16" tires on a prius/mileage
Created June 18, 2007, at 3:16 pm by davidprius
i just put 16" tires on my 2005 prius. diameter of 16" is less than 1/2" of old tires and appears to be ok to use. mileage has dropped from 48 to 43. anybody else out there who has tried larger wheels (16" or other) and had a similar experience?
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Did you recalibrate your odometer after adding the larger tire? If not, your mileage computations will be way off.
how do you recalibrate your odometer?
I don't know. I know of people who have done it with conventional cars after lowering or lifting them. Its probably different for a Prius but you might check with mechanics who specialize in off-road modifications or tuners. Different size tires will throw the speedometer and the odometer off.
Probably the easiest thing to do today is just measure your mileage using a cheap portable GPS receiver. It will give you both speed and miles driven - and pretty accurately too.
You have a gear on the end of your odometer cable going into the transmisssion on a "regular" vehicle and when you change tire size, you also need to change the gear, hope this helps!!!
I have a Prius Touring edition which has 16" wheels. My mileage is quite poor (38 to 42) MPG. Do you suppose that Toyota didn't calibrate for the bigger size. I'd like to blame it on something.
donrim
I have a 2007 Prius Touring edition as well.
My MPG from the first tank ( manufacture gas ) was really poor - below 40 - as well. After that, I switched to Shell gas, now I am getting around 45 and above ever since. I am on the 4th tank now.
There are folks on another Hybrid message board have done study that Shell gas is the most effecient for Prius. You might want to give it a try and see how it works for you. You may not see it right off, but after the 2nd tank Shell gas, you probably will see the difference.
Just a thought.
which octane did you use?
Hello, I owned a Prius 2007 touring edition, I bought this car on May 31, 07, on july 20, 07 I visit the dealer for the first change of oil and explain to the service rep that my car only make 38 MPG on city and 43 on highway. Two hours later he show me the new EPA estimated and told me the car is ok. Here the problem when I bought the car the dealer mention the car has new improvements on gas mileage with 55 MPG (60 city and 51 highway), also for that the car has a markup of $5,000 more. Guest what the new epa estimated is 45 MPG. Just I want share this info for the moment...
I use Shell 87.
So far, Woody - my Prius - is getting close to 46 MPG for the past tank.
By the book, all the studies and researches have been done by other fellow Prius owners, Shell 87 so far is the gas that provides the best MPG performance for Prius.
I always use regular (87 0ctane). Also in response to the gentleman who suggested that Shell gas might help mileage, I just tried a tank of Shell and my city mileage DECREASED to 36 MPG from 38!
I think that the newer Priuses are much hype and confusion and reverse beeper noise and tire size complication that are certainly not worth about $4K extra!
And those of you who would call me an idiot or accuse me of not knowing how to drive are welcome to stop by. I will give you $10 and you can fill up with your choice of gasoline, adjust the tire tire pressure to your liking and test drive it for about 5 hours and show me that this car can get say 45MPG!
Interstates and city roads are close by.
Sincerely, donrim
I was told that you have to get special tires for Prius cars. That is why you see the decrease in MPG. Can anyone confirm this?
I just got my 2008 touring edition with 16" tires 2 days ago. After 140 miles (testing to see the mileage), I'm getting 48 plus.
Just filled up my 1st tank on my 2008 Touring. One bar left on the gas display... 320 miles. I calculated 37.25 mpg... the car's computer was saying 40.0.
How accurate is the car's display usually?
The car's display is extremely accurate, more accurate than manual calculations.
Shell 87 Octane gives the best mileage (47- 50) on my Toyota Prius. I never got over 44 MPG before.
Shell 87 Octane is the best Gas for the Prius. Which I discovered by accident I was low on cash so I went for the cheapest grade but I was amazed at the mileage I thought it was the Shell Gas Station so the next time I put Shell 91 Octane but the mileage dropped back to 44 so I thought maybe it was a one time thing then I remembered it was Shell 87 Octane not 91 Octane so I reluctantly put Shell 87 Octane and was shocked at the result 47 MPG, and it was even better Stop and Go Traffic it went up to 50MPG.
Paul
I have owned eight prius cars. They all tended to do better after the break in period (20,000 miles). I found that all the cars performed exactly the same for me, around 52 mpg over all and 51 on the highway. I know there are a lot of variables. If you want to read suggestions from owners getting the best mileage, download the pdf here http://priuschat.com/forums/knowledge-base-articles-discussion/37214-why...
I bought a set of Goodrich tires for mine that have a 70,000 mile limited warranty. The car sits a lot higher, and gets around 43 mpg vs. the 47 or more I had before. I did notice that the mileage went up or down some with tire rotations. I think that my higher mileage reading were due to the smaller tires as they wore out, since they turn more often, and give a false increased distance reading. I also noticed an improvement with Shell 87 oct. I have a 2005 model. My other car does better on Shell also.
If you look at rolling radius charts from Michelin and others, the revs/mile of the P195/55R16 tires are essentially the same as the 185/65R15 tires. This is because even though the diameter at the rim is an an inch different the lower profile of the larger tire compensates. So I don't think you have to change the speedometer gear. Anyway it is so easy to test on any interstate using the mileposts...
I have a 2008 Touring model. With original Bridgestone EL-400 Turanza average mileage was 48.7 (combined city/hwy). On cross country trips (3000+miles) avg about 47 mpg hwy. On return had a problem with tires, manufacturer defect and Firestone replace with them with Bridgestone ultra high performance tire, Potenza RE960AS Pole Position, which have a higher load rating, speed rating, better all season tire according to tests. Only thing the tire is a 205/55/16. Only 1/3 inch difference in size, equates to 14 more revolutions per mile (about 740 revs/mile). Should not make any difference, but it certainly did change mileage. Now over exact same route to work I only get 41.7 vs 48+ mpg. Can't understand reasons but Bridgestone said I was getting bettter performance/load rating but may lose mpg. Any others with experience in changing tire size??
I have seen very similar results since getting new tires. On my 07 Touring, I used to average about 48mpg highway/city combined. After about 28k, my stock Turanza's wore out, and I replaced them with the same size Potenza's. I'm now getting an average of 42mpg. It really kinda sucks, and now I wish I had gotten some Michelin Energy efficient tires. =/ I've got about 5k on the tires at this point, and they don't seem to be any better. I've read that tires tend to get better as they are worn in... hopefully they do get better, since they're 60k tires, they might take a bit to break in.
The problem, from what I've heard, is that tire companies don't rate "rolling resistance". So, while Toyota probably figured out that the OEM Turanza's were really good as far as rolling resistance, they suck for longevity. The Potenza's are much better tires as far as handling, and ride, but they "stick" to the road more, and therefore make the car work harder to roll them on the road.
Biggest problem here in Oregon is it's nearly impossible to get Ethanol free gas. Ethanol really kills mileage, and it makes it really hard to figure out whether my mileage should be higher since people in other states aren't necessarily forced to use Ethanol'd gas.
As far as the Shell v. other gas, I haven't seen any difference myself. I might try switching back to Shell, and see what that does. Right now, I'm on Chevron. I've also seen people that suggest putting a tank of Premium gas through the prius every so often to clear out the injectors. Doing so doesn't seem to have made a lot of difference for me. =/ I've always used either Chevron or Shell gas (I never buy cheap gas), so I don't think this idea does much in this case.
Good luck everyone! Winter sucks for the Prius. Check out Priuschat.com, there are all kinds of options to help. From a block heater, to blocking part of the radiator grill with some pipe insulation to keep the car "warm".
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