Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online! Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online!
Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online! 
-
Latest | 0 Rplys
Go Back   Automotive Forums .com Car Chat > Engineering/Technical > Tires and Wheels
Reply Show Printable Version Show Printable Version | Email this Page Email this Page | Subscription Subscribe to this Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 06-30-2006, 04:18 PM   #1
Alex37211
AF Regular
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Posts: 125
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Myth or fact?

Do bigger wheels help in gas milage? I figure that it would since the car travels further distance per wheel revolution. But some one said they can hurt gas milage in some instances. Is there any fact behind either of these claims?
Alex37211 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2006, 05:21 PM   #2
drdisque
AF Enthusiast
 
drdisque's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 3,476
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts
Send a message via AIM to drdisque
Re: Myth or fact?

larger diameter TIRES will because you turn less rpm on the highway.

However, larger wheels add unspring weight and hurt gas mileage
__________________
Dr. Disque -
Current cars:
2008 BMW 135i M-Sport
2011 Mazda2 Touring

Past cars:
2007 Mazda 6S 5-door MT
1999 Ford Taurus SE Duratec
drdisque is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-03-2006, 06:41 PM   #3
fastmoney
AF Regular
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: chicago, Illinois
Posts: 109
Thanks: 2
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Re: Myth or fact?

yea any wheel that is heavier than what u had before is gonna hurt gas mileage. just like anything that is added to your cars weight
fastmoney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-07-2006, 12:04 AM   #4
PlayStation3
AF Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Port Charlotte, Florida
Posts: 1,446
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Re: Myth or fact?

air prussure does help your mpg tough.
PlayStation3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-2006, 02:06 AM   #5
Rufe
AF Regular
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Posts: 104
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Re: Myth or fact?

A larger tire diameter will lower the rpm's for a given speed. The lower rpm's is where the gas is saved. If the tire is made narrower, there is less frontal area, i.e. less overall aerodynamic drag. This also saves gas, since you need less HP.

If the tire is heavier, or wider, it takes more HP to get to that speed, so you lose gas mileage there. Once at that speed, this is not so obvious.

In summary, yes, a larger (diameter) tire is like gearing the engine down a bit, similar to an overdrive, and saves gas at steady cruising only. It may use a bit more gas to get there though.

(Most of these points were already mentioned in the above posts)
Rufe is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply

POST REPLY TO THIS THREAD

Go Back   Automotive Forums .com Car Chat > Engineering/Technical > Tires and Wheels

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:07 PM.

Community Participation Guidelines | How to use your User Control Panel

Powered by: vBulletin | Copyright Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
 
 
no new posts