Wheels!

All Honda E related discussions
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rickwookie
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Post by rickwookie »

Something that I’ve now seen from a few of the the driving reviews that came out yesterday is the claim that the difference between the stated WLTP range of the Standard and Advance models of 137 and 126 miles respectively is purely down to the choice of the factory default 16” vs 17” wheels. Not, as I’d assumed, down to the increased power available to the Advance model.

Can this be true?!

I was seriously considering the 16s when we spec’d ours mainly because I know the 17s will get kerbed, and also I thought that the 16s might provide a little more ride comfort, but the wife preferred the look of the 17s so we stuck with them.

Had I known that they cause a not insignificant 8% decrease (!) in the already severely compromised range, I wouldn’t dream of going with them.

Does anyone else find this range loss due to the wheels surprising/disappointing?

Joolsdc
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Post by Joolsdc »

I suppose size matter🤔 and I can understand wider tyre = greater rolling resistance and poorer aerodynamics.
I do prefer the 17” wheel look. And all the nonsense about range not long enough does not impact me
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rickwookie
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Post by rickwookie »

Yeah but 8% ?!

Considering all the hype surrounding the door cameras reducing drag, I bet door mirrors wouldn’t have that much impact on range.
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keithr
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Post by keithr »

When the salesman was selecting the 16" wheels when I ordered my car, I spotted on the web page that it said 127m range for the Advance with 17" wheels and 133m with the 16" wheels, and it's 136m for the base model Honda e. That implies about a 4.5% reduction in range for the larger wheels (with 20mm wider tyres), and about a 2.2% reduction for the Advance compared to the base model fitted with the same wheels. I suspect that must be partly due to the extra available power and partly to to the slight weight increase (Honda e is 1513 - 1514kg, Advance is 1520 - 1543kg depending on options - I don't know what the weight difference of the wheels is). Also the 17" wheels may be fitted with sportier tyres, and the 16" tyres may be more energy saving.

I think I read somewhere that the side view cameras reduce the aerodynamic drag by about 90% compared with door mirrors, but it equates to about a 4% drag reduction overall for the car.

The figures keep changing though! They initially claimed 124m range for the Advance, then 127m, and now the Honda UK website claims 131- 137m (and 137m for the base Honda e).
Last edited by keithr on Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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rickwookie
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Post by rickwookie »

Honda’s ability to consistently present any specification for this car is terrible.

If that information was available when you ordered (when was that btw), then why is it not presented on Honda’s public website (in all regions) so that customers can make an infirmary purchasing decision?!

Those numbers you quote make far more sense though. I think I’ll be pushing to swap to the 16”.
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RAL7004
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Post by RAL7004 »

Yes, I think about swapping towards the 16‘‘, too.
Two concerns: the local Honda dealers appear not very professional. We ordered end of September and I fear that any changes might postpone (otherwise hopefully early) delivery.
Our car will be black. Although the 16‘‘ wheels look nicer (I don’t like These large centrally disks covering the brakes) all black in black in black might be to much...
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rickwookie
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Post by rickwookie »

You’d think Honda could have at least “checked in” with us early customers before actually building the car. Apart from not being made aware of the implications of the “default” wheels on the Advance model, other options have appeared on the UK configurator that simply weren’t there in September, such as additional lighting packs and interior leather trim options.
tcg68
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Post by tcg68 »

I got my local dealer too change the wheels from 16" to 17" on my order. Despite knowing that this reduces the range slightly I am rarely (if ever) going to be using the car for long journeys. When I ordered I hadn't realised that the two wheel sizes had different designs. Usually the design of the alloy wheels on a car is of little interest to me, but I didn't really like the all-black design of the 16" wheels.
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keithr
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Post by keithr »

>> If that information was available when you ordered (when was that btw), then why is it not presented on Honda’s public website

I ordered a car on 12th December. I would like to have more detailed information on the Honda website too. I can only guess that Honda haven't finalised some of the smaller details yet, so they're not putting all the details up to avoid disappointment. For example, the tyres used can affect the economy, and they might decide to fit different tyres nearer the time (depending on what deals they can get, or perhaps different tyres may become available).

The printed brochure also had glaring iconsistencies/errors in it, namely that thay claimed a range of "up to 136 Miles" and at the same time a "Electric Energy Consumption: 18-20kWh/100km", which works out at a range of 99-110 miles. I see today on the configurator website it says it has a "EV Operation Efficiency" of 17.2 kWh/100km, or 115.6 miles range (from 32kWh available on a 100% charge with a new battery). That still doesn't match with their claimed WLTP combined range - so it's not very helpful information!

It does seem strange though that they would put options on the website, like leather seats and particularly different design wheels, without also showing photographs of them. The last time I looked(today) they still didn't have photos of the optional wheels. Would you buy either the E7701 17" Alloy Wheel Set for £945, or the E7702 17" Alloy Wheel Set for £1,025 without knowing what they looked like?! I wouldn't!

It could be worse though - I believe some people paid to reserve a Tesla Model 3 years before it was available, when it was not known what the car would look like, what it's specifications were, or how much it would cost!
Last edited by keithr on Mon Jul 27, 2020 4:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Joolsdc
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Post by Joolsdc »

Agreed. Honda UK communication is patchy at best. You’d think they’d provide more information to us first time purchasers so we can create some buzz
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