Tire Weight Important?

I agree, tire weight is at least as important as wheel weight. I think it could be argued that it may be more important since the tires mass is further from the center of rotation and therefore has a higher radial velocity.

 

You're overemphasizing unsprung weight with respect to mpg. Less of it will help with acceleration/deceleration though.

 

This one always messes with me. Generally speaking any extra weight is bad. It's worse for stop and go driving but it is not good for steady state driving either.

On the other hand, the Prius Five 17" wheels are almost 10lbs heavier than the 15" wheels and the tires are approx. 3-4lbs heavier yet some claim they don't suffer mpg losses or that the loss is very minor at less than 2mpg.

The weight on the AVID Ascend is pretty insane partially due to its 12/32 tread depth as is the weight on tires like the Primacy MXV4. I decided to try the Ascend to see how the weight would affect my mpg but so far they seem pretty comparable to the OE AVID S33D. So I'm not really sure what to think anymore. lol

In general I would still recommend finding the lightest wheel you like and can afford. The tire weight is less important because there are other characteristics you must consider so that you choose the right one for you needs. I would not choose a tire just because it is the lightest.

 

in my experience, tire weight is correlated with rolling resistance.
the weight difference is usually in the thickness of sidewall (even though thickness of thread.plays a role too).
the thicker the sidewall, the higher resistance to flexing, adding a lot to total rolling resistance.

 

If you don't care about closeout models then get the Ecopia EP100. It will likely have the best mpg of any tire except the Energy Saver A/S.

The rest of the ones you listed are all probably about the same. Maybe the Fuel Max or EP422 being the next highest?

 

Is the Continental ProContact Eco different from DWS?

 

Yes, quite a bit different but it doesn't come in the larger sizes. It is a low priced, long-wearing (80,000 mile warranty), LRR tire that performs well, especially in the wet.

 

The unsprung mass -- the tire and the wheel weight being only one part - have the biggest influence on the suspension dynamics.

This is a Prius

The mass of the vehicle is not changing very much and the suspension dynamics are not maximized on the Prius anyway.


Without getting into why some tires are heavier then others -- and how this is distributed ...... I would get the best tire for the car ... and forget about the weight.