Tyres and Fuel Economy

[Cotswold Pete]

Looking for new tyres for all four corners - so not a cheap day on the credit card coming up any time soon.

My question is whether anyone has done any serious compare of whether running with tyres that are rated E for fuel economy are using that much more petrol than one rated at B or C in the real world.

 

I have sat down and worked out some numbers to see how ratings actually make a difference worht worrying about.

Looking at Pro Tyres - the Falken Ziex (at £83) is E rated, where as a Bridgestone Turanza T005 (£125) is B rated.

My maths (or math if American) means if I buy the Bridgestone I spend £160 more.

So lets be reasonable  and say the tyes are only going to last 20K (given front scrubbing I seem to get), my commute to work gives me 25mpg so in 20,000 miles I will burn 800 gallons (3636 litres) which today would cost me £4,620.  If I say that a B rated is 5% better than a E rated, then that means I could have saved £230 over that distance (which for me is about 2 years).

Now to me that means saving a few quid up front puts me about £70 (£230 - £160) out of pocket over two years, which is one weeks worth of commuting to work every two years. Me thinks no reason to go for the Bridgestone unless I was flush with cash when I go to tyre depot.

 

I guess if i was a fleet manager the above savings might be worth doing, but one LS does not constitute a fleet.

 

 

[royoftherovers]

In my experience Pete, it is more important to assess just how one drives that is the key factor in giving miles per tyre.

Buy a middle of the range tyre around £85, drive responsibly and expect 30,000 plus.

 

Good luck.

[J Henderson]

I don't have an LS but I have noticed a small improvement since moving from "E" rated tyres to "C" rated Michelins. Maybe 1-2 MPG, which is welcome, but I consider it a bonus since the main deciding factor for me was the wet grip rating - A

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[PCM]

Good question...

( I'd go for all-seasons regardless though ).

[GrahamG]

Living in southern England I have never previously given winter tyres much thought but if global warming actually means more extreme weather events then I have decided to have the Michelin 'all seasons' under me especially as they seem more of a winterised summer compound than the other way round. 

Just can't help feeling on the law of averages we are over due a severe winter.

[The-Acre]

36 minutes ago, GrahamG said:

Living in southern England I have never previously given winter tyres much thought but if global warming actually means more extreme weather events then I have decided to have the Michelin 'all seasons' under me especially as they seem more of a winterised summer compound than the other way round. 

Just can't help feeling on the law of averages we are over due a severe winter.

The same with me, living on the south coast I reckon we've had "real" snow maybe three or four times in 28 years.  Then again I find driving a big rear wheel drive car in the snow a nerve wracking experience!  Mine has Bridgestone tyres and they are superb.

[Malc]

I used to run with the Falkens till they stopped producing them

Now I understand they are made in Turkey and probably still very good tyres

The Falkens I would otherwise have to this day tbh, t'was a good tyre for me

So I moved to Maxxis,( some sets of tyres ago now )  a very good tyre too BUT I have now found the rare to get hold of Maxxis All Seasons tyres and these give a much improved handling  feel but maybe slightly harsher ride on a totally different profile tread

About the same price methinks

Might try the Falkens next spring when the fronts will need replacing probably

Malc

[RgrWynne]

Being a Michelin fan, I fitted Primacy 3 and only can say I am very satisfied. The actual fuel rating was low, but I have not noticed any difference. They still look like new with plenty of tread, so I was surprised when I realised I had driven 20,000 miles. I would almost certainly fit all seasons next time as I think that is the way the market is going.

[Bluesman]

I use Falkens on my LS400 and have always been very satisfied with them. Sad they stopped making them, have to look into the Turkey outlet.

 

[BigBoomer]

If fuel economy matters that much to you, why did you buy a 2 ton 4.0 litre V8? Not having a go, just interested. 😎

Fuel economy is lowest on my list of considerations when it comes to tyres.
I use Avon ZZ5s as they give A rated wet grip and are rated at 70dB so are amongst the grippiest and quietest tyres out there.
Fuel economy is E but then grippy tyres are going to have more rolling resistance.
The difference between A and G is 20% so in theory an A rated tyre will give 20% extra mileage over a G rated tyre (D is not used).
That equates to 30Mpg on an A-rated tyre if you get 25Mpg on the G-rated tyre.
However, I can't find an A-rated tyre in the 245/45-18 size so I'm stuck with B-rated at best and they are only 8% (2Mpg) better than the E-rated.
The best I can find w.r.t. the ratings are the Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 but they are £15 per corner more than my ZZ5s.

You will make far more of a difference to fuel economy just by driving smoothly and never planting your right foot.
But what's the fun in that? 😁

[Cotswold Pete]

31 minutes ago, BigBoomer said:

😎If fuel economy matters that much to you, why did you buy a 2 ton 4.0 litre V8? Not having a go, just interested. 

George, a totally valid point, and my post was only to see what other people think.

I would agree that the grip in wet is the thing that should be the focus, as when an LS starts to loose the backend it can be a little scary, and given the wet summer we have had more grip on more days is nice.

Also I find the LS with certain tyres on some roads feels like your driving a Jeep, but always found Falkens the best all round for noise (not quite as quite as Michelin on average surface, but fine on rough roads)

I agree all weather tyres seem to be coming down in price, so maybe that is the future.  Having been in Audi A4 on snow tyres in the snow was impressed at how easy to drive.

15 hours ago, The-Acre said:

  Then again I find driving a big rear wheel drive car in the snow a nerve wracking experience!

Any rear wheel drive in the snow scares me, especially an automatic.  My first 20 years of car driving was in front wheel drive, never got stuck, and drove over 80 miles in the big storms of the early 80's and my Escort Mk4 or Cavalier Mk4 always got me there (with underwear intact).

The other thing I hate about driving in the snow is that other drivers seem to be the problem, and prefer not to have some *****-womble ploughing into my LS as they piroutte about the A46

[MLW]

To me its a balanced package. I am soon to buy 4 tyres for my LS 430. Goodyear's with A, B, 68Db, for £94. That looks good to me. It is also a life-mileage/noise/safety/comfort thing.

Tyres are always painful cost wise, but after you have fitted then, to see the words Goodyear or Michelin on the side makes one feel good.

[runsgrateasanut]

How are you finding the Maxxi's perform having lowered the pressure that was too high, as I recall your last thread on the subject.

Nicer ride, more grip, or what?

Having not a clue about fuel usage to tyre spec,  is there any significant difference you have noticed since reducing the pressure?

[Malc]

5 hours ago, Cotswold Pete said:

Then again I find driving a big rear wheel drive car in the snow a nerve wracking experience!

without Traction Control I leave mine at home in such conditions

Malc

[RgrWynne]

53 minutes ago, Malc said:

without Traction Control I leave mine at home in such conditions

Malc

In such conditions , even with Traction Control it is a nerve wracking experience and I do the same 

Roger 

[The-Acre]

3 hours ago, MLW said:

To me its a balanced package. I am soon to buy 4 tyres for my LS 430. Goodyear's with A, B, 68Db, for £94. That looks good to me. It is also a life-mileage/noise/safety/comfort thing.

Tyres are always painful cost wise, but after you have fitted then, to see the words Goodyear or Michelin on the side makes one feel good.

I had Goodyear tyres on my last LS, very good I thought.

[Mikaelse]

I quite like the Good years I have been running for several years. Half thread left on them now. 225/55/17  Silent , round and well balanced, Acceptable cost, premium brand ,wears slow and even and good grip wet and dry.  I have experimented with tire pressure and found that they run sligthly rougher at 2.6 Bar then at 2.0 Bar but gas mileage get noticeably better with the higher pressure. 

 

[MLW]

My present tyres are Yokohama V802. I have done 46,000 miles and there is still a bit on them. Amazing really, but almost all of my driving is dual carriage way and motorway. Averaging 31 mpg over the last year and 15,00 miles

[Cotswold Pete]

19 hours ago, runsgrateasanut said:

How are you finding the Maxxi's perform having lowered the pressure that was too high, as I recall your last thread on the subject.

Nicer ride, more grip, or what?

Having not a clue about fuel usage to tyre spec,  is there any significant difference you have noticed since reducing the pressure?

To be honest a little more grip on dampt roads, no differnce in really wet or bone dry, but I feel the Maxxis are not a trye I will return to as they seem too harsh on a lot of mediocre roads. 

I have Maxxi on front and Nexen on rear, much preferred it when I had Nexen all around.

Am considering Falken for replacement of all 4, as in past I have noticed having different brands front and rear makes the LS a little 'wierd' whereas in y Vauxhall days never noticed such problems with mixed brands.

In terms of fuel consumption, not noticed any change in my mpg on commute since lowering pressure.

 

[ScottC]

Hi

 

I have 4 Michelin Primacy 4 tyres on my2005 LS430.

Fitted about 6 months ago, £150.00 each. These replaced 4 Primacy 3 tyres which I was extremely pleased with,  Michelin claim the Primacy 4 is even better than the Primacy 3

so it was a no brainer for me.

After 4,000 miles I cannot recommend them enough.

 

ScottC

 

 

 

[plastic orange]

I've used Falkens for almost all the 10 year ownership of my LS after replacing the pirellis it came with. i found that 235/55's on the dhp rims give reasonable speedo accuracy compared to originals. I value grip more than wear, noise, mpg etc and that's why I like the Falkens. Mileage, well that's another issue as I've mentioned in the past as they just wear out very quickly on the rear. I usually put the backs onto the front at around 3 - 4mm left which equates to around 8,000 miles use. Front tyre wear seems negligible so they last a while there. Note, I do not drive car hard and don't spin the tyres, and this wear rate is consistent throughout my ownership, but as I say, I value grip more than anything else - especially in the wet. I may try something else in future, but i've still got a pair of new Falkens to fit to the rear very soon.

 

Pete

[Malc]

33 minutes ago, plastic orange said:

but i've still got a pair of new Falkens to fit to the rear very soon.

are these the original manufactured ones' or the new Turkish variety ?  ( maybe we should call them Turkish Delight ! )

Malc

[plastic orange]

I've no idea of origin of tyres. I bought 4 of them last year at what I thought was a very good price - around £35 a tyre less than I paid 8 years ago.

 

Pete

[Malc]

happily the old design then, you know where you are with those, the new Turkish Delight might have different tread patterns or who knows what 

but if they aren't might you be able to tell the difference if there's a change in the tread pattern I wonder

Malc