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Archive for December 4th, 2006
Tires and MPG
Posted by Suzanne on December 4, 2006
I recently bought new Michelin Pilot tires for my 2003 Subaru outback which were recommended to me from several sources. I am very disappointed so far. After 1500 miles on them my gas mileage has dropped by aprox 5 mpg. Since I drive 100 miles a day this is a substantial amt. of money over time. Is this normal for tires to cause this much decrease in mileage?
After posting my original response someone wrote the following comment to me. Some very good points are made here:
"This issue I am sure is related to either inflation pressures or a different rolling radius of the new tires. Try checking you tire pressures first. Keep inflating them to a maximum of 38 PSI or until ride quality becomes unacceptable.
"You may then want to check your speedo calibration. Rolling radius will effect percieved MPG significantly when making tire changes, ieven if the width and aspect ratio are identical, you will find actual rolling radius varies significantly from manufacturer to manufacturer even with the same size tire. If either of these do not solve this, something else is going on with engine tuning."