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Does going from 17" to 18" wheels and tires have any effect on gas mileage? I'm not complaining about mpg like some do, just curious.
17" vs 18" mpg
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The only conceivable delta would be the difference in the weight of the wheels. Seriously? No real difference. Steelers had a lousy day in camp. Okobi's out -- and his career might be done. :willy:
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any possible difference would be neglegible
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Not as dumb as fretting over mpg for upteen threads.enjracing said:
Not 100% true.b_a_betterperson said:
You would have more rotating mass but also a slightly different rolling radius too. The latter would provide slightly different gearing and conceivably better mileage.
That being said, the difference between the two (17" versus 18") I think would be statistically insignificant.
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Assuming they'd go +1 from 2454517 to 2454018...SJAndrew said:
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That's just rude. We're not that kind of forum. People shouldn't be afraid to ask questions here.enjracing said:
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Thanks to all that replied and I thought that was rude also. Like he once said, in his many mpg threads, if you don't like it, don't read it and please don't bother to comment.
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going from 17s to 18s will only lower your acceleration since like the aforementioned, the rotational mass will be more, and your car would need more momentum to get going - but you'll reach a higher top speed.
and since you need more momentum, your car will also use more fuel - but most likely a negligent amount - it wont affect it +/- 1 MPG.
what you SHOULD be concerned about is trying to keep the overall diameter of the tire about the same - since the RPM/MPH gauges are measured in that sense. show us some pix of the car!
and since you need more momentum, your car will also use more fuel - but most likely a negligent amount - it wont affect it +/- 1 MPG.
what you SHOULD be concerned about is trying to keep the overall diameter of the tire about the same - since the RPM/MPH gauges are measured in that sense. show us some pix of the car!
unfortunately the calculator that I knew about which would tell you EXACTLY how much the difference is, is no longer available. The scientific explanation you are looking for is something I can't thoroughly explain very well but it goes something like this. The larger the rim size the less mpg you will get. The larger the tire (the 2nd number in a tire size, ie: 245/45/18) the better mpg you get. Sorry I can't be more explicit but I forgot the more detailed response. That pretty much sums up what you are looking for though I believe. So in conclusion 17 inch rims will get a slightly better mpg.
I don't know where you are getting that, but it is simply not true. Even remotely. Saying that the larger the wheel the less economy, yet larger the tire sidewall, the better the economy is contradicting. If the sidewall is taller, the overall diameter of the tire is larger. So what is the difference between a larger wheel and a shorter tire vs. a taller tire on a smaller wheel?GTOooo said:
Rolling diameter is the issue here. If the rolling diameter does not change, then the effort (energy) the engine has to put out to move the vehicle will not change unless there is a significant change in the weight of the wheel.
Just because wheel A is 1" larger than wheel B does not mean that it is going to weigh more. For example, the GTO 17" wheel has a lot of material that is not necessary except for asthetics. This adds weight. Also, the 17" tire is not only wider, but also taller meaning that the rubber is going to weight more.
WIthout the actual weight of each wheel, we can't speculate on the rotational mass. However, we can say that the rolling diameter is identicle between the 18" and 17" wheel meaning that there is not going to be any difference in acceleration, top-speed, MPG, or any other performance related numbers.
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