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MPG

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by tguyton93551, Jul 9, 2005.

  1. tguyton93551

    tguyton93551 New Member

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    I have been getting 43-45 mpg on my 2003 Prius, but going through a lot of tires -- 3 sets in 60,000. My local tire dealer suggested going to a slightly wider tire, 185 vs. 175. I did that, but my mpg is down to 36-38. Can the extra 10mm of width cause a 15% decrease in mpg, or is something else at play here? The dealer has checked the car and can find no problems.
     
    #1 tguyton93551, Jul 9, 2005
  2. Tadashi

    Tadashi Member

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    wow that seems like a lot of tires. Isn't there a warranty on the tires you are buying? One thing to consider if you are in a really hot area the tires melt more on the highways. In El Paso we just had a tanker truck's tire catch on fire (which caused the truck to explode).

    I get an avg of 54 mpg and my tires are 185s. Has anything else changed since you put on the wider tires? Different gas, different routes, temps, driving habits, etc?
     
    #2 Tadashi, Jul 9, 2005
  3. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    tire wear-in probably accounts for some of that. my question is why you're eating up tires like that. do you check your alignment often enough and keep them properly inflated?
     
    #3 galaxee, Jul 9, 2005
  4. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    It sounds like you were driving with original tires that were barely inflated enough, then you switched to wider non-LRR tires. If so, that MPG is what you can expect. The wider width and the fact that the tires aren't LRR (Low Rolling Resistant) like the original tires will prevent you from ever reaching super high MPG.

    I strongly suggest you bump your tire PSI up to 44 front & 42 rear. Between that and when new tires break-in completes, your MPG will be up quite a bit.

    Using the same size tire, but non-LRR, tire on my 2001 Prius, I managed a whole summer at 50 MPG. So there is hope. Here's details... http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-maintain....#AlternateTires

    By the way, the alternate tires will last quite a bit longer too.
     
    #4 john1701a, Jul 9, 2005
  5. tguyton93551

    tguyton93551 New Member

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    Tadashi - No, haven't changed anything besides the tire size. The reason the tire shop recommended a wider tire is that we drive a lot of curvy roads in this area, so they think maybe that is the reason for the high usage.

    John1701a - Thanks for the tip on pressure. I'll try it.

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    #5 tguyton93551, Jul 9, 2005
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