Testing MPG with 17s vs. 15s

Mike's car finally looks good

 

To get the floor jack under Denise's Sky RL, I have to drive the car on a couple 2x6's then the jack rolls under the car.

Mike

 

Site gremlin's Danny has his work cut out for him. I bet he is taking the weekend off for a insanity break

Mike

 

OK, I used to work in a tire store mounting tires all day. If you plus size your wheel you typicaly go with a lower profile tire (shorter sidewall / wide track) If to keep the same hight and same weight, is it the larger track (tire to surface) that kills the mileage? I really like a full wheel well of aweesome wheel and less rubber. Gives ya that go-kart feel. WHY does mileage suffer? Answer: Because.

 

I imagine the best we can hope for is a wheel/tyre combo that gives us 70-80% of the best of each. This is why I would have been happier with stock 16" wheels and LRR 205 mm tyres instead of the 17" and 215 my car came with.

I wonder how many people care that much about tyres and wheels. Perhaps the dealerships could offer a customization feature.

 

I think there's a decent population of people that care about tires and wheels, but probably not enough for a dealership to want to deal with a customization option and more inventory. My biggest concern with getting aftermarket combos, is trying to sell the old stuff without "giving it away". Otherwise, you end up with items just sitting around and taking up space.

We'll have more LRR tire choices now, so choosing one that meets the criteria that you're looking for should be relatively easy within the next couple years. We have choices now, but there may not be much selection within what you choose as your main concerns at the moment.

Unless the Energy Saver A/S gets a little more refined handling wise, I'm not sure I'd go back to them later solely for MPG purposes. I'm just glad to see this tire segment growing like it has over the last year or two.

 

Yep.

Unless I end up with a reason to own two sets of wheels, I'm pretty much stuck with my 17s all read round, tightwad that I am. I'm hoping that a nice LRR, 17 inch, 205 mm tyre is available by the time my OEMs need replacement. The decrease in tyre width should gain me about 2.5% better fuel economy, all else staying the same.

 

I love my 16" wheels & 205/55R16 Energy Saver summer tires. They handle great & have none of the issues that you all have talked about with the Energy Saver A/S. I still believe this is the best of all worlds. I've been getting low 50's since I installed them. I've had 5 fill-ups with them so far & these are my calculated mpg for them.

5/31 53.3 mpg
5/18 53.6 mpg
5/7 51.3 mpg
4/25 52.2 mpg
4/15 50.0 mpg

 

I pretty much want your setup... or perhaps swap out the Energy Savers with Avid Ascends... maybe. Can't find those wheels anywhere though. I probably can't drop either... unless there are springs that drop less than an inch or an inch at max.

 

Thanks, the Eibach springs have a drop of 1.1", much better look but not slammed. I really like how the summer Energy Saver has worked out. I run winter tires through those months so no worries about that.

 

They really need to make them in the 215/45/17 size, especially if they already have them in 225/50/17 and other sizes.

 

They would not have the proper speed rating. The EP422 is already available in the stock 17 size.


iPhone ?

 

You know this how? The NRG Saver A/S is available in the 225/50/17 size with V speed rating. Maybe you like to go 118 mpg+ in your Prius but the rest of us don't

 

What is the max speed a Prii is programmed for? I was driving a rental Prii in Michigan last summer for dozens of miles between 85 and the triple digits

Mike