Thinking of getting 17s but i dont want to lose mpg's

Um .. er ,, duh , whah happen to the OP? They came and went.

I wonder why they even want to upgrade wheels. For looks? Better handling?

I did a double take on the freeway other day. There's a black 3rd gen in our area that rolls on 2008 Matrix 16" rims. Lot of wheel well gap, not sure what's going on there. Tires look dirty but here it is-





You know me, always the odd one out talking about 16s. Not that I care that much, I like my 15s and my plastic wheelcovers

 

Effects of Upsized Wheels and Tires Tested - Tech Dept. - Car and Driver

 

Their results (going from 15" to 17" wheels results in a measley 2% MPG loss) are in line with the Toyota UK specs.

To put all this into perspective, if you drive 12K miles/year, @ $4/gal, the MPG loss (using the Toyota UK specs) would result in an additional gas cost of...wait for it...$25 per year. Sounds like splitting hairs to me.

 

23.3mpg to 21.1mpg is not splitting hairs IMO. Remeber that your tire price is doubled as well.

In my case, going from 47mpg to 55mpg and over 26,000 miles a year makes 15s attractive. I agree with you, however, with much lower annual mileage I wouldn't sweat it. The 17s just look soo much nicer.

I broke down yesterday and swapped back to the 15s though. The result was a 59.5mpg trip home which had been 50mpg at best this time of year. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ent-mpg-even-w-winter-gas-why-i-love-car.html

 

That's going from 15" to 19". From 15" to 17" it's 23.3 to 22.8 MPG.

 

I guarantee the loss in the Prius is higher.

 

+1

 

Here is my Prius with my 16" wheels from my Matrix on it. I like the look a lot. This is before I installed my Eibach springs.



This is after my Eibach springs were installed with my 16" winter wheels & tires from my 07 Corolla on my Prius.

 

Looks good!

 

Sorry, I was lost in your link. Where does it refer consumption?
In a steady speed, there is no inertia playing around, since every part is rotating and no acceleration is happening.
Highway consumption has to do with aerodynamics and wheel rolling drag (rubber deformation energy loss) - wider tyre means more aero drag and deformation losses. If a car is heavier, it burdens the tyres thus steeping its energy loss.

 

I don't have the Matrix anymore but when I did I just wanted to see what a 16" wheel looked like on the Prius. I like the 16" Corolla winter wheels on it too. My ultimate plan is to use the stock 15" wheels for my winter tires & get a nice set of 16" or 17" wheels & tires.