Experience of how tires affect gas mileage?

[mwr]

I recently replaced my 2015 FFH, which always had Michelin Energy Saver tires on it, with a 2017 FFH from CarMax. It did not come with those tires, but instead has a mixture. I got a good photo of one, and it says SOLARUS STARFIRE  235/45R18. I know it's a radial tire, as is another one I didn't get a good photo of except that BIG O appears on it (that's a tire retailer).

Anyone have experience with different tires on an FFH to venture an opinion on how much mpg I'll lose with these tires compared to if this car had Michelin Energy Saver tires?

Edited July 29, 2023 by mwr

[2014FordFusionSE]

1 hour ago, mwr said:

I recently replaced my 2015 FFH, which always had Michelin Energy Saver tires on it, with a 2017 FFH from CarMax. It did not come with those tires, but instead has a mixture. I got a good photo of one, and it says SOLARUS STARFIRE  235/45R18. I know it's a radial time, as is another one I didn't get a good photo of except that BIG O appears on it (that's a tire retailer).

Anyone have experience with different tires on an FFH to venture an opinion on how much mpg I'll lose with these tires compared to if this car had Michelin Energy Saver tires?

 

From my experience, you'll lose 7 to 10% gas mileage.

 

I wrote about it here:

 

[mwr]

2 hours ago, 2014FordFusionSE said:

 

From my experience, you'll lose 7 to 10% gas mileage.

Thanks! That will keep me  from being disappointed (or blaming the car itself) as I put more miles on this car and get a good idea of its gas mileage.

[ceilidhdog]

Stick with the Michelins.  They're great tires.  I'm on my second set on my 2013 Hybrid SE, and my lifetime mpg is 48.  I regularly get 50+ mpg on trips around Denver.

[mwr]

On 7/30/2023 at 7:49 AM, ceilidhdog said:

I regularly get 50+ mpg on trips around Denver.

Less air resistance, like hitting baseballs at Coors Field?

[Cobra348]

I got talked into trying Goodyear ComfortTread instead of the Michelins - as non-Winter tread.  The Goodyears are quiet, but there is a drop in mileage of at least 2 MPG.  I'm gonna insist on Michelins as soon as I can wear these down! <grin>

 

Winter is another matter - Goodyear UltraGrip WRT snow tires all around.  With the crappy weather, non-Michelin treat and fuel changes for Winter I lose about 6 MPG easily.  I need the snows though as we tend to get more than a couple feet at times.

 

Def stick with the Michelins.

[mwr]

On 8/1/2023 at 6:41 PM, Cobra348 said:

I got talked into trying Goodyear ComfortTread instead of the Michelins - as non-Winter tread.  The Goodyears are quiet, but there is a drop in mileage of at least 2 MPG.  I'm gonna insist on Michelins as soon as I can wear these down! <grin>

 

Winter is another matter - Goodyear UltraGrip WRT snow tires all around.  With the crappy weather, non-Michelin treat and fuel changes for Winter I lose about 6 MPG easily.  I need the snows though as we tend to get more than a couple feet at times.

 

Def stick with the Michelins.

I'll for sure get the Michelin Energy Saver tires when it's time to replace my current tires. But it makes no sense to me to spend ~$1,000 to replace my perfectly-good current tires to get a few (or several) mpg more. 10% more mpg would save me only about $100 per year.

Edited August 10, 2023 by mwr

[MeeLee]

Stock tires are great tires. They last about 50k miles but will cost you about $200/tire times 4.

 

I bought a 1" larger size Bridgestone tires (speedo and mpg readout off by 4%) from Walmart. They went for $75 a piece, and are MUCH quieter than the stockers, plus they seem to last at least as long.

They're a Walmart store brans, not  UK tires, but are damn good!

I get about 45MPG out of them (48 out of the stockers), but they need 45psi cold (50PSI max rating).

Edited September 13, 2023 by MeeLee

[alanflanker]

Hi, i'm from Brazil and i bought a Fusion Hybrid 2017, but it came with 215/55 R18 tires, here in Brazil stock tires are 235/35 R18.

215/55 R18 revs 17 times less than stock tires, according this website (tire-calc.com) each rim.

 I use most of times in city, not highway, and my mileage ins 27MPG, we have many climbs here.

 

Maybe this tires make a high fuel consumption?

 

car with 58408 miles

[MeeLee]

Just don't buy Chinese tires.

UK, Japanese, or US tires are the best.

 

Modern tires need 5PSI less than the max written on the tirewall.

 

Modern tires need 45psi, so pump em up to 40.

If they say 50, put 45.

If you follow the 35 psi rating on the car chassis, you'll lose mpg.

 

I replaced mine with Hankook tires (okay, but don't last too long), and lost 5% of mpg, but only 1% when inflated properly.

 

I then replaced them with Walmart Douglas tires. They were $<100/tire, and get identical mpg as stock, but drive so much quieter. They've been on there for approximately 30k miles, and are about halfway used. I fully expect to get 50+k miles out of them, like the stock tires. 

 

To me they're superior to the stock tires.

Edited February 6 by MeeLee

[mwr]

17 minutes ago, MeeLee said:

I then replaced them with Walmart Dunlop tires. They were $<100/tire, and get identical mpg as stock, but drive so much quieter. They've been on there for approximately 30k miles, and are about halfway used. I fully expect to get 50+k miles out of them, like the stock tires. 

 

To me they're superior to the stock tires.

You mean superior to Michelin Energy Saver tires?

[MeeLee]

15 minutes ago, mwr said:

You mean superior to Michelin Energy Saver tires?

Yes, the Douglas touring tires I have, cost half the price, are quieter, have more grip, and at its current rate break even in the amount of miles I'm getting out of them (about 50k miles).