Tire Question

My Hancok (SP?) stock tires finally needed replacing after 40 months and 40K miles. Probably could have gotten another 4-5K on them but we get a lot of rain around here and was worried about traction on wet roads. I got a good deal on a set of Bridgestone Dulers. I like the improvement in ride quality but my highway and city mpg has dropped by about 10%. Normally on the highway I would get around 24.5 to 26 mpg. On my first highway trip (about 100 miles) the best mpg I was getting was 23 but averaged 21.8. Is this a characteristic of the tires or did I simply make a bad choice. When I got the tires the tire dealer said he would order the same brand that came on the Taco but that I would like the Bridgestone's better. Did I FU?

 

Give it time, maybe your trip had some other factors causing the drop. I went with the Falken Wildpeaks and the MPG is about the same as it was with the Factory Goodyear Kevlars.

 

it might be the fact that the traction is that much better . you could try upping the tire pressure a little . if the tire shop set you at say 32 psi you might try 35psi

 

Agree with this. Play with the pressure. Even if you are running the same pressure as before, if the new tire has more flex you may need to run a higher pressure in it to bring roll resistance down to the previous tire. You say you like the improved ride quality, which leads me to believe the new tire is softer in the sidewall. I would not say it is a FU, don't lose sleep over it.