Jdm wheels but I think the car would sit low.


Those volks are really nice! I had my eyes on some te37s from nengun but they sold in the day I was waiting to transfer money to my paypal account. I'm really happy with the look of the ssr though, and they are lighter. (te37 in 15x6.5 would be lighter but in 15x7 is more)

That color is pretty much the same that I'm doing on the kei office volks.

For both tires I'm going with a 25.5 diameter to fill it out more and have less rolling resistance. 205 65 15 and 215 50 17.
 
donald said:
I had a Subaru that had both 15" and 16" fitments. The 15" was so close a small build up of dirt on the caliper would bridge the gap!

But the Subaru wqas homologated with a 15" rim. I tend to fit smaller rims to my cars when I buy them, both for ride comfort and that replacement tyres are usually cheaper in the higher profile sizes. However, I would only do that within the homologated sizes. Uk insurance companies get funny if you swap your rims from standard, but I figure if you stick with one of the standard rim sizes then there is no argument that it is homologated for that size.

What is the situation in the US? Could you be prosecuted, or your insurance invalid, if you use a wheel hub size that the vehicle is not specified with, or is there a 15" rim option for the Leaf already?

In Canada there are 0 inspections unless you transfer owners. Insurance will ask if your vehicle is modified but I've never heard of anyone having an issue if they modify it after they buy the car. If there are clearly stupid modifications the police can force you to get it checked but I've never heard of anyone having to, and I see plenty of stupid mods on cars.

Here all the regulations fall on when the car is first made / imported. There are a whole bunch of UK cars that could never be licensed here, Ariel atom and pretty much the whole UK track day industry but if you bought a lotus Elise no one would stop you if you wanted to then turn it into something like that.
 
TomT said:
Why would you want to? Among other things, it is going to mess up the speedometer and odometer calibration unless you go to higher profile tires...

whats' wrong with higher profile tires? They generally improve range/efficiency/mpg.

Prius or Leaf I always get choose tires base on efficiency and then look for the best traction/handling near the top of the efficiency grouping. Often that means choosing a 15" tire over a 16" or 17" tire.

If 15" rims fit the Leaf it lets you use the P195/65R15 Energy Saver A/S and other preferable tires around that size.

If 15" rims don't fit then you have to pick from a smaller selection of 16" tires. Not the end of the world but there are tires made for one rim size that aren't made for the other even though they have the same RPM/diameter.
 
garsh said:
minispeed said:
SSR Compe (type C) 15inx7 9.9lbs each
Wow! That's about 9 lbs saved per corner.
It's a tight fit.
Hmmm. I guess there shouldn't be a whole lot of deflection. I would be curious if you see any evidence of rubbing after running with them for a while.

The 16" Altima wheels that I use for my snow tires have spokes that are within a couple mm's of the caliper, and I've never had a problem with them.
Altima wheels with Blizzak tires
IMG_20120723_172308.jpg

None of the Miata or civic forums that mentioned 15in rims with big brakes mentioned deflection as an issue, and they drive much harder than my leaf will. Some of them mentioned grinding calipers for a few mm so I don't think they will deflect at all.
 
And they decrease handling and braking performance, everything else being equal... They may also have a lower load rating... Not to mention that, to me, they simply look funny, like a pregnant roller skate... If all I cared about was efficiency and nothing else, I would have stuck with the crappy Ecopias...

I'm not willing to compromise to that extent just for a touch of extra range... YMMV.

dhanson865 said:
whats' wrong with higher profile tires? They generally improve range/efficiency/mpg.
 
TomT said:
And they decrease handling and braking performance, everything else being equal... They may also have a lower load rating... Not to mention that, to me, they simply look funny, like a pregnant roller skate... If all I cared about was efficiency and nothing else, I would have stuck with the crappy Ecopias...

I'm not willing to compromise to that extent just for a touch of extra range... YMMV.

dhanson865 said:
whats' wrong with higher profile tires? They generally improve range/efficiency/mpg.

Not all of that is true to all tires.

Handling, since most people would buy 15s on a leaf for economy then most 15in tires they would chose would probably not handle as well as what you would choose for your car with 17s with your priorities as stated. If you want to improve the handling of a tall sidewall you can put a few more psi in. If you get the same tire in 15 and 17 and push it on a skid pad maybe the tall profile will brake away at .x1 G's but the 17 will give you .x7, it won't help you on the street.

Braking performance, again take the same tire in both 15 and 17 with a lighter weight 15 set up with most of the weight close to the hub and the same width the 15 will require less work from the brakes to come to a stop. Even with 195 vs 205 if that 1cm saves you from an accident then the lower performance tire would just have a scratch. If the streets bumpy the lighter 15 will be less likely to loose traction.

Most tires I've seen in the same tread width go up in load rating as the profile goes up. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Ecopia+EP422 stock for the leaf in 16. 195 65 15 has the same load as 205 55 16 and 215 50 17 and more than 215 45 17 if you chose that for a low profile look.

Now there's nothing wrong with you having your opinion on how they look, but to me a good quality 15 makes the car look smart. Like it is built with a purpose to really perform and the owner knows what works best and isn't just following the crowd. I put 17s on a 93 miata 1.6l when I was a stupid kid. First winter back on 14s and the car transformed. Turn in wasn't as crisp but a good driver will adapt. You can't compensate for heavy. My 15s will give me benefits with every rotation they make in all conditions, and if i really wanted some fun I could just put these on....http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...6HR5048M&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes
 
minispeed said:
Not all of that is true to all tires.
Well said. I'd love to find some reasonably light ( < 16 lbs ) 15" wheels that are also reasonably aerodynamic - and reasonably priced.

Hmm - looks like TireRack lists a bunch of 15" wheels that fit.

These look like a good choice: Sport Edition CS1 - 15.2 lbs. Not the most aerodynamic, though. But smaller wheel diameter with larger sidewalls should be an improvement over stock.
 
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