MPG Mods

That's the root of the question right there.
Bigger tires weigh more so I was thinking that lighter wheels could offset that unsprung weight.
I was wondering if anyone has replaced the factory steel wheels with aluminum but retained the stock tires and if so did they realize any increase in fuel economy.

 

Toyota, like every other vehicle manufacturer, is under government mandate to increase fuel mileage and if K&N and other aftermarket air filters provided an increase in MPG's, don't you think they would come standard with the vehicle? Think about it, with all the advanced testing equipment and engineering available within any car/truck factory, common sense would dictate they would use them as OEM. The on-board computer will simply modify the fuel delivery amount when the air flow changes. Off roading and all-out racing are the only reasons to swap out filters. For street use, I have had zero Mass Airflow issues for well over 200,000 miles in two different Tacos and am getting pretty decent mileage too.
A few years ago, a guy (Chris4X4?) did an expose' on oil filters and with photos, demonstrated how much more filter area a Toyota OEM filter had than any aftermarket filters had...and they are less expensive, (2 for $7 at the dealer) yet people still swore by their XYZ brand oil filter from Walmart.
I hate to sound like one of the many trolls this site has, but guys simply want to spend money on their trucks needlessly.
"Drive it like you have an egg under the gas pedal" and understand you bought a PICK-UP TRUCK not a Prius.

 

was thinking about doing this to my truck but its more for the looks, those steelies are good rims but they are really BORING to look at. its hard to find a good set of alloys(east coast area) that aren't scruffed/paint chipping, with TPMS sensors, and the correct lug nuts and hook it all up, then have to sell/get rid of the steelies nobody wants em.

 

Put winter or off road tires on the steelies and summer tires on the alloy rims.

 

if I ever get alloys I would just put MICHELIN Defenders on and run them year round, I don't have room for a spare set of tires

 

I recently picked up some 17X7 alloy wheels to replace my stock 16" steelies...just waiting on tires. I am curious to see if there is any difference in gas mileage, but I don't expect much.

 

Im in the same boat here... set of steelies is coming off soon and will be getting replaced with some KMC enduro alloy wheels... from what i have read our stock 16'' wheels weigh 32ish lbs... (not personally confirmed)... my KMC alloys weigh 27lbs...so with all for wheels id be like 20lbs lighter...which I feel like (more like hope) would have some sort of positive effect on the mpg. fortunately but unfortunately I will be wrapping the alloys in 235/85/16 fallen wildpeaks or discoverer AT3s (feedback welcome) so that will destroy any mpg that I would have gained...my effort here was/is simply to try and offset the mpg decrease I will probably experience by going with heavier tires... hence the "skinny" and the alloys... I can post an "outcome" once I have those tires on if folks are interested... current mpg is around 20-22.

 

I'm following a similar line of thinking...my wheels should be 24-25 lbs each, and I am going with a narrow P235/75/17 Wildpeak.

These are the wheels

 

how much do the TRD rims weigh?

 

take a look at the KUMHO ROAD VENTURE AT51 this was the lightest weight AT tire I could find in p245/75/16 size. just having a good looking rim on the truck is worth maybe losing a 1-2 pds. weight with the tires, sometimes I look at my truck and the weakest link to my overall way it looks is the stock steelies rims, boring as hell looking.

 

I haven't checked yet, but someone here posted a pic of one on a scale a while back and it was under 25 lbs. I will at least weigh one once they are mounted to compare to the stock 245/75/16 and steel wheel combo.

 

that's pretty good they look way better than the steelies for sure and are lighter, that's a win-win

 

I was paying particular attention to weight, but really like the Wildpeaks. I did have the Road Ventures on another vehicle, and didn't really care for them...too slippery on wet pavement.

The lightest A/T tire I found in that size (by a pretty good margin) was the Goodyear Trailrunner A/T...IIRC, they were 3-4lbs each lighter than even the Kumho AT51.

 

post some pictures or results once you get those mounted!

 

Will do! I'm hoping by next weekend...

 

The tires didn't show up this week...missed the truck. I've got a left front wheel bearing to do now too. Will post some pics and weights as soon as I have them.

 

sweet! mine did! will be mounting em on the new rims thursday and will update then!

 

Nice! Try to weigh one once they're mounted...I'm curious how much of a difference there is between the LT rated 235/85 on a 16, and the P rated 235/75 on a 17.

 

If my mechanic has a scale avalible ill make sure to weigh the setup...otherwise ill have to pull it off at some point but Ill try to get you the weight... are yours the wildpeaks as well?

 

disregard my question...just read your old post