Hello

Can having larger alloys that are heavier than steels affect your fuel economy? Has anyone noticed a change in their fuel economy and/or performance? I am thinking about changing my steel wheels for alloys. My steels are 195/65/15 and i've seen some Fiat twin spoke alloys and tyres that are 205/55/16. Would the wheel increase and possibly weight increase have a negative affect on the MPG and/or performance of my JTD?

Thanks

Phil

philipb82 said:

Hello

Can having larger alloys that are heavier than steels affect your fuel economy? Has anyone noticed a change in their fuel economy and/or performance? I am thinking about changing my steel wheels for alloys. My steels are 195/65/15 and i've seen some Fiat twin spoke alloys and tyres that are 205/55/16. Would the wheel increase and possibly weight increase have a negative affect on the MPG and/or performance of my JTD?

Thanks

Phil

Click to expand...

Hi Phil,
I think you can realistically expect to see a couple of miles per gallon decrease if you change to the bigger alloys due to the increase in weight and drag. I have the same size alloys and recently fitted a full set of runflat winter tyres and suffered a similar loss from my normal tyres (according to the computer) alsimmo

In the grand scheme of things.. it's NOT the weight of the alloy,

it's the width of the tyre ( bigger footprint ) that's creating more drag..,

(and potentially WORSE in snow),

charlie

yup, its the wider lower profile tyre that's the issue but I really don't think the difference is worth worrying about. Snow-wise, slap on some decent all weather tyres. Decent alloys will enhance the look and feel of the car (itll be harder lol and more effort to clean and keep in good condition ha ha) but a worthy upgrade id say.

philipb82 said:

Hello

Can having larger alloys that are heavier than steels affect ... Phil

Click to expand...

Given little specific info (what rims/tyres?) – this is somewhat of a guessing game.
Rim weight maybe found on ePER or other sources (e.g. shop4parts) & tyre weights maybe found from the manufacturers or good tyre info sites (e.g. tirerack).
A little research & you may find you can recover some or all of a rim weight gain by selecting a lighter than average tyre.

Since the 1222/2009 directive it’s argued that tyre shops are obliged to advise you (&/or mark on the invoice) how fuel efficient a tyre is/or not.
I believe 2014 is fatal to `G’ fuel rated tyres.

031422Z