MPG and Wheel Size. Stock 16" Wheels vs. 17" Wheels

[thaws1981]

Which wheel Size will = the best MPG. Will the Stock 16" Alloy Wheels that come on the VW TDI = better MPG or will the 17" Wheels optional wheels = better MPG.

 

[velociT]

..... ?

 

[mrchaotica]

This sentence no verb.

 

[TDICADDGUY]

I'm guessing that you are asking what (if any) effects will occur from changing wheel size?

You need to study up on how tires are sized. If someone goes to say a 17" wheel from a 15" wheel you are not going to see any difference. Using appropriate tire sizing guidelines, your tire sidewall will be shorter so the overall diameter will stay the same.

None of this has any effect on MPG unless you go with a wheel that is very heavy or if you go with a really wide tire (increases rolling resistance).

I would suggest going to www.tirerack.com and read up and play around with options. You can input your vehicle year, make, and model and it will give you tire/wheel options that will fit your vehicle with no problems.

 

[thaws1981]

Which wheel size will achieve the best MPG?

Will 16" wheels = better MPG or will 17" Wheels = Better, Currently I have 17" wheels on my 2006 VW Jetta TDI-PD.

 

[velociT]

Yes. The 17'' are KILLING your gas mileage. You should swap them with my 16's ASAP.

 

[JRedig]

I don't see 15's on the list... ;-)

 

[where2]

Will 16" wheels = better MPG or will 17" Wheels = Better, Currently I have 17" wheels on my 2006 VW Jetta TDI-PD.

I've got a pair of 2006 TDI's in the driveway. One with a 5spd, one with a DSG. On my wife's 5spd, we installed a set of Audi 17" (A3) wheels with slightly wider rubber. On my DSG, we're running factory stock rubber.

The 5spd with 17" wheels consistently gets 1-2 mpg better MPG than the DSG car with factory rubber. You might think it's driver related, but even with me driving her car, it gets better #'s. Next year on our trip to Maine, I'll have to reinstall the factory wheels and tires and see what MPG's I can get over the same route that we ran with the car this past year.

Personally, I think the mpg difference is almost so small between running 16" and 17" wheels that you will have difficulty actually measuring it. Unless you get wheels that are completely silly heavy.

 

[Brasil]

This has already been covered extensively--

Do an advanced search with "mileage wheel size" and sort by relevancy. Lots of great information.

Looks like you lose a couple of mpg each time you go up a wheel size, depending on how aggressive and soft (sticky) your tire treads are.

Makes sense to me as the tires are wider--riding bicycles with different tire widths makes a huge difference in rolling resistance.

 

[dieselyeti]

I've got the factory 14" wheels on my car and my mileage is pretty good...

 

[VWBeamer]

On my 2001 jetta, i ran the stock 15" wheels and tires for 140K. With the stock Michelin tires I got 43-44mpg in mixed city Highway driving. With cheaper tires, i got around 42 mpg.

I recently bought a set of Stock 17 wheels with the stock Michelin tires on them. PO had them on his 02, took them off in 02 and had them in his garage.

I immediately noticed a drop in fuel mileage. I now get 39-40 mpg,

The larger tire is wider, 195 vs 205 in my case, and the rim is heavier. The tire is about the same weight.

I think a 165r on a 15 inch rim aired to about 55 lbs would be best, but very dangerous.

 

[Suns_PSD]

I lost about 3-4 mpg when I went from the stock 16s w/ hi efficiency Michelin's to a sticky and wide 18" even though the overall height was the same and the weigh was the same as well since I bought the lightest 18" wheels I could find.

You get an increase in MoI, more wind resistance, and more rolling resistance w/ the bigger rims.