Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Tires and wheels, part 1

I have been wanting to get some different wheels and tires for the EV. Something more distinctive. I scored these beauties off of craigslist. Lightly used. Only two actually match in terms of brand and model, but they are all the same size and all have nearly full tread. Did I mention they were cheap? Did I mention I am cheap? It appears they have been stored in a mud pit, perhaps that keeps the damaging sun and ozone from degrading them. Yes, sun and ozone kill tires. And crazy driving does too. So does poor inflation, bad alignment, and worn suspension parts. But I digress. They are p195-70-r14 size. The narrowest, tallest, cheapest I could find. These are just sort of temporary tires, eventually I would like to step up to real low-rolling-resistance (LLR) tires. Decreasing rolling resistance increases mileage (range) in an EV. For now, I want to see if these junky tires work well enough to use...
...these wheels:



I got these wheels at a car swap meet a couple of years ago for the original EV project. Also cheap. These are American Racing model 200S. I HATED these when they were in style, late '60's-early '70's. We derisively called them "daisy wheels" due to the distinctive curved shape of the spokes. In actual fact, this style was used on some of the most badass drag cars of the era. I have a newfound appreciation for them and want a set on the EV. They are still available new, but they're too pricey for me.


These are only 14" diameter (I would have preferred 15's), but being aluminum, they are nice and light. Can I make these diamonds in the rough shine again?





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