Anyone found another tire that fits??

[fkacct]

Replaced the front 175/55/20s with the MOMOs today so now I've got 195/55r20s all around. All is fine so far. No issues with traction control, handling etc. I can't tell a difference.

I haven't done too much research on how tire manufacturers achieve lower rolling resistance on tires but came across this tire review video (link below). Rolling resistance is achieved by reducing the starting thread depth of the tire. So clearly, a 10/32 tire will have higher rolling resistance to begin with than a 8/32 or 6/32 tire. Something to consider.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUDXxcoYo3I

 

[alohart]

Rolling resistance is achieved by reducing the starting thread depth of the tire. So clearly, a 10/32 tire will have higher rolling resistance to begin with than a 8/32 or 6/32 tire.

That's certainly one feature that affects rolling resistance. However, the materials used in tire construction, tire wall stiffness, inflation pressure, and other factors affect rolling resistance.

I owned a 2000 Honda Insight for 15 years. Its original tires were Bridgestone low rolling resistance tires especially developed for the Insight. Many Insight owners were very focused on driving efficiency and did things like increasing the tire inflation pressure to reduce rolling resistance. Replacing the Bridgestone tires with any other tire always reduced driving efficiency. I shipped our Insight to our apartment in Sweden and could not buy these Bridgestone tires in Europe, so I bought 4 in the U.S. and carried them as checked luggage back to Sweden. They were small enough not to be considered oversize or overweight luggage.

So low rolling resistance is real and will affect driving efficiency even in an i3. Worse driving efficiency might be difficult to detect but it's there.

 

[gt6k]

I just went for 195/55R20 all round on my I3S as they give more choice. All tyres in the EU have an official measured rolling resistance rating going from E worst to A best. The Ecopias are class B and the Bridgestones are only a C. Michelin Cross Climates are B and are excellent all season tyres, whilst for a summer tyre you could have Goodyear Efficient Grip which are an A grade whilst at the same time both match or exceed the OEM tyre in wet grip and are half the price. The Bridgestones and Ecopias may have been good ECO tyres 10 or 12 years ago but now they are just about average in all areas of performance for a random mid range tyre.

 

[fkacct]

Rolling resistance is achieved by reducing the starting thread depth of the tire. So clearly, a 10/32 tire will have higher rolling resistance to begin with than a 8/32 or 6/32 tire.

That's certainly one feature that affects rolling resistance. However, the materials used in tire construction, tire wall stiffness, inflation pressure, and other factors affect rolling resistance.

I owned a 2000 Honda Insight for 15 years. Its original tires were Bridgestone low rolling resistance tires especially developed for the Insight. Many Insight owners were very focused on driving efficiency and did things like increasing the tire inflation pressure to reduce rolling resistance. Replacing the Bridgestone tires with any other tire always reduced driving efficiency. I shipped our Insight to our apartment in Sweden and could not buy these Bridgestone tires in Europe, so I bought 4 in the U.S. and carried them as checked luggage back to Sweden. They were small enough not to be considered oversize or overweight luggage.

So low rolling resistance is real and will affect driving efficiency even in an i3. Worse driving efficiency might be difficult to detect but it's there.

Yep, I agree with you that rolling resistance is in fact a real thing and can affect range . Only thing is that, until recently, I never thought about how this was achieved. In reality, it is pretty much achieved by making major sacrifices with the tire performance. These sacrifices include:

1.. Lower mileage per tire due to less thread depth to reduce drag coefficient when tire is in motion. You can slowly get lower rolling resistance by just wearing your tire out pretty much lol.
2. Tire compound with less friction I assume. This would obviously affect general handling performance and wet performance (pretty much fact that tires with low rolling resistance have worst wet handling performance than an equivalent non-efficient tire).
3. Reduction of tire weight likely by reducing tire thickness at expense of puncture resistance possibly. Thought this doesn't seem to be the case in Momo vs ecopia as the 2lb different between 195/55 and 195/50 can be due to extra sidewall material.
3. MUCH higher cost per tire for low rolling resistance "branding."

Low rolling resistance tires are great in a purist sense and I would pay for them if they were priced correctly for their lower life span due to less thread and their lower performance specs, but in our i3 world, we're pretty much getting a bit screwed with how much we spend on I3 tires due to lack of competition (at least here in the U.S)...and I'm left with no choice but to use tires that make sacrifices in rolling resistance and tire diameter for better value. I doubt I'm losing more than 5% in range. Not insignificant but not crazy either. I just bought 4 momos for ~$300 vs 4 ecopias for $1200. Happy camper here.

 

[fkacct]

I just went for 195/55R20 all round on my I3S as they give more choice. All tyres in the EU have an official measured rolling resistance rating going from E worst to A best. The Ecopias are class B and the Bridgestones are only a C. Michelin Cross Climates are B and are excellent all season tyres, whilst for a summer tyre you could have Goodyear Efficient Grip which are an A grade whilst at the same time both match or exceed the OEM tyre in wet grip and are half the price. The Bridgestones and Ecopias may have been good ECO tyres 10 or 12 years ago but now they are just about average in all areas of performance for a random mid range tyre.

Wish we had those tire choices here in the U.S. None of them are obtainable. All I can find with correct sizing is Ecopia 500. Sad

 

[agzand]

I noticed some Chinese tires are available on Amazon. With Bridgestone jacking up prices these could be good alternatives:

https://www.amazon.com/Tri-Ace-Seas...c1-8385-d598188343bb&pd_rd_i=B07F6PZPDW&psc=1

 

[alohart]

I noticed some Chinese tires are available on Amazon. With Bridgestone jacking up prices these could be good alternatives:

https://www.amazon.com/Tri-Ace-Seas...c1-8385-d598188343bb&pd_rd_i=B07F6PZPDW&psc=1

"Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."

 

[agzand]

It shows 15 tires in stock? I did not attempt to buy, and the 175/60 is not available at this time.

 

[alohart]

It shows 15 tires in stock? I did not attempt to buy, and the 175/60 is not available at this time.

That's weird, Still unavailable when I click the posted link. Not everything on Amazon ships to Hawaii, but there will usually be a message in red text that the seller doesn't ship to Hawaii, not that the item just shows as unavailable. Oh well, I'm not in the market for tires, so it's not a big deal, just odd.

 

[i3SGB]

Hi

I am in the UK and have just come to replace the 195/50 R20 Bridgestones on the rear of my i3S and have found Tracmax now offer an alternative in that size, at half the price of the £200+ Bridgestones.

I don't have any experience of these, and a general aversion to cheap rubber (3 children), but an unexpectedly positive experience of cheap Accelera Tyres on a previous Alfa Romeo 159Ti.

Have anyone run an i3S with a pair/set of these on?

Thank you

4 months in and all is fine with the Tracmax rears - wear seems similar to the previous Briedgestones and other than a slight tendency to tramline over road markings (not a huge issue tbh), I'm pleasantly surprised.

 

[mvevi]

Does anyone have any further experience to report running 195/55 or 195/50 tires on 20" rims? I'm a new-to-me 2019 i3 owner and I'm going to need to replace worn tires right away. Willing to give up a bit of efficiency for such significant tire cost savings (and possible better all-season and wear performance) but I'd be grateful for the perspective of the group if there are serious challenges others have run into.

Thanks!

 

[zensamuel]

Thought I'd share that I just found MOMO Toprun M300 tires (newly released in US market) that works well with my 2019 i3S and can easily be obtained for about $75 per tire on ebay. They're all season UHP tires and the only size available is 195/55/20 (Stock i3s 431 wheels are fitted with 195/50r20s). This added 0.8 inches of total diameter to the rear tires vs old tire. rolling circumference is under 3% different vs stock so no issues with traction control. Starting thread depth is 10/32 which is actually normal unlike the crappy Ecopias (what are they at new 6/32?) and the tire rating is 480 A A.

So far I've fitted the rears and all is perfect. I have another set on order to replace the front's 175/55/20. I don't believe spacers will be needed on the fronts to clear the springs as the 431 wheels have enough offset but I can advise once the tires are fitted. 430 wheels will likely need spacers. Fair warning, these tires weigh 23lbs each. That is 2 lbs more than the Ecopia EP500 195/50/20 tires and 5 lbs more than the 175/55/20s. Will it actually make a noticeable difference in range? Not sure.

Momo Toprun M300 $75 per tire on ebay last I checked
https://momo.com/en-us/momo-all-season-tires/momo-m300-toprun-as-sport.html

I'm based in the USA in San Francisco and I can't find those tires in stock on ebay or anywhere else, Where are you based?

 

[agzand]

Nankang NA-1 is available in i3 sizes in Europe. I went to Nankang US site and asked them to make this tire available in US. Maybe if they get enough requests they will offer the tire here:

https://nankangusa.com/

 

[i3SGB]

Hi

I am in the UK and have just come to replace the 195/50 R20 Bridgestones on the rear of my i3S and have found Tracmax now offer an alternative in that size, at half the price of the £200+ Bridgestones.

I don't have any experience of these, and a general aversion to cheap rubber (3 children), but an unexpectedly positive experience of cheap Accelera Tyres on a previous Alfa Romeo 159Ti.

Have anyone run an i3S with a pair/set of these on?

Thank you

I have been running with a pair of Tracmax on the rear for 5 months now - Other than a *slight* tendency to tramline on white lines, they have been impressive - wear is not excessive and grip (wet & dry) is good. I will replace the front pair with the same when they are due.

 

[fkacct]

Thought I'd share that I just found MOMO Toprun M300 tires (newly released in US market) that works well with my 2019 i3S and can easily be obtained for about $75 per tire on ebay. They're all season UHP tires and the only size available is 195/55/20 (Stock i3s 431 wheels are fitted with 195/50r20s). This added 0.8 inches of total diameter to the rear tires vs old tire. rolling circumference is under 3% different vs stock so no issues with traction control. Starting thread depth is 10/32 which is actually normal unlike the crappy Ecopias (what are they at new 6/32?) and the tire rating is 480 A A.

So far I've fitted the rears and all is perfect. I have another set on order to replace the front's 175/55/20. I don't believe spacers will be needed on the fronts to clear the springs as the 431 wheels have enough offset but I can advise once the tires are fitted. 430 wheels will likely need spacers. Fair warning, these tires weigh 23lbs each. That is 2 lbs more than the Ecopia EP500 195/50/20 tires and 5 lbs more than the 175/55/20s. Will it actually make a noticeable difference in range? Not sure.

Momo Toprun M300 $75 per tire on ebay last I checked
https://momo.com/en-us/momo-all-season-tires/momo-m300-toprun-as-sport.html

I'm based in the USA in San Francisco and I can't find those tires in stock on ebay or anywhere else, Where are you based?

Based in the U.S. I've had them on my i3s since January. No problem at all. Much better handling around curves and the tires have hardly worn after 6000 miles. They are a bit stiffer than stock Ihink...especially in cold weather.

I can't find the Momo 195/55s anymore either. I dunno wtf happened to them. Have you tried calling MOMO to inquire?

 

[Atv]

I know I am bumping an old thread, but has anyone tried the Momo 195/55/20 on a regular i3 (non-IS)? Does it fit, require a spacer, etc?

 

[imkazaam]

I don't think you can get those tires in the US.

I know I am bumping an old thread, but has anyone tried the Momo 195/55/20 on a regular i3 (non-IS)? Does it fit, require a spacer, etc?

 

[symonray]

I have the Momo 195/55r20 tires installed on the rear wheels of my 2017 i3 Rex (straight install with no spacers), and they ride as well as the Bridgestone Ecopias with no appreciable decrease in driving efficiency after 6 months of use. I keep them inflated at 40psi. I am hoping the tread on the Momos will last quite a bit longer than the Ecopias. Also, the Momos are back for sale on eBay, and I just ordered 2 more just in case the supply dries up again.

 

[Atv]

Thanks for confirming, would you mind snapping a picture of it, am curious how tight the fitment is! I measured the width difference between the Ecopia and the Momo, and the Momo was about .75 inch wider, and wasn't sure if that was going to clear the suspension components on the inside. I am so glad it fits, and the Momo is available in the US now, it's been driving me crazy buying new tires every year. It wasn't so bad when they were $150/tire but it's $250/tire now.

As Symonray mentioned, these are available on eBay. They are DOT approved. Now.. if we can just find one that fits the front.

I have the Momo 195/55r20 tires installed on the rear wheels of my 2017 i3 Rex (straight install with no spacers), and they ride as well as the Bridgestone Ecopias with no appreciable decrease in driving efficiency after 6 months of use. I keep them inflated at 40psi. I am hoping the tread on the Momos will last quite a bit longer than the Ecopias. Also, the Momos are back for sale on eBay, and I just ordered 2 more just in case the supply dries up again.

 

[tongsli]

Has anyone tried 215 45 R20's on an I3S? it's closer to size than a 195 55 R20 Momo tires. I just don't know if the 8.5 inch width of the 215's will mount on the i3 RIM.

thanks,

JT