[adam42381]

I'm looking at buying a 1997 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 Extended Cab with a 6" lift and 35" tires on it. I am just wondering if this will greatly effect the gas mileage of the vehicle. It's supposed to get 17/19 mpg. Anybody know what kind of loss I'm looking at, if any?

[JDUB]

i have that truck minus the lift with 31-10.5 tires. i get 18mpg. i have heard that the mileage drops alot with a lift and bigger tires

[LUconn]

more contact with the road = more friction = lower gas milage. But I'm guessing the purpose of that truck is not good gas milage. Besides, what's a few mpg?

[RubberMallet]

yes, my gas mileage went down significantly with a very small change... stock tires to a 31x10.5 tire and i lost around 5 mpg

[PAmedic]

agree w/ MALLET.

switched to 31.5's on my Explorer from 235 R15s and lost the same.

the odometer is now by about 1/2 of a tenth per mile though, too. So every 20 miles it records only 19- so I've probably put about 5000 more miles on the thing in the last 2 years than it says. Not a real big deal though.

[Libertine]

Larger tires also affects your speedometer. At normal driving speed with a 30-inch tire, the speedometer will read 5-10 mph slower than your actual speed. Something to keep in mind on I-95.

[LUconn]

I heard on car talk one saturday, a discussion about larger tires. And this woman, who incedently was a math teach and should know better, couldn't grap the fact that larger tires actually would make you go faster. Larger circumference means a greater distance traveled per rotation of the wheel. Even if only a fraction of an inch.

[kel varson]

I heard on car talk one saturday, a discussion about larger tires. And this woman, who incedently was a math teach and should know better, couldn't grap the fact that larger tires actually would make you go faster. Larger circumference means a greater distance traveled per rotation of the wheel. Even if only a fraction of an inch.

But is that really going to change the top speed of the vehicle? That's more tied into the hp? Is it not?

[LUconn]

sure it would. The tires are still spinning at the same speed. But with a greater circumference, more distance is traveled per revolution.

[RubberMallet]

lets go the opposite direction....think if you were able to put 6" tires on your car....your top speed would probably be 30 mph....

[kel varson]

lets go the opposite direction....think if you were able to put 6" tires on your car....your top speed would probably be 30 mph....

Okay, now it makes sense.

[badger74]

The lift kit might decrease the mileage more than the larger tires. The wind resistance would probably go up significantly. The contact patch for thr larger tire will be a little bigger too but I doubt enough to kill the mileage as much as the lifts. Also more air in the tires would help cut the rolling resistance--top of the allowable range for the tire--and your teeth. As some noted your odometer will now need a correction factor. Larger tire circum. = fewer recorded miles on the odometer. Yokohama had a nice nice chart for different tire sizes giving the circum. for each one.

[RubberMallet]

The lift kit might decrease the mileage more than the larger tires. The wind resistance would probably go up significantly. The contact patch for thr larger tire will be a little bigger too but I doubt enough to kill the mileage as much as the lifts. Also more air in the tires would help cut the rolling resistance--top of the allowable range for the tire--and your teeth. As some noted your odometer will now need a correction factor. Larger tire circum. = fewer recorded miles on the odometer. Yokohama had a nice nice chart for different tire sizes giving the circum. for each one.

my 79 cj stock susp stock tires (235's) - 17 mpg
my 79 cj 5" susp lift w/ stock tires - 17 mpg

and on another note...

my 79 cj 5" lift and 35" tires - 13 mpg