opinions on tyre width and mpg

Phil_beeza

Active Member
May 15, 2007
461
0
the 215 width yokohama's i've got on now have taken me from ~45 mpg, to 41.5

the wheel as well probably affects this, but has anyone got experiences of different makes of tyres/width and their figures?

when they need replacing i may well go for the GDS3's at 205/40, but wondered if anyone had evidence or facts...

if 205's end up giving me the same as 215, may as well stay with 215

unless anyone knows if the yokohama parada 2 give really bad fuel efficiency?

thx
 

Ad Lav

vRS...
Nov 10, 2006
4,230
1
Kent
Bigger wheels will give worse mpg??

The 16's on my car did allow 55mpg before remapped, now mapped with 17's mpg struggles above 48ish
 

Ad Lav

vRS...
Nov 10, 2006
4,230
1
Kent
Suppose that's no direct comparison, samller width give better mpg though, my neighbour has smart car, they have skinny tyres to boost mpg
 

Phil_beeza

Active Member
May 15, 2007
461
0
im not sure how hard it's going to be to actually find out if anyone has a direct comparison of tyre width :s
 

DEAN0

Old Git
Feb 1, 2006
5,288
300
Preston - UK
Phil_beeza - the 215 width yokohama's i've got on now have taken me from ~45 mpg, to 41.5

If the 215 tyres are still 40 profile then it is the larger diameter that is causing the problem.

215/40/17 are larger diameter than 205/40/17 so the car will be overgeared and working the engine harder.
 

keefy

Active Member
Dec 4, 2006
344
0
Most of the effect of changes in fuel consumption will result not from tyre width AND the actual tread pattern of a tyre and the compound of rubber (205 - 215 is only a 5% increase and rolling resistance only makes up a portion of total drag).
Auto Express do an annual tyre test and I think they still do a rolling resistance test. All the tyres are the same size, but the difference in tread design/compund can lead to a substantial variation in resistance. Tyres like Michelin Energy have tread patterns specifically designed to help eke out more mpg.

To demonstrate this, ride a mountain bike with very knobbly tyres and one with tyres designed for the road. The difference is very noticeable.
 

Poverty

Guest
Is new alloys could also be quite a bit heavier than his old ones which contributes also!
 

m0rk

sarcasm comes free
Staff member
May 19, 2001
27,787
33
Clanfield, UK
Yoko Parada's are a very sticky tyre, of course they'll affect your mpg

the stickier, and larger your contact area, the worse it'll get - so fit some 13/135/75's andrun them at 50psi
 
Jun 28, 2001
1,533
0
yup more friction=less mpg

for good fuel effieiency bald tyres are always best but unfortunatley illegal
 

Phil_beeza

Active Member
May 15, 2007
461
0
cheers for all those info's

yeah the 215's are still 40 prof. when they were fitted i thought they filled out the arches very nicely - they do look the sh*t but that bigger diamater i guess is the price.

someone else mentioned michelins as being good for mpg, are the yoko's quite soft? and the yoko's also have massive tread grooves in them, good for grip but increase road resistance i guess. both the same thing really...

opinions of how the michelins are for dry/wet grip?
 
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Phil_beeza

Active Member
May 15, 2007
461
0
Monday is the last point i have the option to change tyres from the shop i bought it from, to return the tyres for different ones
 

Phil_beeza

Active Member
May 15, 2007
461
0
well, he suggested/recommended it....

aside from the gds3's...would you say the michelins? exalto 2 poss?
 

Ksalmi

Active Member
Apr 5, 2007
65
3
Finland
From what I know the tyremarks M+S means mud and snow.. we got them in our wintertyres... but im just messing with ya ;)
 

Phil_beeza

Active Member
May 15, 2007
461
0
i'm sticking with the yoko's for now

when i replace i might go for 205 width and some slightly harder tyres....probably end up asking what the cupra's are being fitted with as standard;)
 
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