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MPG drop with touring wheels?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by arvind, Aug 1, 2008.

  1. arvind

    arvind ape

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    I recently put some touring wheels without the covers on my 07 non touring prius. I noticed initially that my MPGs were about the same. However, recently i noticed a massive drop off. from about 48-50, im down to the 30s. i reset my miles after about 100 to retest and its still about the same. same gas, no deflated tires. the tires were put on professionally and mounted and balanced with the old TPMS monitors. Has anyone else found this to be the case? Do I need to get the wheel covers to help make up the MPGs? Any help would be great. Thanks
     
  2. doubleg2005

    doubleg2005 Member

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    not to that extent... you can see in my sig that i've only had one tank in the 30's and that was my wife driving (and probably a fluke considering the next tank i had)

    however I do think my mpg's are probably lower than a base Prius, but probably only by 5ish (if that)

    oh, and the wheel covers won't have any effect at all, either way
     
  3. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Hi Arvind,

    When Consumer Reports tested the Standard Prius, it found that it got 44 mpg average.

    When it tested the Touring Prius it found that it got 42 mpg average -- only 2 mpg less than the Standard Prius.

    Assuming you didn't change the OEM tires on either the Standard or the Touring's wheels, your mpg difference should correspond to Consumer Reports'.

    BTW, for that 2 mpg drop, you should get improved handling and about 10 feet shorter 60 - 0 mph braking distances.

    One of several interesting threads on the subject is this one: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-hybrid-news/46823-consumers-reports-tests-touring.html

    Also, as Pablo said, the Touring wheel covers will make no difference whatsoever.
     
  4. arvind

    arvind ape

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    The tires were changed to fit the 16 inch rim. The rim is the toyota touring rim with Falken tires. V rated. Im just stunned at this drop off and pretty concerned. Ive never seen this before. The Prius is in tip top shape. Recently serviced too at Toyota. I made sure I swapped out the TPMS when i put the new tires on too. Im mostly a highway commuter for work and dont really use it in the city. IVe been lucky to avg around 48 or so. Im a newbie pretty much when it comes to the Prius but I wonder if I had to reset some switch or something. I wonder what else it could be...
     
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Merge this thread with the one in "Economy" please. Posting the same topic in multiple forums is kind of a no no. :)
     
  6. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Maybe the Falkens have a higher rolling resistance than the Touring's OEM Bridgestone Turenzas.

    Also, did you change from the Touring's OEM tire size of 195/55/16?
     
  7. misslexi

    misslexi Member

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    I'm running touring wheels on a non-touring 06. Falken Tires 195/55-16.

    My worst tank was 43 mpg. Best 49.

    5000 miles so far.

    42 psi front, 40 rear.

    Mostly city short runs < 10 miles.
     
  8. arvind

    arvind ape

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    Hi Sorry for posting in 2 places. Wasnt sure where the topic fit most. First post too. Im running the same tires 195/55/16. I will try to refill the tank tomorrow and retest again. I hope to get the MPGs back in the 40s. THanks for the help. I think the fellow said he filled to 35 PSI. Maybe that is too low?
     
  9. doubleg2005

    doubleg2005 Member

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    the question is: do you have bridgestone turanza tires? or just the touring wheels? running 35 psi in the turanzas would definitely cause a mpg hit since they are rated at 51...
     
  10. arvind

    arvind ape

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    Im running Falken 195/55/16 tires. V rated. THe wheels are the OEM touring wheels.
     
  11. MR.K

    MR.K Junior Member

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    Do trim rings have any effect on road noise as well? I have an 08 with 6000 mi. & a 07 with 22,000 mi....the road noise is really loud in the 08 & the only difference is no rings and the tires have alot more tread on the 08 (original tires on both ,both #2 pkg) or does it get quieter as the tires wear ...... mileage is better on the 07 too..thanks
     
  12. KandyRedCoi

    KandyRedCoi S is for Super!

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    if you need the "touring" wheel covers, ill sell you my set, 4, clean no scratches
     
  13. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I would try tracking the milage after a few more tanks without changing your normal driving style and see if the loss persists.

    A new and more agressive set of tires should decrease your milage like I state din the other thread but this does seem a bit much. I hope it's just a fluke tank and it goes back up for ya. :)
     
  14. PriusSport

    PriusSport senior member

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    Seems that quite a few people see significant mileage dropoffs when they change something. For that reason, I hesitate to change anything--except maybe to increase tire pressures by 2-3 psi. Don't try to fix what isn't broke, as the saying goes.
     
  15. arvind

    arvind ape

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    Today I will fill the tank again and see whether we notice another drop off. Still at a loss as to why this happens.
     
  16. Whiteyprius

    Whiteyprius Active Member

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    Mine is a touring - during a tankful of around the town trips I get EPA's 46 or a little better. This summer I was commuting weekly - eight 250 round trips. I set the cruise at 60 on the interstate and averaged 52 on those tanks. I run 42 & 40 in the tires. I live in piedmont NC and the temps are low 90's so I keep the a/c pumping. I'm no hypermiler, but do try to use good technique. This may give you some baseline for comparison. Best regards :)
     
  17. arvind

    arvind ape

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    Thanks for the info. Im going to recheck the tire pressure. Someone else is running theirs with the same pressure as you are. Ill check.
     
  18. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    If -YOU- don't check and set the tire pressure you DON'T know what it's at. Our "professional" tire shops around here are notorious for not setting the tire pressure. They just "fill them up till they look good". You should be checking your tire pressure at least once a month. Some do so once a week.

    I run 40 PSI front and 38 PSI rear. I use Nokian WR tires, 15" stock size. The tires are rated for over 50 PSI BTW. Look on the tire sidewall for the max. inflation pressure. I wouldn't recommend exceeding that. The rear should have less pressure than the front (see door placard).

    Your "V" rated tires are probably "performance" tires, and will probably give you poorer fuel economy. They are designed to be "extra sticky" on the pavement and will loose some energy doing so. I wouldn't expect to see a 25% loss however. Perhaps 10% max.
     
  19. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Also check the weight of your Falken V rated tires. OEM Integrity tires are 17 lbs each. If Falken tires are 4 lbs heavier each, plus the "sticky" compond, your MPG can get quite a hit if you drive agressively. Do you find yourself pressing harder on the accelerator? A tip is to put the MFD on the Energy screen and try to avoid acceleration that creates an arrow from the battery to the wheel. See if that improves your MPG.
     
  20. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Just checked... If you have Ziex ZE-912, then 195/55/16 weights in at 20.4 lbs.

    For reference, Nokian I3s on my 15" rims weights at 16.3 lbs.