Cratered mileage, tires the culprit!

[Huck BB62]

Well, we put new BFG ATs on our H3. They look great, and grip SO much better than the stock tires. But the piper's to be paid I'm afraid. We went from the mid 17s to the mid 15s on mpg. E-friggin'-gads!!!! The handling also went away a bit, they squirm and give more than the stockers.

So, I drive so damned much, on twisty twisty steep roads. I'm thinking about buying a set of rims and tires to make it a road warrior when I'm not wheelin'. (I can swap tires and rims in fifteen minutes or so) Any ideas on tires/wheels combo for that purpose? They'd have to be big because of the 4.56 gears. Yeah, the H3'd look funnier'n hell but I'm betting with some tight tires on it, it'd do a darn good job cornering and the mileage would go up and I'd get to work sooner!

[K9sH3]

mine does the same, but I only drive a 18 mile round trip to work and back. I have driven long distance twice and both times I was wishing for the stock setup when doing so.... I will have to just live with it. I sold my orig set.

But I am glad to hear you say this, I thought it was in my head. As for MPG, I don't care about that.

Thanks, K9

[marin8703]

Originally Posted by Huck BB62

Well, we put new BFG ATs on our H3. They look great, and grip SO much better than the stock tires. But the piper's to be paid I'm afraid. We went from the mid 17s to the mid 15s on mpg. E-friggin'-gads!!!! The handling also went away a bit, they squirm and give more than the stockers.

So, I drive so damned much, on twisty twisty steep roads. I'm thinking about buying a set of rims and tires to make it a road warrior when I'm not wheelin'. (I can swap tires and rims in fifteen minutes or so) Any ideas on tires/wheels combo for that purpose? They'd have to be big because of the 4.56 gears. Yeah, the H3'd look funnier'n hell but I'm betting with some tight tires on it, it'd do a darn good job cornering and the mileage would go up and I'd get to work sooner!

stop complaining i got the stock goodyears (yeah thats the tiny 31s) and i get 14 mpg at best. im gona be switching to the toyo 35s in several weeks, so according to you and others i mite drop to 12 mpg or less. but its cool, looks and works better that way dont really have any wheel/tire combo advice, sorry.

[Sewie]

Huck, did you go to bigger tires or stick with 33's? If they're the same size as stock, I find it kinda hard to believe that you lost 2mpg by switching to the BFG's. Their tread pattern is not that much more aggressive than the Bridgestones.

[jdrew]

if you did go bigger, some people forget that when you "lose mph" you're also going "slower" on your speedo than you actually are, due to the tire rotation slower.. You will also "lose mpg" for this reason as well..

So, in simple terms, you're really not losing all that much as you may think you are..

[NEOCON1]

Originally Posted by jdrew

if you did go bigger, some people forget that when you "lose mph" you're also going "slower" on your speedo than you actually are, due to the tire rotation slower.. You will also "lose mpg" for this reason as well..

So, in simple terms, you're really not losing all that much as you may think you are..

X2 the odometer and speedo are both off after going to 35's

[Crash ?]

Originally Posted by NEOCON1

X2 the odometer and speedo are both off after going to 35's

hhmmm... So if I can actually get more miles outta my lease..!!!!

WOO HOOO...!!!!!

[Huck BB62]

Originally Posted by Sewie

Huck, did you go to bigger tires or stick with 33's? If they're the same size as stock, I find it kinda hard to believe that you lost 2mpg by switching to the BFG's. Their tread pattern is not that much more aggressive than the Bridgestones.

Same size. They're (according to the manufacturers website) almost identical on the circumference. They're a heavier tire. I'm a stickler for checking mileage, I do it with the calculator at every fill-up. I only get three days out of a tank so I'm particulaly sensitive to the hit. Like I said, you gotta give to get I guess. They're far better in the offroad and snow grip than the stockers but they're worse on the road handling. Again, I have 130 curves to my house and used to drive a Mini S, I'm sensitive to handling.

I'm researching my road warrior tires and wheels. I will be getting them eventually because the BFGs cause me to loose one more thing that's NOT replaceable, and that's time. I'll save money, and time, by having street tires and rims on the H3 when I'm not wheelin'. PLUS I won't be leaving cubic dollars of BFG on every corner!

[NEOCON1]

Originally Posted by Crash ?

hhmmm... So if I can actually get more miles outta my lease..!!!!

WOO HOOO...!!!!!

yep and a little extra on the warranty

Same size as stock 33's, difficult to believe the mileage would decrease that much. Give it a few more tanks to check.

[Khoolhandz]

Mine did the same when I upgraded to BFG ATs 305/55R20.

Mileage went from 18 MPG to 15 MPG average hwy, and that is with 1.09 correction factor.

[Sewie]

Originally Posted by Khoolhandz

Mine did the same when I upgraded to BFG ATs 305/55R20.

Mileage went from 18 MPG to 15 MPG average hwy, and that is with 1.09 correction factor.

Right, but that's with bigger tires and bigger wheels. Pretty much what you'd expect. In Huck's case, he's got the same size tire as OEM on stock rims.

[Huck BB62]

Well, I drove a tank like an absolute granny and got 17mpg. Not too bad, still not as good as a normal driving tank with the old worn out tires. I'd still like to get a whole set of street duty tires/rims.