Tire and wheel update after 8500 miles
 

I have seen no discernible difference in mpg.

Old tires and wheels were 14 steel wheels(smooth wheel covers) with 195/70 goodyear viva 2 close to the end of their life at 50 psi

New tire and wheel combo 15 aluminium(off Honda Civic Hybrid) with 195/65 LLR tires with 58 psi.

Last weekend I made a very similar trip to one I had taken with the old setup on both trips I averaged 50mpg

I dropped a little weight and went a little taller but no real gains granted I only have 8500 miles on these new 70k mile tires but still.

Positives are that I'm happy with the aesthetics over previous setup.

When you say the milage was the same was any correction made for the taller tires?

Are you taking into account the odometer under-reporting miles?

What kind of tires are on the new wheels?

I do the math when I fill up but no the number would be off on my scan gauge. 400 mile trip only adds 4 miles with my new tire size so the difference is minimal.

New tires are Continental PureContact LLR 195/65 15

Doing the math:

The Goodyear Viva 2 has a UTQG rating of 440 A B, while the Continental Pure Contact has a UTQG rating of 700 A A. In all likelihood, the Pure Contact has slightly HIGHER RR due to the treadwear rating and the higher speed rating. The traction value is the same, although one could be at the high end of the range and the other at the low end.

Thinking I should have went with the Michelin defenders

Well, the Michelin Defender has a UTQG rating of 820 A B, so the RR could actually be worse than the Continental Pure Contact.

The only reason I say that is because I put those on my ex's car and we did see an increase in mpg

IMO the Conti offers a safer ride, I would have chose them too.