New Tires = Bad MPG? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

bmcnallen · 03-24-2008, 01:51 PM

Well I've hit 30,000 miles and have already killed my factory tires. Plus, I noticed that they wore bald down on the inner most tread loop on all four tires. This told me - new tires and a camber adjustment. So I went to discount tire and got 4 new BFG Traction T/As, then took it directly to the stealership to get a 4-wheel alignment. When I asked, they said they adjusted the toe front and back.

Now I'm getting about 18% less MPG. I averaged around 33 MPG on the highway. The tech at discount tire said he had 32psi in each tire. I don't think that moving it up to 35psi will account for 18% MPG. Why did my gas mileage change so drastically?

Honestly, I kind of want to move the toe back if that means better gas mileage! HAHA

TRD VVTi · 03-24-2008, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmcnallen

Well I've hit 30,000 miles and have already killed my factory tires. Plus, I noticed that they wore bald down on the inner most tread loop on all four tires. This told me - new tires and a camber adjustment. So I went to discount tire and got 4 new BFG Traction T/As, then took it directly to the stealership to get a 4-wheel alignment. When I asked, they said they adjusted the toe front and back.

Now I'm getting about 18% less MPG. I averaged around 33 MPG on the highway. The tech at discount tire said he had 32psi in each tire. I don't think that moving it up to 35psi will account for 18% MPG. Why did my gas mileage change so drastically?

Honestly, I kind of want to move the toe back if that means better gas mileage! HAHA

You are getting worse fuel mileage for insulting the dealership personal with your stupid and cowardly "stealership" insult.

Go away.

EDIT: There's nothing like using your first post to insult a large number of people...

***wireless*** · 03-24-2008, 02:26 PM

Hmm, interesting. What tires were on the car? The Mich MXM's on my SE V6 have 35k+ miles and still look good.

bmcnallen · 03-24-2008, 02:26 PM

Wow, sorry to hit a nerve. Didn't know a typo could do that to someone. I thought Toyota guys were supposed to have a sense of humor?!

Could we please get past personal issues and start using this board for its real purpose?

workerant · 03-24-2008, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmcnallen

Wow, sorry to hit a nerve. Didn't know a typo could do that to someone. I thought Toyota guys were supposed to have a sense of humor?!

Could we please get past personal issues and start using this board for its real purpose?

Some use this board to throw flame around.

30K shouldn't be = new tires. What was your PSI? 32PSI is a safe number.

Higher PSI does mean better MPG but it also mean change tire way sooner.

I already hit 35K on the OEM set of tires and it's still going good.

TRD VVTi · 03-24-2008, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmcnallen

Wow, sorry to hit a nerve. Didn't know a typo could do that to someone. I thought Toyota guys were supposed to have a sense of humor?!

Could we please get past personal issues and start using this board for its real purpose?

Actually, I doubt that you're sorry to hit a nerve. That's why you typed it. It's an insult and was accepted as such.

Typo? That would be a hard typo to make, substituting "st" for "d". I believe that's just your cowardly excuse. Of course only a coward would insult a large number of people behind their back and behind the safety of a keyboard and monitor.

Toyota guys do have a sense of humor. So do guys at GM, Ford, Dodge, Acura, Honda... You will find some humerous posts mixed in if you just review some of the threads on this page.

Yes, we use this board for it's real purpose all the time. Review the threads on this page alone to see just that. Notice that people don't insult or attack other people, like you.

TRD_EarBanger · 03-24-2008, 02:48 PM

Quote:

You are getting worse fuel mileage for insulting the dealership personal with your stupid and cowardly "stealership" insult.

Go away.

Its possible to have TOO MUCH coffee. A change of underwear would be quite refreshing!

Mike Murrell · 03-24-2008, 02:56 PM

Different car, but same situation.

2000 Accord 4 cyl. Forget what I had on it, but replaced with a set of Costco BFGs - fairly high end set of tires.

MPG went down a couple of numbers. Not as severe as noted in first post, but a drop nonetheless.

I suspected increased rolling resistance. Experimented with different inflation rates. Didn't seem to help that much.

touringcamry · 03-24-2008, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Murrell

Different car, but same situation.

2000 Accord 4 cyl. Forget what I had on it, but replaced with a set of Costco BFGs - fairly high end set of tires.

MPG went down a couple of numbers. Not as severe as noted in first post, but a drop nonetheless.

I suspected increased rolling resistance. Experimented with different inflation rates. Didn't seem to help that much.

I'm thinking the same thing though the OP doesn't even say what car he has or what tires he had previously so it's hard to say.

On Tirerack, the Michelin MXV4 that came with my car are in a lower performance category than those BFG T/A that the OP bought.

kenny1773 · 03-24-2008, 04:23 PM

bmcnallen

You should state which year and trim level camry (LE, SE) and V6 or 4 banger
what tires you had on before (including size)
what tires you have on now (including size) the tire you mention comes in both V rated and H rated

I have had this happen before and the best conclusion I could come to was 1. the new tires weighed more and 2. the new tires possibly had more rolling resistance (which is a rating that is damn next to impossible to get out of tire manufactures)

but 18% is huge, I hope my new tires don't cause that.

Your new tires in either a V or an H weigh 26lbs each

The OEM bridgestones weigh in at 24lbs each, that could cause some mileage loss right there, 2lbs extra per tire

bmcnallen · 03-24-2008, 04:30 PM

Yeah sorry I had meant to put my car specs in my first post! It's a 2007 Camry XLE, and had Michelin Energy tires. I was kind of shocked that they were gone after 30,000 miles too.

This is my fiance's car, and now that I'm marrying this girl, I guess that means i'm marrying her car too. She said she did her best to keep the tires rotated. I'm a nazi (hope nobody is offended by that word) about maintanence and repair and have been working on trucks since i was kid and am a licensed engineer, so lay on the technical lingo if needed.

Something I forgot to add and is very important was that I really noticed sluggish acceleration when i was driving to the get the alignment done (I agree on the increased rolling resistance) AS WELL AS after the alignment.

Is this REALLY just the tire?

***wireless*** · 03-24-2008, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmcnallen

Yeah sorry I had meant to put my car specs in my first post! It's a 2007 Camry XLE, and had Michelin Energy tires. I was kind of shocked that they were gone after 30,000 miles too.

This is my fiance's car, and now that I'm marrying this girl, I guess that means i'm marrying her car too. She said she did her best to keep the tires rotated. I'm a nazi (hope nobody is offended by that word) about maintanence and repair and have been working on trucks since i was kid and am a licensed engineer, so lay on the technical lingo if needed.

Something I forgot to add and is very important was that I really noticed sluggish acceleration when i was driving to the get the alignment done (I agree on the increased rolling resistance) AS WELL AS after the alignment.

Is this REALLY just the tire?

I4 or V6? If I4, has the reflash TSB been done?

bmcnallen · 03-24-2008, 04:41 PM

I'm no where near new to automotive forums, but if people want ALL the info (which is fine by me), I have P215/60 sized tires. The BFGs I bought were P215/60R-16 94T BSW with a 620 treadwear rating, A traction rating, and B temp rating. The XLE is a V6.

i would expect the rolling resistance to be high, since they are marketed for their traction ability, but i didn't think it would be high enough for an 18% decrease in MPG!!

***wireless*** · 03-24-2008, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmcnallen

I'm no where near new to automotive forums, but if people want ALL the info (which is fine by me),

As a 'licensed' engineer, you of all people should understand the inability to probably provide a root cause analysis without all of the variable and specifications identified