bigger tires versus fuel milage

[hitman]

Hey all im debating a small lift and some beefier tire, i have about 30 mins drive each way to work and i was curious if anyone out there has noticed a drop in fuel economy and im assuming there is but how much?
im sure its dependent on the tires but im looking at a semi-aggressive on-off road tire...

 

[4wVoy]

depends on the tire and what size. I went with General Grabber AT2's 265/75/17 and did the PCMforless tune at the same time and didnt really notice any difference. I wasn't able to go through a bunch of tanks while I was back home and the speedo is off a little now too. Probably didn't help out too much but there are other factors needed to really say/guess. My drop was probably 2-3ish mpg give or take.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Thats prolly bout right. I think the basic lift and little At's cost me about 2 mpg.

 

[Me007gold]

Yep 3" lift 265/75/16 about 2-3 mpg.

 

[Short Bus]

I would guess those numbers are about right, but I don't have any hard numbers to back it up. I stepped from 245/65/17 to 265/65/17 and then 265/70/17

 

[FlyingFischer]

For me I got 2 different results.

For in town driving my mileage went down of coarse because it's harder to get those bigger tires rolling. But for freeway driving i got better gas mileage. Both trip from Spokane to Seattle (roughly 300 miles) I got 22 mpg, and stock i was getting about 18 mpg! But also having a tune, intake and exhaust probably helped with that but still 22 mpg is damn good IMO.

And i have the ReadyLift 2.5" lift, 1.3" spacer, SS 20", and Cooper Zeon LTZ 285/50/20. They are the most aggressive looking low profile 20" tire under 32" so i didn't need a body lift.

 

[leehype]

There is more to the tire size/lift/MPG thing than meets the eye. Lifts kill mileage, the drag produced is difficult to overcome. However, most people who add lift, also add skid plats which in turn help with drag. The tires them selves also have effects. The biggest experience I have to offer is when I switched from BFG AT's on my Wrangler (32x11.50x15's) to Micky Thomsons MTZ (33x12.50x15's) I got an extra 1-2 MPG all around. 90% of the time, the reverse will be the case, but some times, a more aggressive tire with more room for air to move around it (as in a mud tire) can move though the air easier than a slicker tire. Also, changing tire size and re gearing to keep the RPM's close to where they need to be can also offset the MPG's. My Jeep was geared for the 33's, so this might also helped with my MPG's.

 

[jbones]

2' lift 255/65/17 all season tire and about a 1 1/2 mpg loss.

Meant to say 2" lift

 

[4wVoy]

2' lift 255/65/17 all season tire and about a 1 1/2 mpg loss.

that has to be the tallest GMT ever, 2 FEET huh

 

[jbones]

that has to be the tallest GMT ever, 2 FEET huh

Woops I best fix that, or lower it . Not bad for only 1 1/2 mpg loss!