How much of a difference do tires make

When Round and Black Becomes Lean and Green

Expect a 3 MPG drop if you do not buy a Low Rolling Resistance tire.

 

Or more if you go with a more performance oriented tire. The normal tires they tested in Round and Black were still pretty decent for fuel mileage. Slap on a set of ultra-high performance tires and watch your mileage tank. lol

 

Obviously a lot according to my experience. I took my car to the Toyota dealer for new tires & asked if I needed to put the same tire on. They said they have been having good luck with Nexum tires and they were $10 cheaper per tire, so I bit. My average mpg has gone from 44 to 39. I've already spent more $ on gas than I saved on the tires, and that was only 5000 miles ago. I'm pretty upset. Anyone else had this experience?

 

I went from 49 to 44 when I bought Michelin X's for my 2008 Prius at Costco.

 

You mean "Michelin X green" that is OEM tire Toyota Canada is installing here.

 

Michelin doesn't sell a tire called X green in the U.S.. They do sell an X Radial which is likely what he was talking about.

 

Tremendous in my opinion. I went from the OEM tire to Michelin Energy Saver A/S and the milage remained very positive. But the road noise was significantly lower. The down side ... I understand they are not very good in the snow, but I have an AWD for when it snows. Also .... they are hard to find now.

 

Remember, that a new tire with full tread depth will roll harder than a tire that is well worn. Some loss in mileage is to be expected.