I hope this is a reasonable thread for posting these questions.
Has anyone seen an engineering/physics evaluation of Nissan’s reasons for choosing a 16” wheel, 50 sidewall aspect ratio tire combination? Does this choice improve handling and/or mileage significantly, or is it primarily a styling choice?
From what I’ve read in this thread, it would make sense, assuming I could find a set of 15” wheels with the same bolting pattern, that a higher aspect ratio tire on a 15” rim should deliver better miles/kWh, and that, aesthetics be damned, a wheel with a simple flat hubcap would be better than one with spokes. I appreciate I would need to maintain the same overall diameter on the road to get the same revolutions/mile. Engineers, correct me if I am wrong. I’m just a chemist.
When the Goodyear Integrities on my 2004 Prius wore out, I replaced them with Nokian i3 tires. I live on the San Francisco Peninsula, no snow driving of significance unless I elect to go skiing, and reasonable temperatures for the most part. I like the service I am getting from them. The wear index reads 5 mm, down from 8 mm when new, after 32,500 miles of use. The most worn of the Goodyear tires demanded replacement at 35,400 miles. This Nokian website suggests I should get another 8000+ miles out of these tires, or 40,000 miles of useful wear before hydroplaning becomes an issue.
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Prius forum members quickly concluded that Toyota specified very low tire pressures for the GenII Prius. The sticker on the door post in my car says 35 psi front/33 psi rear. Received wisdom is that one gets better mileage and tire wear at 42 psi front and 40 psi rear if the tires on the car can handle those pressures.
Are the tire pressures recommended for the Nissan Leaf on the low side to optimize ride and noise over range and tire longevity? I see that the OEM Bridgestone’s have a maximum pressure rating of 44 psi according to the sidewall.
