Quote:
Originally Posted by vrmilionzx
So, maybe I'm missing some key concept here - while what everyone has mentioned seems pretty on target, I haven't seen anybody address the fact the the prius picks up a serious bit of it's fuel efficiency due to the elec motor. The motor starts the car moving, and starting from zero is one of the more wasteful bits of driving - which is why stop and go is absolutely awful for your mpg. Since the electric motor starts you off, the lightweight wheels won't have as great an effect for a hybrid (my thoughts, not verified, not claiming it's fact). Seems to me that on things like a prius, while you might see small gains (although if what everyone is saying about heavier wheels kicking more juice back via regen. braking, then heavier might work better that way) from lighter wheels, you'd do better to get some taller (overall) wheel/tire combos, and work on aero.
My .02
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The heavier and/or higher friction wheels/tires do require more eneger to get rolling. I notice this every time I swap out the lighter set. It feels like you are dragging something because ti requires more throttle to get moving. This will most definitely use more energy but maybe it is recovered with regen? I'm not sure.
My confusion comes from the fact that taller tires tend to help fuel economy on a fixed gear transmission by reducing cruise RPM at a given speed but on a CVT-like system what is the effect?