On a couple of sources here on the forums, both tire + wheel weight = 38 lbs (the 185/60/15 Goodyear Eagle LS) which I've seen listed online as weighing 18 lbs per tire.

You are correct on the tire situation.. as it being the furthest distance out from the hub - creates the most important wheel weight (centrafugal force/rotation) .... however that also tends to be the case when getting up to speed 0-25 mph. If your cruising on the highway @ 60 mph , the wheel is in motion... and the engine (for the most part) doesn't have to work any harder to keep it rolling forward(hills /moutain passes are another situation) , but like the old scientific fact states " an object in motion.. stays in motion" - I believe thats how the addage goes.

Boxoffice- thanks for the tip ! I commute to work 4-5 days per week, and its only 5 miles away... so I know gas milage will not be optimal givin the shot distance commute. I'd ride my road bike to work , but 1. I either have to be there early in the morning by 7am- then by the time I get off its 100+ degrees outside , or sometimes I'm there until 11pm at night.. and I'd rather not ride in the dark+ dealing with a major highway

 

Yeah I guess the effect of that outside weight is somewhat mitigated when simply maintaining speed. It is still something to be avoided though in terms of it's effect on acceleration(as you said) but also wear and tear and performance on braking and cornering.

BTW I've found Falken ZE-512 to be lighter tire than any Yokohama.
If you switched to some 195s Falkens next time, you'd be doing that much better on weight. Not sure what the RR is.

 

Yeah, I'd really like to ride to work, too, but I've got similar circumstances. That kills me now that I've got one branch just 6 miles from home...

 

thanks bro

 

Yeah.. believe it or not, the difference from stock wheels/tires , to my aftermarket wheels/tires in terms of get up/go acceleration is very-very similar- if not identical.. its very difficult to tell the difference.

I went with the 205/50/16" due to the wheel/tire diameter being as identical as possible to the stock situation ( there is a definite difference in terms of tire contact surface on the ground w/ the 205's ).

I remember when I had the stock wheels/tires on + stock suspention.. going down the highway at 60-65 mph .. with a cross wind of ..ohhh say 20-25mph it was WAY sketchy, the wind would literally blow me over 3-6 inches at a time !!!
Now that I've lowered the car 1.5 inches tastefully, anti-sway bar, nicer/wider contact tires (BFG G-force sports) ..... I'm pretty much good to go now...no real worries with high winds.

I need to check that one website out again with all the tire weights again.... then again I'm 40K miles away from replacing tires again- I may go 195 then.

 

My experience exactly, though I'm running 15 x 7s with 205/55-15s (G-Force Sports are incredible!) with about a 2" drop. Way more stable in crosswinds, near semis, etc.

 

right on Boxoffice.. the G-force sports are a good deal/quality tire @ $80 each.

I need to ride more.. I'm probably only doing 40-60 miles per week now... hopefully by Fall I can work back up to 100 per week w/ some mountain bike trails riding mixed in there !!! Its also fun trying out different road/mountain tires - given the terrain changes!

 

Only problem is the winter blend fuel sux for mpgs

 

Maybe where you live, but in Cali. where smog emissions are very strict ... all gas retailers have to offer fuel that meets a minimum standard. The Chevrons + Shell gas stations also provide more detergents then other stations ... but everyone in Cali. must abide by a set of rules.

 

forgot about the non winter states

 

kinda funny, but actually last winter it did get to 9 degrees here on a couple of occations, and on one of those early mornings- 6 people died due to hitting black-ice at an uncontrolable speed, kids + women died!

 

Well, 1st tank since removing the snorkel netted me 32.2 mpg. That was mostly all city driving, with A/C on (it's been 100+ degrees here the last nine days) and driving very very conservatively.

I was hoping for more, but I guess I'm satisfied with that. I could change my route to work which would substitute highway for city streets, but the distance is greater, thereby negating any increase in economy.

I'll run another few tanks this way but if I don't see an improvement, I'm putting the snorkel back on.

 

For some people it took a few tanks to see an improvement.
I saw an improvement right away, but then again I did a battery disconnect, and the ECU reset as a result.
I got about 1.5 better mpg on compairable driving.

 

Yeah, I'm just thinking about these folks saying they got 4-5 mpg higher right off the bat. I don't know what an ECU reset would do, but I certainly am not an expert (no sh*t).

I will continue for a few more tanks, but I just don't see 35-40 mpg like others are posting.

 

well, my last tank was 35, the one before that, 37 mpg

 

I guess I can always cross my fingers. LOL

 

Well, whada ya know!! Filled up today: 287 miles on 8.14 gallons for 35.26 MPG !! This beats my best city tank by 3 mpg.

I said I would be happy if I could get 35, so I'm happy !!

 

You can add about 1 MPG too if your running the stock tire size, don't forget.

 

double post

 

Ah, Ye of Little Faith!

*..congrats!