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Priuschat Tire Pressure / Mileage Experiment

Discussion in 'Knowledge Base Articles Discussion' started by TonyPSchaefer, May 30, 2014.

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  1. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Here's my idea:
    We get as many people as possible in as many different models as possible to carefully monitor their tire pressure and mileage to verify or debunk a correlation between tire pressure and mileage. Also, how much influence there is and at what point are there diminishing returns.

    I'm thinking it would work like this:
    Factory Default psi
    40 psi
    45 psi
    50 psi
    55 psi

    Everyone runs two tanks of "regular commute" at each psi. The higher pressures are for the brave.

    Here's what we need:
    • A way to record everyone's results
    • Everyone's vehicle model
    • Estimated city/highway percentages
    • Average temps for each tank to attempt normalization
    • Volunteers
    It won't be perfect because there are simply too many variables. But perhaps if we monitor only the delta and not the individual mileage, we just might see a trend.

    So:
    • Who's in?
    • How do we pull this off?
     
    #1 TonyPSchaefer, May 30, 2014
  2. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    I certainly won't be part of suggesting folks exceed the max load rating of their tires. No amount of gas would relieve the guilt if even one accident resulted.
     
    #2 JimboPalmer, May 30, 2014
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Did I mention voluntary? I meant to say "voluntary."
     
    #3 TonyPSchaefer, May 30, 2014
  4. joeman

    joeman Member

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    I will keep my o6 ,
    42 front
    40 back
    Won't be doing any calculating myself, My car gets Awesome gas miliage PERIOD.....
     
    #4 joeman, May 30, 2014
  5. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    Having the "Summer Blend" just released in Los Angeles, my MPG went up about 4 MPG! I am currently at 48.6 on 90 miles of back and forth starting Monday the 26yh May 2014! I run 44/42 F/R!! When the tires are at recommended settings, i lose about 3 to 5 MPG!
     
    #5 KK6PD, May 30, 2014
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i believe t/p makes very little difference. i would be happy to help prove/disprove my anecdotal evidence. i am so sure of myself, i run my tyres at 42/40.:oops:
     
    #6 bisco, May 30, 2014
    joeman likes this.
  7. WNY-HYBRID

    WNY-HYBRID Member

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    Tire pressure obviously make a big difference. We have to remember some people are running cheapie tires and mileage gains might not be so good for them ( higher rolling resistance, ect)

    I'm in, even though I know what the end result will be.
     
    #7 WNY-HYBRID, May 30, 2014
  8. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    ...doing some Google searches on the topic a few weeks ago, saw some old (pre-2010) posts suggesting hypermiling expert Wayne Gerdes likes to use extremely high air pressure in his tires. I never get much higher than 40 myself. Does he have a website with some of this kind of info (effect of tire pressure)?
     
    #8 wjtracy, May 30, 2014
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i remember one guy posting that 10 psi = 10 mpg?(n)
     
    #9 bisco, May 30, 2014
  10. MSA14

    MSA14 Junior Member

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    I'm in. Currently run 40/38 on the factory yokohama s33's on a gen 3.
     
    #10 MSA14, May 30, 2014
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i think we need danny's help, bob wilson, justin (fl8) and dianne whitmire.;)
     
    #11 bisco, May 30, 2014
  12. WNY-HYBRID

    WNY-HYBRID Member

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    The more the merrier. It'd be nice to prove to all the haters that pressure is a contributor to MPG.

    To be honest, I wouldn't care it it got 40 mpg all the time. My ford 350 6.4 diesel got 11 mpg all the time.
     
    #12 WNY-HYBRID, May 31, 2014
  13. Jimi1976

    Jimi1976 Active Member

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    42 front
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    Getting 55-65mpg on my 40 mile round trip daily commute (northern Illinois)


    iPhone ?
     
    #13 Jimi1976, Jun 7, 2014
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    I have two ranges: ~38psi for the (OEM) 215/45R17 Michelin Pilots, ~44psi for the 195/65R15 Michelin X-Ice.
     
    #14 Mendel Leisk, Jun 7, 2014
  15. ibmoses

    ibmoses Junior Member

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    Found this thread while searching for tire pressure info...

    Newbie with a New 2013 Prius Two, has rhe Bridgestone Ecopia tires.

    Thinking of going 38f/38r or 40f/38r but really dont have a clue :)
    That sound like a good starting point to youse guys?
     
    #15 ibmoses, Jun 8, 2014
  16. WNY-HYBRID

    WNY-HYBRID Member

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    I drove from Buffalo, NY to Manhattan, then to Newport, RI and back to Buffalo..


    1079 miles. 22 gallons

    Average 49.0 MPG

    42 psi all around
     
    #16 WNY-HYBRID, Jun 8, 2014
  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if you're starting from factory specs, now is a great time to try a tank at 2psi increments for ride, noise and mpg comparison.
     
    #17 bisco, Jun 8, 2014
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    or not.:rolleyes:
     
    #18 bisco, Jun 20, 2014
  19. WNY-HYBRID

    WNY-HYBRID Member

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    Sold the prius -so no more tire BS for me. Just picked up my Tesla S. All electric 250 miles per "tank". Charges in 3 hours at home
     
    #19 WNY-HYBRID, Jun 21, 2014
  20. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

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    So what's your tire pressure, you can be the "other" tester, try 30psi and run some distance trials, then 42psi and see if the distance doesn't increase by 10% or more, if it seems a burden I'd be happy to lend some time behind the wheel;)

    btw, it's not tire "bs" it's common sense
     
    #20 ursle, Jun 21, 2014
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