MPG Hit on Heavy Wheels

Hi Guys!

Im new here, and also a 1st time Tacoma OR Cement Gray owner (1st ever truck). I am planning on switching my oem wheels and tires. I have narrowed it down to the Methods NV305 and Icon Alloy Rebounds... now i know these are heavy wheels about 30lbs each. Has anyone experience large decrease in MPG by switching to these wheels and would it make the truck feel really sluggish?
Appreciate your input!

 

Yep. You will loose mpg and power. And I even more if you go with a bigger size tire.

 

Yep, be ready to take a mpg hit.

 

I heard somewhere that every pound of rotational mass you add is equivalent of adding 20 lbs to your bed in terms of performance. Now multiply that times 4 since there are 4 tires.

 

My truck at bone stock was getting 18-19 average. I added Methods, one size bigger MT tires, skid plates, sliders and rear steel bumper. I now get 16-17mpg. Not too bad of a hit considering the extra weight I added. My truck does feel like a slug now though lol!

 

Tune it. I had the same issue and with a tune alone recovered close to 2 mpg on average. Definitely worth the cost over the long run.

 

There's a local tuner here, @Boltripper, that I've heard great things about his tunes. I may have to give him a shot. I'm contantly hauling gravel, rocks, firewood, mulch etc in my bed, so it really feels like a slug then!

 

damn thats alot of weight to carry, im guessing all this weight well somehow affect stopping distance too when breaking. Makes me rethink about just getting those light trd pro wheels instead.

 

thats not too bad of a loss, i was thinking i would get hit with about 2-4mpgs. I was also thinking of putting on BFG Ko2 265/70/17 c loads, so maybe i wont get too much of a hit.

 

You should be good with those C rated tires. Mine are D rated.

 

FWIW, I scrapped out a set of 17" OEM aluminum rims from an '06. Weight of all 4 was 103 lbs. No rubber, no balance weights, no TPMS, just aluminum rim.

So, average weight is 25.75 lbs. Based on this, you'll be adding roughly 4+ lbs per wheel before you add rubber, balance weight and TPMS.

What is the weight of your current wheel/rubber?

 

If each wheel is 2.5lbs heavier, four wheels equals 10lbs more rotational weight which is roughly 100lbs chassis weight.
I have two sets of Toyo Open Country AT tires on factory TRD Alloys. (Yeah, I gots problems)
TRD 16” Bead Lock with 265-75-16
TRD 18” Rock Warrior with 265-70-17 which are 32lbs heavier for the set of four. And drive very differently than the 16”.

 

I went from 2019 Tacoma trd pro wheels with bfg load range E 265/75/16 to kmc Roswell 16” and 265/70/16 kuhmos SL tires. I saved over 24 lbs a corner and my mpg went up 4. I was averaging 17 on the heavier setup and the truck felt IMO sluggish

 

so i guess going for lighter tires will maybe offset the wheel weight? Not planning on using E load tires for sure, the most will be a C load tire. Was the sluggishness that bad to a point where you would be hating it?

 

The FN Wheels Konig Countersteer I used to run were like 18 lbs a piece, held up to abuse, and relatively inexpensive.


There are better options out there.

 

It all depends on where you’re going to be driving. I do 0 off-roading unfortunately and have to drive 32 miles one way up and down hills. My truck was constantly downshifting and revving to just make it up the hills. (In the 3-4,000rpms) now I rarely even need to get into 3,000 Rpms and shifting issue is gone. I personally wouldn’t buy another wheel over 25# or tire over 35-40#

I agree that there are other options out there. Motegi trail lights are inexpensive and light, my Rosswells are 22# and $165 a pop

 

@cubie I've gained almost 2 mpg and my Fuel till empty has gone from 256 to 277 on my 3rd Gen.

Most everyone sees some increase in MPG, but its very driver dependent Light foot vs. heavy foot.

While I cant make guarantees on MPG, I will tell you that your truck will feel so much better when loaded down if its properly tuned. Getting the transmission doing good work in good places makes all the difference.

Let me know if I can help~

John


overlandtailor.com

 

I have 17x8.5 Icon Rebounds(30lb if i remember right) and 285/75/17s(58lbs). It now feels faster than stock with the kdmax tune.

 

ahhhh.....the ever reliable butt dyno........

 

If I go from stock Goodyear with Kevlar on my 19 OR to c load nitro ridge grapplers will there be a big difference? I’m staying stock size 265/70/16