Quote:
Originally Posted by 1991corolla
damn... i was lookin into gettin some 15" enkei's or somethin like that on my corolla, with a sorta low profile tire, hopefully not too wide... so it'll hurt my gas mileage? if so, i guess i'd be like f*ck that and go with some lower profiles on some nice 13's and lower the car a bit  |
That should also lose you some gas mileage as the tire would then have to spin more to go the same distance. Not being a rwd it's not as easy as switching out the differential for a different gear ratio to compensate. We used to put slightly over sized tires on our jetta's stock 14 inch rims and it improved the mileage noticibly
The issue with gas mileage on larger rims will depend on the type of rims you get and their weight. It all comes down to the rotating mass. The heavier rim causes the engine to work harder to get the wheels going. It's partially why even though people put the same size rims for their winter tires they lose gas mileage, because most people use steel rims for the winter.
Look at it this way. With a mix of intown and hwy driving (both with alot of hills, for those familiar with Ontario it was in Peterborough, hwy 115, hwy 401, and hwy 400, then from there to my house in Angus) I managed over 600 km to one tank. 600 km in miles is roughly 373 miles (rounding up to the next mile since I did alot more than that) with 14 inch steel rims which are heavier than my 16 inch aluminum rims (I know the tires on them equaled out to the rear 205/45 r16's except were 195's). It works out to about 28.69 mpg, keep in mind I am fairly heavy on the gas pedal and am ususally speeding on the hwy. Also it has a 4af which could use a tad bit of work, a carb doesn't overly help when you are running at 3000 rpm +. Like I said before, the improved braking and handling of the car are well worth the couple mpg you might lose. 175/70 r13's suck for hard braking and so fourth on dry pavement, they tend to like to roll over on the sidewalls during a harder than normal corner as well...
