Hey all,
That's right, he of the double-entendre user name is back!
I've posted here before, but not in a couple years. I've been incorporating all the right techniques - driving smoothly, setting up my driving style to brake as little as possible while still being safe, reading traffic correctly, etc. I do a little EOC and pulse and glide on long trips down long hills. Generally been getting 30-35mpg, which is a nice improvement over EPA but not numbers to sing from the rooftops. I put some old rims and tires I had from back in my "tuner" days back on just to use them up, and even those 205/40/17 flat monsters were capable of close to 35mpg on a trip with 3 people, a dog, and lots of stuff!
Recently, though, I've gotten serious again: needed new tires, so I got Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max in my size and smooth 15" wheel covers from Rocky Mountain - the premade ones for about $80. I figure that with a 4.6% improvement they will pay for themselves. The tires will get me anywhere from 2-3% improvement (observed by some guy on another forum semi-scientifically) and 4% (claimed by Goodyear) over normal OEM stock replacement tires. Nitro fill up to the max on the sidewall - 44psi. I went with the Goodyear since it was either those or the Kumho Eco Solus in my size, and I wanted to retain an accurate speedo reading even though I use the Rev app and a Kiwi Wifi OBD-II scanner. The Kumhos have poor wet braking and cornering performance in Tire Rack tests, so Goodyears it was.
Results? Well, going from a 205/40/17 tire/wheel combo to the 185/60/r15 and the smooth wheel covers got me from 32-33 to an observed partial tank of 3.4 gallons and 146.5 miles between fillups. This was highway and backroad and city driving, with some stretches of slow, empty, rolling backroads and some EOC and mild drafting on the freeway. Also, a few hundred pounds of luggage, girlfriend, and dog to weigh me down - of course, it was mostly luggage and dog.
Pretty excited about the results, and will post more as the trip progresses or I refill on the way home. Plus, I love the smooth wheel cover look on the xB.
