FE hit from 32" tires?
 

so im gonna throw some 32" tires on my frontier, up from the 29.5"-30" ones i have on there right now. What kind of mileage hit should i expect? they are A/T tires with about 500 miles on them

oh and also, any adverse effects on steering, or will i have to get my speedo recalibrated, anything like that

As an offroader... I understand the desire for bigger tires. But, you don't always need to take a MPG hit just because of the larger tire.

I wonder what your current tire width is, compared to how wide the 32s are. You MIGHT get a small improvement from the taller tire, but if it is much wider you won't get any effect. As for speedo changes. You might watch and keep your speedo just under what the speed limit is, because the taller tire will have you going faster than the shorter tires. Will you get any benefit? Hard to tell, I don't know how you drive now. Watch your tire pressures. You might also notice a slight hit to performace too, since you will be making the effective gear ratio taller (good for highway,not so good for offroading)

I went from a 30" tire to a 31" tire on my Jeep. I also kept working with tire pressures to find something that worked for mileage but didn't make for a buckboard ride. I'd have to go check my notepad, but I think I settled at 36 rear and 33 front. BUT, I am noticing wear down the middle of the tires. I'm at about 3" over stock, and on 31" tires and can go almost everywhere I need to go. So my Grand Cherokee does fine. If I need more height or bigger tires, I'll go with my 90 Ranger and its 4 cylinder. Its on 31s but at 6" of lift, 33s will "look" better... And, on the 31s it was getting 28MPG consistently.

As mentioned here a bazillion times, the single biggest increase in mileage is adjusting the nut behind the wheel.

so...they won't necessarily have any negative effects on FE? because they're the same width as my stock tires.

Taller tires make for longer gear, so it might be a wash. But it also depends on the comparative tread characteristics (ie rolling resistance)

And as mentioned, because it will seem like you put in taller gears, you might feel like it takes longer to get up to speed, so don't floor it to make up the difference. Lots of variables.

but lower RPMS at cruising speeds?

younggun -

Here is my thread on the same type of upgrade :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ires-2642.html

I used tire size change calculators on the Internet to predict what would happen. Also, tirerack.com shows the "revs per mile", which is another predictor of how much you will lower your RPM. Then I used a GPS to verify the error in my odometer. I didn't bother to recalibrate my odometer or speedometer. I already have a Scangauge, so I can apply the correction there and see my "real" MPH in real time if I want. I just apply the correction to my fuel log, so it's like a mini-bonus.

And yes, as others have stated, the tire tread is important.

CarloSW2

thanks a bunch. Looks like i'm going to buy them. 25$ each for good tires that i want with about 500 miles on them is hard to turn down

$25 each? Cool beans... REALLY hard to pass up a good deal like that. Good luck and let us know how they work out...

In the past 2 years, I've snagged a set of 30" tires on wheels for $80, wore them out. In a couple days, I'm picking up some 33s with about half tread left for my Ranger for (sorry) $20 , plus a 32 for a spare. And the 31s on the Ranger will go to my Jeep... With as many vehicles as I have, its ECOnomical to do this when I can...