OEM rear wheels and tires on front

[Godfather]

To the folks who decry changing wheels..... if it's all good for you, great. When your shadow eventually catches up with you and swallows you whole, you can say "I told you so". Insofar as the wheels themselves being energy absorbing elements, poppycock. It is, as was previously stated in smart literature, their proximity to each other that makes it highly likely that one or both will be struck in a t-bone style collision, thereby transfering that energy to the suspension, and not the tridion cell entirely. There are any number of different wheel designs currently available elsewhere (as in the rest of the world, you know, the part that isn't the USA?) that are supplied by smart. To infer that these particular wheels are necessary to survival is just irrational. The whole car is sacrificial. It's designed to save YOU, not it.

[SubSlr88]

The Brabus wheel setup is also staggered, IIRC, the fronts are 195x15 and the rears are 205x15, so it's kinda hard to suggest that smart poo-poo's anything other that the original 155/175 setup on the Passion models.
I've been running rears on the front, i.e., 175's on all four corners, for months now. Car handles better, rides better, too. And the mileage has stayed pretty much as before. . . other than the cost to implement, what's not to like?
If it's not for you - fine, make your comments and move along. Don't attempt to badger everyone else into your way of thinking.
Some like vanilla, some like chocolate, some like neither . . . way the world is . . .

[jetfuel]

...while at the Dells I was the one that told the Presidente they were missing the boat on the after-market wheel...he said that they had some in the works, he turned around and ask somebody with a nice set of wheels (can't remember who) "how much did you paid for your set"?..he answered back 1k for the set plus install....his come back was "well, we can't compete with that" we will be in the 1800 to 2200 range, then the conversation turned into the Brabus wheels and he said that one of the major studies of the wheels was based on the alloys used in making the wheels...at that point I just left the group...

jetfuel....vanilla/chocolate

[jwight]

There are any number of different wheel designs currently available elsewhere (as in the rest of the world, you know, the part that isn't the USA?) that are supplied by smart. To infer that these particular wheels are necessary to survival is just irrational.

If that were the case it would be irrational; the point was not "these particular wheels" [e.g. the nine spoke alloys or the steel Pure wheels] but wheels tested by smart, e.g. the wheels offered as in the rest of the world [yes, we're aware of it also] by smart because they have been tested by smart. If and when smart USA offers either the smart wheels from their wide, wide world of smart wheels (already in the smart system), or they offer third party wheels, those wheels will have been tested and meet smart's standards.

As always, your car, your money, your choice.

[Godfather]

Haven't yet forgotten the Rials and mismatched tires that kicked Jwight's smart into limp home mode. Gee, I never did anything like that......... so much for "smart testing and standards." If you are going to continually spout the company line, at least be innocent first.

[TMACK]

Originally Posted by Godfather

Haven't yet forgotten the Rials and mismatched tires that kicked Jwight's smart into limp home mode. Gee, I never did anything like that......... so much for "smart testing and standards." If you are going to continually spout the company line, at least be innocent first.

Can you help me out here? I'm really quite fumbling but trying to learn fast.
Where is the post for this unfortunate happening?
Tom

[rfernatt]

Originally Posted by Godfather

Haven't yet forgotten the Rials and mismatched tires that kicked Jwight's smart into limp home mode. Gee, I never did anything like that......... so much for "smart testing and standards." If you are going to continually spout the company line, at least be innocent first.

That seems a bit harsh. None of us know with certainty the side effects of a particular modification in all situations - some people just have different tolerance for perceived risk and we should all accept any unforeseen problems that may result from our choices. Obviously, jwight thought that running a staggered Rial setup with snow tires was an acceptable approximation of the OEM setup, but switching to a larger wheel/tire all the way around is not his cup of tea. Perhaps jwight's foray into different wheels/tires is cause for some of his caution (once bitten, twice shy)? Regardless, if he chooses to share his perspective and/or quote Schembri, hey, that's fine with me. I'll still do what I feel is in my best interests.

Originally Posted by TMACK

Can you help me out here? I'm really quite fumbling but trying to learn fast. Where is the post for this unfortunate happening?
Tom

I don't have the link handy, but if I recall correctly, it was an outside diameter problem with snow tires. As long as you stick close to the stock outside diameters, you won't have a complaint from the TCS/ABS computer. The front and rear stock tires have a slightly different outside diameter even in stock form. The 195/50 size on a 15" rim is an almost exact match for stock diameter and has worked fine on my car for months with nary a complaint from the car. I'm getting ready to do my second tire rotation.

[jwight]

Originally Posted by Godfather

Haven't yet forgotten the Rials and mismatched tires that kicked Jwight's smart into limp home mode. Gee, I never did anything like that......... so much for "smart testing and standards." If you are going to continually spout the company line, at least be innocent first.

Neither have I (totally unrelated to "smart testing and standards, BTW; correct wheel/tire size was the issue there) - understood the wheels were not approved when I got them and understand the implications should the car be involved in an accident. The smart USA policy hasn't changed and anyone contemplating aftermarket wheels should be aware of it. YMMV, etc.

TMACK, here's the link: New snow tires and Rial rims - big problems! [Solved]

[Chris Smyth]

I started reading this thread to try to understand the reasoning behind the two different wheel sizes (front/back) on the Smart. I think I have an inkling now of why this was done.
I consider myself a pretty conservative driver. I hope I never find myself in a situation where extreme maneuvers are necessary. I can understand Smart's desire to make sure that their vehicle isn't branded with a perceived instability such as the Jeeps of yesteryear suffered.
That said, I have to admit that the discussion about wider tires on front doesn't really appeal to my interests. I'm happy with my Smart. I happy with the way it rides and the way it handles. So now I'm grateful to all of you who've contributed to this discussion. I consider myself a somewhat better informed consumer.
Chris

[Big Panda]

Anyone up for icecream? I'll have some orange sherbet, please!