1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Put on your thinking caps...

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by RRxing, Oct 3, 2012.

  1. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2009
    2,520
    1,791
    0
    Location:
    NEPA
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    Limited
    As most of us are aware, new tires have a negative MPG impact, however insignificant, compared to those that are "broken in." That being the case, the sooner the tires get broken in, the sooner you'll see an increase in MPG. Makes sense to me.

    So, my question is -

    With all other things being equal (e.g. no change in driving distance or habits), will a new set of tires wear faster at the recommended door-jamb pressure or at some elevated pressure?

    Discuss...

    (I do not claim to have the correct answer, just wanted to spur discussion.)
     
    #1 RRxing, Oct 3, 2012
  2. markabele

    markabele owner of PiP, then Leaf, then Model 3

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    5,084
    1,782
    1
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    N/A
    I think it is well documented that tires last longer when inflated properly.

    I'm confused by your thought process though. You want to wear through tires faster just so you can get to the good FE quicker?
     
    #2 markabele, Oct 3, 2012
  3. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2009
    2,520
    1,791
    0
    Location:
    NEPA
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    Limited
    It's just a hypothetical question.
     
    #3 RRxing, Oct 3, 2012
  4. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,081
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Hmmm lower pressure will wear them out faster due to the tires running hotter from hysteresis. The heat will cause the tread to break down faster. Just a guess.
     
    #4 F8L, Oct 3, 2012
  5. sLick415

    sLick415 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2012
    214
    55
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Wear out your tires quicker and youll pay for a new set quicker. Dont intentionally wear out your tires just to get higher numbers.. That wont save you any money.
     
    #5 sLick415, Oct 3, 2012
  6. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2007
    3,083
    407
    23
    Location:
    Chicagoland (West)
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    And the low MPGs you get trying to wear the tires out sooner also won't make you very happy.
     
    #6 a priori, Oct 3, 2012
  7. sLick415

    sLick415 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2012
    214
    55
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Yeah, but that's like taking a longer yet flatter route just to get higher MPGs even though it uses up more gas. Just makes no sense to me. o_O
     
    #7 sLick415, Oct 3, 2012
  8. walter Lee

    walter Lee Hypermiling Padawan

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2009
    1,126
    376
    5
    Location:
    Maryland
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III

    short answer: NO

    long answer:

    The recommended door jamb pressure is the recommended tire pressure. Increasing the tire pressure from the recommended tire pressure to the maximum sidewall tire pressure will not increase or decrease tire tread wear . Increasing the tire pressure significantly over the maximum sidewall tire pressure may cause the tire tread to wear more in the center than at the side.

    What makes the tire wear out faster is high speed, very quick acceleration, very hard braking, rough road surfaces, high speed turning, very hot driving temperature, and high levels of rubber rotting pollutants. Why? Tire wear is the physical breakdown of the rubber polymers via chemical, heat and mechanical action causes the tire wear.

    All the above is the antithesis of hypermiling - one of the side effects it seems to me of hypermiling is that the tire treads don't appear to be wearing out that quickly.
     
    #8 walter Lee, Oct 4, 2012
    GrGramps likes this.
  9. kswebb1

    kswebb1 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2011
    33
    1
    0
    Location:
    Ohio
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I think that inflating your tires to whatever pressure you are intending upon running them will get you to the sweet spot the quickest.

    I noticed that awhile ago when I was monkeying around with my air pressure up or down that I would take a slight hit on my mpg from the change.2-3 mpg for the first 200 to 300 miles.This was when changing about five psi.It also worked the same way with my snow tires last year.This made me come to the conclusion that whenever I changed that much tire pressure the tire changed its shape slightly which ment I had to go thru an short break in again.

    So I think that trying to break them in quicker would just be offset by this added short break in cycle.And no gains would be made also as many others have said you would just wear them out quicker.

    Now you want to do a real test go find someone with a tire shaving machine and see if it makes any difference if you shave them down while the tires are at whatever psi you are planning on running.I would but I like my money too much to buy another set quicker just to see the results.

    I
     
    #9 kswebb1, Oct 4, 2012
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)