Would winter tires adversely affect mileage?

[Bryan]

Hi everyone!

I have a 2013 Toyota Rav 4, haven’t even broken 8000km on it yet. I had installed Goodyear Nordic 17″ winter tires, and my mileage took a dump on me, from 9.7l/100km on the all seasons that came with the car to almost 13l/100km on average. This is driving on eco mode (yeah no fun, but trying to save as much $ on fuel as possible)It’s coming up on the 8000km oil change schedule, but I was wondering if winter tires would have such an effect. Thanks for any input!

Topic

[Chris]

winter tires will decrease fuel economy, although that is a rather serious drop. that equates to roughly a 6mpg drop for those of us in the US, I would expect a 2-4mpg drop. I would say there is likely something else at play here… such as the shop possibly messing up your alignment when mounting them (unlikely but possible) or maybe them being poorly balanced (you would notice shaking, and this would likely only account for a 1-2mpg drop)
But if you are looking for financial justification for the tires… you are definitely much safer with them and therefore much less likely to spend money on post-accident repairs…

[Lorrin Barth]

In winter the fuel mixture, especially at start is much richer and warmup takes much longer, oil in the gear boxes is stiff, grease in the bearings is stiff. So, blaming all the change in fuel economy on the tires is probably incorrect. Depending on your weather, gas mileage will take a dip in winter even if you stayed on the all season tires.

[lissaabostonn]

hi,
welcome to this forum site.
winter tires will decrease fuel economy,although that is a rather serious drop.
[url= http://WWW.EZDIA.COM/EPAD/2013-MERCEDES-BENZ-SL-CLASS-PRICE-REVIEWS/7980/
] 2013 MERCEDES BENZ SL-CLASS [/url]

[lissaabostonn]

hi,
welcome to this forum site.
In winter the fuel mixture,especially at start is much richer and warmup takes much longer.
2013 mercedes benzsl-class

[Sari]

I’m under the impression, that the tires have relatively little to do with gas consumption. Some, but little. Also I’m under the impression, that the car engine runs most economically when it reaches its operating temperature of maybe around 80°C (I guess around 176°F), and if one drives short distances, during the winter time the car just doesn’t have enough time to reach that temperature during those short trips. Cold starting a car also consumes a lot of fuel. I’m not sure if this is true these days anymore, but I’ve heard talks about one coffeecup of gas per cold start. If you drive short distances, stop and start your car often, you’ll probably use more fuel. Preheating when leaving home might help a little, not just ease the cold start, but also make winter driving more economical fuelwise.

To help the car warm up faster during driving some people at least here in the Northern Europe cover their cars’ masks (or even the under the engine) with cardboard / something more sophisticated to alleviate the effect of wind and breeze during driving and to allow the engine to reach the optimum operating temperature quicker. Or to prevent the breather-hoses from freezing and the spewing of the engine oil all over the engine compartment… #intakeManifoldFacingTheFrontOfTheCar… :dry:

[Author]

Replies