So I was wondering...
The Fiat 500e ( electric ) has staggered wheels 6" up front, 6.5" in the rear, but the same tires all around !
That wider rim sets the bead of the tire a out 1/4" each side, resulting in a slight change in the sidewall "attitude" , *maybe * making the tire side wall flex less or more ?
I also imagine this was done to offset ( deal with ) the change in weight distribution due to the 600 lbs battery that was added to the car?
Any ideas on how much / what impact this staggered wheel setup has on the vehicle ?
Living in the arctic as I do, the winter tires are on the staggered wheel setup , and I have picked up a second set of Fiat wheels, but they are not staggered. So the summer wheel & tire setup will be square, we'll see if I can notice a difference when we swap tires in the spring.
Thanks for any input,
Don
A slightly stretched fit will give the highest sidewall stiffness, I expect the staggered wheel setup with the same tire all-around has very little effect on handling though, tire construction can make more of a difference and slight differences in tire pressures could compensate for it.
Thanks for the reply.
Fiat did it for a reason , as that is how they came from the factory.
There has been speculation that it was done to reduce the overstear ? It would have made more sense to go with a staggered setup with larger wheels and tires in the rear to support the added weight, but who knows...
looking for a believable / practicle hypothesis :)
Whatever difference it's making, it's minor enough that I wouldn't sweat it, you should have nothing to worry about with a square setup, especially if you're going wider than stock.
No worried, just nosey :)
I've swapped shock and spring , sway bars on a MINI and Miata over the years, but changing rim widths without goin to a wider tire section was nothing we had heard of doing.
Don
