05 HCH MPG decrease

Hi Red 5:

Yes, the type of tires you end up installing in your car can have a significant impact on your fuel economy. But let's work on this "lower MPG" issue one item at the time.

First thing I ask you to do is to air up your tires - especially- if they are not rated as LRR (Low Rolling Resistance). To air up you tires, first read what the maximum pressure on the sidewall of the tire is (typically 44 or 51 PSI).

Once you have this max pressure rating at hand, please inflate the front tires with a pressure that is 2 PSI lower than this listed maximum pressure. For the rear tires you set the pressure at 4 PSI lower than the maximum pressure.

Todays tires can withstand pressure 2-4 times their listed maximum pressure rating so do not worry when setting up the pressure to those levels is. It is perfectly safe.

Give it a shot and lets us know how you fare. In the future though, make sure that the tires you buy are LRR rated or just ask in the forum for a tire brand and model recommendation.

Cheers;

MSantos

There are three significant factors to watch for (at this time of the year) when looking at mileage drops like that:
1- Oil change, where the wrong oil was likely used (very common)
2- Non LRR tires (very common)
3- An electrical drain or malfunctioning high power system in the car (not so common)

They were not kidding with regards to the LRR tires and neither am I. Unfortunately, your story is way too common and typical particularly when owners replace the OEM LRR tires with something else. Sorry, but that is just the way it is and that is certainly why every fuel efficient hybrid (Civic & Prius) always comes from the factory with LRR tires on.

But like I said, there are ways of mitigating that deficiency.

By the way, what is your maximum tire rating on your current tires and what pressure do you have them at, at the moment?

Cheers;

MSantos

I tried some Michelins on my 2003 and had to take them back and order the factory tires from tirerack.com.

Since you have a 2006 I suggest the Goodrich at SAMSCLUB. They cost me $66 each and I actually get better mileage than the factory tires. The dealer was out and I could not wait for a shipment from tirerack. I am running 42 PSI in these tires and they are on the front only.

Which Goodrich tires are those, etb. FYI, our current (OEM) tires are:

Bridgestone Insignia SE200 P195/65-R15

Hi Mendel;

Yes, the OEM's don't win any awards in some areas but they are VERY hard to beat for FE purposes. Personally, I recommend nothing but the OEM rubber for myself and anyone else who asks.

The Bridgestone Insignia's or Dunlops Sp31 are the ones I will always vote for - hands down.

However, Michelin has some very good tires too that have VERY low LRR coefficients (even smaller than the OEM rubber) and if you can get your hands on those then they may be worth the extra cost. The problem of course is finding those "energy saving" tire models at your nearest shop.

Cheers;

MSantos

Touring TA pro series 195/65R15/ Goodrich made by Mich. Outsatnding tires.

Made in Romania.

Theoretically it would help get better mileage.

But despite Honda not recommending such oil weights at all, it would be interesting to see if there are any side effects (i.e: leaks) that would be evident by using the Royal Purple formulation.

Anyone want to try it on their HCH-2 ? :D

Cheers;

MSantos

bump

A long time ago, in the service moving around a lot, I tried various brands of oil, I found changing brands increased use and it took several changes of new brand before oil consumption went down again. Probably not good idea to change brands often, each brand has different combinations of suspension agent to keep crud from setteling in engine, and solvents to dissolve combustion carbon scraped from cyllinder walls by rings. Good luck with lighter oil weight and new brand.

PS/ watch the dealer, they will let the air out of your tires and put the wrong oil in.

My Prius came with Goodyear Integrity tires. They had lousy traction on wet roads and snowy roads and were noisy as well. When it came time to replace them I switched to Goodyear Assurance Comfortreds. They are quieter, with much better traction, but my average mileage immediately dropped from about 54 mpg to about 49 mpg, and stayed there. I keep all my fuel records on a spreadsheet with a mileage graph and the change was dramatic. I figure the extra fuel cost over the 80,000 mile life of the tires will be about $550, more than I paid for the tires. My next tires will be Michelin MV4X energys, or whatever LRR tire Michelin makes. I won't go back to the Integrities.