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Testing MPG with 17s vs. 15s

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by F8L, May 20, 2012.

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  1. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    Need the TRD springs now ;) Those 17's look nice on ur car but it sits waaay high :)

    Mike


    iPhone :)
     
    #21 WE0H, May 22, 2012
  2. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Aye, it's like 4wd. I like the wheels but they need to be professionally polished if I were going to keep them on. They are in rough shape. One factor many people overlook when choosing wheels is how easy they will be to maintain. I HATE cleaning wheels. LOL
     
    #22 F8L, May 22, 2012
  3. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    No, it doesn't. The gap actually looks a bit smaller to me than the stock Five and the Five doesn't look goofy off the line. Otherwise, people would be saying "Damn, it sits waaay high" instead of "Nice wheels!" It's those aftermarket 18s on some unlowered Prius that look pretty funky.

    You'd love the factory 17s (and high mpg to boot!) ;)
     
    #23 32kcolors, May 22, 2012
  4. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I think about that every time I look at those wheels. Soo easy to clean! :D
     
    #24 F8L, May 22, 2012
  5. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

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    I can not wait to see and hear what you have to say when you and The Critic swap wheels. It will be interesting to hear both of you all's feedback. I need to find some stock 15's here that I can buy and test or use.
     
    #25 dustoff003, May 22, 2012
  6. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    Justin,
    Would it be possible to have your 17's powder coated in gray or something or would that be too expensive? Sounds like they are bare aluminum? Not clear coated? The pics you posted showed them as very shiny maybe polished? Pretty cool anyhow ;)

    Mike


    iPhone :)
     
    #26 WE0H, May 22, 2012
  7. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    They are simple polished aluminum. I could send them in to have them polished by Centerline or find someone local to do it. I want to avoid going to a grey or anthracite looking wheel since the Plus wheels are that color and it seems everyone and their brother is going with dark-colored wheels now. It's almost like polished is the new black. :p honestly I am not sure what I will do if the mpg hit is only around 3mpg. I saw a few GenIIIs on 17s and lowered in the last few days and they looked really nice compared to the stock 2012s I saw today. 3mpg would be a small price to pay for the enhanced handling and looks but then I would need lowering springs. Here we go again........
     
    #27 F8L, May 22, 2012
  8. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    Oh but those dark gray 17's look oh so damn nice ;) As long as those polished 17's of yours dont corrode, they'll look fine with out a super fancy shine. Wash 'em & wax 'em, that should be good enough I'd think :) I'd for sure go with the shorter springs and check into that spec on the Plus body kit lowering the car's wind drag. Might increase the mpg a bit over stock or offset the ~3 mpg hit of having 17's on the car. Just stash some cash when you can and eventually you can order the goods :) Maybe flip some burgers at night for a few months to get the cash faster? Or dig thru those GW Outlets and buy some goods to resell on eBay to make some good $$$ ;)

    Mike


    iPhone :)
     
    #28 WE0H, May 23, 2012
  9. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    The problem is I need ground clearance for the little bit of offroading I do for work. A body kit would be a nightmare as would a super low drop. Something like the Eibach kit would be my best bet. I'm trying to save up for a trip to Italy next year so I have to be good. :)
     
    #29 F8L, May 23, 2012
  10. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    Maybe airbags ;) or a used 2nd Gen for a work vehicle :) Yea I can understand your situation. Stick with stock until you can get a second vehicle for work. What's in Italy to see???

    Mike
     
    #30 WE0H, May 23, 2012
  11. SoCalBPrius

    SoCalBPrius Active Member

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    Just do it! (as the Nike slogan says, heehee) U know u want to:D.
     
    #31 SoCalBPrius, May 23, 2012
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  12. Codyroo

    Codyroo Senior Member

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    Are you going to Cinque terra?
     
    #32 Codyroo, May 23, 2012
  13. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Close. We are going to my girlfriend's father's hometown of Lavagna. The family likes to go back and visit friends and family there. I've never been to Europe so this a treat. We'll do the Switzerland thing too. :)
     
    #33 F8L, May 23, 2012
  14. SoCalBPrius

    SoCalBPrius Active Member

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    Nice! Someday I would like to take myself & the family on a European trip as I always dreamed of visiting England, France & Italy. I would definitely sacrifice some spending for a trip to Italy:). Just wanna say in advance, have fun & take alot of good pix.
     
    #34 SoCalBPrius, May 23, 2012
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  15. wotcher

    wotcher Member

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    f8l - trip sounds awesome. if the euro will tanks even more, then your trip will be less expensive.
     
    #35 wotcher, May 23, 2012
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  16. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    So finished off what was left of this tank when I started testing. I traveled 272 miles on the 17s and the weather has been remarkably similar except for one trip which involved strong headwinds over about 40miles or so.

    The result?

    56.4mpg indicated

    That is using my normal conservative technique of traveling no faster than 60mph on the freeway except to pass or get the heck out of the way. I have kept it in eco mode and didn't use the AC. I stuck to 50-55mph on the rural roads and would glide to stops when possible. This usually results in a 57-59mpg indicated so I still feel pretty good about the 3mpg difference given the driving conditions. It has been warmer in the mornings, however, so that may be helping a little yet my morning commute mpg is still down compared to the 15" tires. Regardless, this is not a huge loss like it was in the GenII and my GPS measured speed has been within 1mph of the speedo so tire diameter differences are not to blame.

    I refilled and will leave it in power mode and try to drive a little faster to simulate the average driver that cares about fuel savings but is not a hypermiler and see what I come up with.
     
    #36 F8L, May 24, 2012
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  17. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

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    Wow maybe your 17's have similar magic akin to the stock 17's?


    Posted from my iPhone via the Tapatalk app.
     
    #37 dustoff003, May 24, 2012
  18. eldiee

    eldiee Member

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    My 2010 Prius V(5) in the past 40 days has a little over 1000 miles on my trip B odometer and the computer says 60.1 mpg. The stock Toyo's(215x17) are getting wore down and that seems to be helping our mpg. Of course it reads between 5 & 6% higher than actual, but still good for 17" tires.I don't know what I will replace the Toyo's with when I get new tires.Everything now available seems to have trade offs. Get good handling, but give up mpg. Not a lot of good lrr tires available in my size.
     
    #38 eldiee, May 24, 2012
  19. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Nah, the only thing good about my 17s is they are only about 15lbs and the have a 42mm offset so they don't stick out real far. A 50mm offset would be better. When they were on my GenII the mpg always took a nosedive compared to my LRR 15" tires. I think the GenIII is just overall more efficient so the hit is reduced and the OE 15s on the GenIII are less efficient than the smaller and lighter 15s on the GenII. :)

    I can believe it given the right driving conditions. If I didn't have the giant hill on my commute I could have gotten closer to 60mpg on this last tank but I admit it takes a bit of work to get there.

    There are plenty of good LRR tire choices in that size. I can corner pretty damn fast with my MXM4s. I really don't know why you would want to try to go any faster really. LOL

    My advice is find something that is under $150/tire and has over 50,000 mile warranty. The Ecopia EP422 and Primacy MXM4 fit this criteria and there is always the Continental ExtremeContact DWS which is cheaper, has a decent warranty and rolls ok. It is not as good as the MXM4 in terms of wet traction and ride comfort and not as good as the EP422 in mpg. You're right about trade offs but you still have some great choices. See my LRR tire thread for more info.
     
    #39 F8L, May 24, 2012
  20. eldiee

    eldiee Member

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    Thanks for the response. I want to keep my high average mpg(55.9) and it will be three years old next month. The Toyo's are crazy expensive. I'm not sure if the Conti are Lrr tires. Snow traction is not to important as we use our 4x4 Escape Hybrid when it snows as we live on top the river bluff which is a quarter mile up a steep hill to our home. It seems also that the Michelin's also give up several mpg.I have not looked at the Ecopia tires as I did not know they were available in my size.
     
    #40 eldiee, May 24, 2012
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