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fuel diff from 08 to 07

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by james78, Mar 29, 2011.

  1. james78

    james78 Junior Member

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    we have an 08 and have been getting to us very good milage in florida around 49 to 50 average. we now bought a used 07 to have 2 priuses and it barely gets 41 average? The 2 things I noticed different were it has custom 17" wheels with low profile tires and a K&N filer so I don't know if they did any other mods to the engine? I was told it's probably the wheels? any ideas thanks
     
    #1 james78, Mar 29, 2011
  2. billinmd

    billinmd Member

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    I would think that there would be a couple other things to check... Do you know how old the 12V battery is, or how much power it is giving? Also, have you checked to see what viscosity of oil was used?
     
    #2 billinmd, Mar 29, 2011
  3. ksstathead

    ksstathead Active Member

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    Swap in the tires from the 08 and see what happens?
    I would guess the tires are part of it.
    Other than that would be maintenance things like 12V, throttle body/MAF cleaning, tire pressure, oil viscosity/overfill, etc.
     
    #3 ksstathead, Mar 29, 2011
  4. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    What are the model, model and exact size of the car with 17" wheels? If nothing else, larger wheels should hurt fuel economy.
     
    #4 cwerdna, Mar 29, 2011
  5. james78

    james78 Junior Member

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    After we bought it the first thing I did was take it to our toyota garage we have our 08 serviced at and they said all the services were up to date and just changed the oil. I park the 2 side by side in our garage and the 07 looks like it sits higher but if I measure the fender wells the 07 is only 3/8" higher even though it looks like alot more? I can guess that 3/8" make make a diff but not the amount were getting? I thought about changing out the wheels even though this will be a project, but maybe what I need to do. I know I see some with custom wheels and wondered if any of you saw a difference in milage after installing them? thanks to all that have taken the time to read and answer.
     
    #5 james78, Mar 29, 2011
  6. Dusty Chips

    Dusty Chips New Member

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    Well, if the 07 is 3/8" higher, the circumfrence of the tire is greater. Ergo, speedometer error. Is it possible the gas mileage difference is due to this? Maybe the real gas mileage gap is not as great as it seems.
     
    #6 Dusty Chips, Mar 29, 2011
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  7. ksstathead

    ksstathead Active Member

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    In that vein, make a mark on tire and ground and move car until tire mark again vertical (one full rotation), then measure between marks on the ground. Same for both cars. If different, that is part of the problem that can be quantified and adjusted in mpg calcs.
     
    #7 ksstathead, Mar 29, 2011
  8. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Just post the model and size of the tire and we can tell you if it is the wrong size and if it is a poor choice for efficiency.

    MyFirst thought is you have a performance tire that is heavy and has a high rolling resistance. I have a similar set up and when I put them on my car, my mpg drops 4-6 mpg. In the winter this drops me into the low 40s.
     
    #8 F8L, Mar 29, 2011
  9. james78

    james78 Junior Member

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    size is 215/45R17 Nexen R5000. I've been reading about the LRR tires and looking at these I doubt if they are but are probably performance tires? I looked online at costco and they listed a 16" size but my door jam label lists as 15". I guess i thought this would be a touring but i guess it's just a base even though it's loaded? What is the difference between a base and touring and how do you tell?
     

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    #9 james78, Apr 11, 2011
  10. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Isn't that a picture of a Sumitomo HTRii?

    It is definitely not LRR but the size is correct and the diameter is good but revs per miles are pretty far off (845 vs. 855)stock. This means your tires will turn less times per mile than the stock tires. This may show an artificially lower mpg reading. With a 360 AA treadwear rating they don't appear to be too performance oriented but they are not a hard tire designed for high mileage either.
     
    #10 F8L, Apr 11, 2011
  11. james78

    james78 Junior Member

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    There are 3 nexen and 1 somitomo as you said the full picture is the single tire but the closup is the nexen n5000
     
    #11 james78, Apr 11, 2011
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