17" rims and fuel economy - Toyota Yaris Forums

MadMax · 12-18-2008, 02:26 PM

What's up with all you Canucks?!? Do ya gotta argue about everything?!?

Just kidding, of course! For TLyttle, I do understand that a wider tire offers greater rolling resistance, therefore reduces fuel efficiency; but you neglect to mention that there are benefits over a wider tire such as cornering traction. By the way, you got it confused, the diameter of the tire is the distances encircling the tire, not the width. We are talking about taller tires on here, not wider ones; but the truth is that taller tires do require greater effort to get moving, hence the need to regear in Jeeps when adding much larger wheels.

For my buddy thebarber, the speedo and odometer being off by 7% is not a big deal. I can easily computer how fast I am going and I also have a GPS that gives me a more accurate reading than any speedometer would (I left the speedometer error discussion out of this as it applies pretty much equally to all cars). I work with a guy who has a stock Yaris with an AT, maybe one day I will challenge him to a drag race so we can see how much faster the smaller tires make it. I doubt it is much, and I would have him at some point as the taller tires will give my car a greater top speed. But all that is a moot discussion when talking about an economy car such as the Yaris. The larger wheels are more of a 'looks' thing than they are a 'performance' mod. And I am not one of those 'hypermilers' who play every trick in the book to squeeze an extra mile or two out of a gallon of gas. A gallon costs $1.45 here in Texas at the moment, and I would rather enjoy driving the car. I speed (80+ MPH), I take off from stops faster than a snail and I don't shut down at stop lights or drag off the back of large trucks.

I bought my Yaris because it is a fun little car to drive, and I put the bigger wheels and tinted windows on it to make it unique. I parked next to a stock Yaris the other day and there is a distinctive difference between it and mine.

And most of all, I am happy with it. That's all that matters. Oh, and if I want performance, I jump on my 150 HP litre-class sportbike. After riding that, nothing else feels fast...

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12-18-2008, 02:26 PM	#17
MadMax Drives: 2008 Yaris Liftback (Sprocket) Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas! Posts: 2,799	What's up with all you Canucks?!? Do ya gotta argue about everything?!? Just kidding, of course! For TLyttle, I do understand that a wider tire offers greater rolling resistance, therefore reduces fuel efficiency; but you neglect to mention that there are benefits over a wider tire such as cornering traction. By the way, you got it confused, the diameter of the tire is the distances encircling the tire, not the width. We are talking about *taller* tires on here, not *wider* ones; but the truth is that taller tires do require greater effort to get moving, hence the need to regear in Jeeps when adding much larger wheels. For my buddy thebarber, the speedo and odometer being off by 7% is not a big deal. I can easily computer how fast I am going and I also have a GPS that gives me a more accurate reading than any speedometer would (I left the speedometer error discussion out of this as it applies pretty much equally to all cars). I work with a guy who has a stock Yaris with an AT, maybe one day I will challenge him to a drag race so we can see how much faster the smaller tires make it. I doubt it is much, and I would have him at some point as the taller tires will give my car a greater top speed. But all that is a moot discussion when talking about an economy car such as the Yaris. The larger wheels are more of a 'looks' thing than they are a 'performance' mod. And I am not one of those 'hypermilers' who play every trick in the book to squeeze an extra mile or two out of a gallon of gas. A gallon costs $1.45 here in Texas at the moment, and I would rather enjoy driving the car. I speed (80+ MPH), I take off from stops faster than a snail and I don't shut down at stop lights or drag off the back of large trucks. I bought my Yaris because it is a fun little car to drive, and I put the bigger wheels and tinted windows on it to make it unique. I parked next to a stock Yaris the other day and there is a distinctive difference between it and mine. And most of all, I am happy with it. That's all that matters. Oh, and if I want performance, I jump on my 150 HP litre-class sportbike. After riding that, *nothing* else feels fast...