My MPG Observations on Stock 15's vs. Aftermarket 17's

A 16" wheel with Energy Saver A/S tires would be a perfect mix of enhanced appearance, performance, safety and fuel economy. Check out superchargedmr2's car. It looks fantastic and he didn't suffer a real mpg loss.

 

Ill take em! I could care less about a few MPG difference when im coming from 11 MPG as it anyhow

 

Let's make a deal. I'll sell them with the tires too. They have 10,000 miles on them (55,000 mile warranty). The wheels need polishing so hense you'll pay less for them than the tires. lol

 

Sooooooo.....is this money going to go to your Italy trip......or a set of 16" rims with Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires? LOL

 

thanks SoCal for the study. The fact that we have nearly the same tire (I am only one size up) means I am sitting at around a 9mpg loss. I was just trying to figure out if it was more the tire or the wheel weight. I would love to find a lighter 18" wheel that I like and try that with the DWS.

How hard was it to adjust to the difference in ride? I do enjoy the tight handling with our setup.

 

LOL No! Actually I'll sell them so cheap that a percentage of the sale wouldn't mean much.

I don't think weight plays a big role. We have seen members purchase super light 15" wheels for their GenII and even using the same exact tire they could not tell any difference in mpg. My current setup (15") weighs the same as my 17" setup because the 15" tires are so damn heavy and yet the mpg difference is still there. The OE 17" wheels are really heavy yet the reported mpg difference is 1.8mpg-3mpg vs. the OE 15s. I just don't think weight play a large role in the fuel economy of the Prius unless you do a lot of stop and go driving. I could be wrong but wouldnt spend big money on super light wheels. It just doesn't seem to be worth it.

FWIW I switched back to the 15" Ascends today and I really like the ride comfort and reduced noise. So much so that I am going to sell the 17s for sure. The bling just isnt worth the mpg drop and reduction in comfort. I cannot afford 16" Weds like Superchargedmr2 and I read that Michelin may discontinue the Energy Saver A/S. That leaves me with the Ascends on OE wheels. It's not all bad though. I was sitting at 63mpg today before I changed heading on the freeway and had to drive into the fast wind for 35miles. Even the wind only knocked me down to 58.8mpg. I guess I can make up for bling by playing video game mode and saving money.

 

Have you guys considered the weight of the tyres themselves? I'm just looking at my standard tyres that came with the car, Bridgestone B250 Ecopia and according to what I found online, it's 8.1kg and my tyres now (Bridgestone RE002 Adrenalin) are 10.7kg(i.e. 32% increase in rotating mass) though it is not far off the Ecopia EP100 in 215/45R17 @ 10kg which is suppose to be the fuel saving tyre and with a lower load rating than the Re002.

Given the same rim weight, if the tyre weighs more, then you're going to take a hit in acceleration etc and ultimately fuel consumption. It's like how cyclist should be focusing on putting on lighter tyres first than spend up on expensive carbon rims. 50 grams lighter in tyre weight makes a huge impact from my experience on the bicycle.

The rim weight only plays a minor role in fuel economy and major role in suspension in its unsprung weight. Just assume you're not out there worried about the ultimate handling part, we should have some statistics on tyre weights instead.

I must say though, Bridgestone here introduce a new tyre. PZX which weighs 8.7kg (Bridgestone link) in 215/45R17. I presume something must be weaker for it to weigh much less but looks promising as the next eco tyre for 17" people.

 

Hmm...so you would recommend going for LRR tire before change rims. If that would really make a decent impact...I might give it a whirl. That way I can keep my bling

 

this is the question. Financially, it would be a loss. But back to F8L's point...I want to spend less time hpyermiling to get what I want. I will pay for that. Addititonally...if I can pick up a few mpg's then I can still sell my DWS (only 10k on them) and also my factory wheels and tires (only 200 miles on them). I could recover most of my losses. I do not mind keeping and selling the aftermarket rims/tires on it as long as I can continue to market the car as it is intended on the used car scene with some bling.

I was looking at the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 and it actually gets better reviews than the DWS and is LRR...but I cannot find a record of anyone on here owning them

 

damn it.

 

You guys totally lost me. Now you're considering winter tires? LOL

As for tire weight. It plays a part but there are other factors to consider first. I have all of the tires weights listed in my LRR tire thread.

 

I suppose "you guys" equals me in this case. Only two options are that winter Michelin or the Continental CW95 in LRR trim. It (Michelin) is getting stellar reviews in all categories (dry, wet, snow)...beats DWS in all categories. The CW95 reviews are not so great. Downside is tread warranty I think. Just curious at this point...and as usual I have SoCal behind me pushin....LOL

 

The problem is low tread wear will eat up any savings made in mpg. That is why the DWS is a decent deal. It isn't the best for LRR but price and fairly high tread wear warranty make it a good economical choice. Tires like the EP100 in a 17" are kinda nutty in that they don't last very long and they are crazy expensive. The Ep422 is a good deal, however.

In general, I would stick with a tire that is not too much above the average price range and that sports a long treadlife. That is why I suggested tires like the Defender, Ecopia EP422, Primacy MXM4 and AVID Ascend. You 18" guys have a hell of a time finding anything LRR so treadlife and price should be your biggest concerns.