ALT-5 Gas Mileage and Tires
There are many factors which affect gas mileage and tires are definitely a major factor. There are various ways tires can affect fuel consumption. First off, a upgrade in tire size will imply an increase in the contact area between the road and the tires, this will increase the gas consumption as there is more friction to be overcome. Commonly used widths range from 175mm to 225. Usually, the bigger tire sizes like 16 inch or 17 inch will use a wider tire. There are also exceptional cases whereby a smaller size tire like 15 inch will use a wide tire.(Eg, the back tires of sports cars.) Generally, wide tires will cause fuel consumption to go up, so watch out for it the next time you buy tires and rims.
A typical tire marking will look like this 225/50R16
225 represents the width of the tires in millimeters 50 is the ratio of the sidewall height to the tread width R represents the type of construction, which in this case is radial and 16 refers to the rim size in inches
Another factor that can affect the gas mileage is the inflation of tires. Under-inflated or over inflated tires can cause uneven wear to the tires resulting in more cost to change prematurely worn tires and cause heavy gas consumption. In some instances, it may be beneficial to under-inflate your tires.For example, when you are going off road, you will want a more comfortable and grippy tires, under-inflating the tires causes more contact area between the tires and the road, providing more grip. Drag racers tend to under-inflate their tires a little to acheive maximum grip so as to prevent the wheels from slipping. Over-inflating can cause minimal contact of the tires with the road surface and be potentially dangerous.
Some pointers to note include:
1. Check the recommended tire pressure at least once a month. The pressure, usually in PSI(pounds per square inch) can be found in the driver's manual or on a sticker stuck on the door frame at the driver's side.
2. Check the pressure when you have driven the car for less than 10 minutes. Heat will cause the air inside your tires to expand and therefore give you an inaccurate reading leading to wrong inflation of tires. Always check tire pressure when tires are cool/cold.
3. Some manufacturers of tires claim to have higher mileage tires as they have lower drag and friction due to the material used. However, this is done so at the price of less grip, you may want to weigh the pros and cons of such tires before jumping into it. these tires tend to be less grippy during rainy days but should be sufficient for day to day drives.
