MPG drop with touring wheels?

not to that extent... you can see in my sig that i've only had one tank in the 30's and that was my wife driving (and probably a fluke considering the next tank i had)

however I do think my mpg's are probably lower than a base Prius, but probably only by 5ish (if that)

oh, and the wheel covers won't have any effect at all, either way

 

Hi Arvind,

When Consumer Reports tested the Standard Prius, it found that it got 44 mpg average.

When it tested the Touring Prius it found that it got 42 mpg average -- only 2 mpg less than the Standard Prius.

Assuming you didn't change the OEM tires on either the Standard or the Touring's wheels, your mpg difference should correspond to Consumer Reports'.

BTW, for that 2 mpg drop, you should get improved handling and about 10 feet shorter 60 - 0 mph braking distances.

One of several interesting threads on the subject is this one: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-hybrid-news/46823-consumers-reports-tests-touring.html

Also, as Pablo said, the Touring wheel covers will make no difference whatsoever.

 

Merge this thread with the one in "Economy" please. Posting the same topic in multiple forums is kind of a no no.

 

Maybe the Falkens have a higher rolling resistance than the Touring's OEM Bridgestone Turenzas.

Also, did you change from the Touring's OEM tire size of 195/55/16?

 

I'm running touring wheels on a non-touring 06. Falken Tires 195/55-16.

My worst tank was 43 mpg. Best 49.

5000 miles so far.

42 psi front, 40 rear.

Mostly city short runs < 10 miles.

 

the question is: do you have bridgestone turanza tires? or just the touring wheels? running 35 psi in the turanzas would definitely cause a mpg hit since they are rated at 51...

 

Do trim rings have any effect on road noise as well? I have an 08 with 6000 mi. & a 07 with 22,000 mi....the road noise is really loud in the 08 & the only difference is no rings and the tires have alot more tread on the 08 (original tires on both ,both #2 pkg) or does it get quieter as the tires wear ...... mileage is better on the 07 too..thanks

 

if you need the "touring" wheel covers, ill sell you my set, 4, clean no scratches

 

I would try tracking the milage after a few more tanks without changing your normal driving style and see if the loss persists.

A new and more agressive set of tires should decrease your milage like I state din the other thread but this does seem a bit much. I hope it's just a fluke tank and it goes back up for ya.

 

Seems that quite a few people see significant mileage dropoffs when they change something. For that reason, I hesitate to change anything--except maybe to increase tire pressures by 2-3 psi. Don't try to fix what isn't broke, as the saying goes.

 

Mine is a touring - during a tankful of around the town trips I get EPA's 46 or a little better. This summer I was commuting weekly - eight 250 round trips. I set the cruise at 60 on the interstate and averaged 52 on those tanks. I run 42 & 40 in the tires. I live in piedmont NC and the temps are low 90's so I keep the a/c pumping. I'm no hypermiler, but do try to use good technique. This may give you some baseline for comparison. Best regards

 

If -YOU- don't check and set the tire pressure you DON'T know what it's at. Our "professional" tire shops around here are notorious for not setting the tire pressure. They just "fill them up till they look good". You should be checking your tire pressure at least once a month. Some do so once a week.

I run 40 PSI front and 38 PSI rear. I use Nokian WR tires, 15" stock size. The tires are rated for over 50 PSI BTW. Look on the tire sidewall for the max. inflation pressure. I wouldn't recommend exceeding that. The rear should have less pressure than the front (see door placard).

Your "V" rated tires are probably "performance" tires, and will probably give you poorer fuel economy. They are designed to be "extra sticky" on the pavement and will loose some energy doing so. I wouldn't expect to see a 25% loss however. Perhaps 10% max.

 

Also check the weight of your Falken V rated tires. OEM Integrity tires are 17 lbs each. If Falken tires are 4 lbs heavier each, plus the "sticky" compond, your MPG can get quite a hit if you drive agressively. Do you find yourself pressing harder on the accelerator? A tip is to put the MFD on the Energy screen and try to avoid acceleration that creates an arrow from the battery to the wheel. See if that improves your MPG.

 

Just checked... If you have Ziex ZE-912, then 195/55/16 weights in at 20.4 lbs.

For reference, Nokian I3s on my 15" rims weights at 16.3 lbs.