Tires Affect Performance??

[JimHav]

Will running a taller tire (25" instead of 23") reduce performance (ie...gas mileage, power, etc...) on mini-truck?

[Wedge]

I think it will a little and I'm wondering if a 15" wheel would work.

[Deanclean]

Not sure if this will help, as im very new to the mini truck scene, but there is lots of great info on speed loss and other stuff in this post.

http://www.minitrucktalk.com/showthr...t=wheels+speed

[Wedge]

Thank you Deanclean.

[Shrimp Daddy]

I have found that running 23 inch Carlisle All-Trail tires averaged about 23-24 US mpg. When I switched back to the oem tires this spring, I am averaging 27-28 mpg after running through 3 tanks of gas. Driving conditions consist of speeds from 25-50 mph. When I switched back to the oem tires the road noise decreased dramatically. The death wobble was gone and I found myself driving faster and using 5th gear because of the increased power, less vibration, and lower road noise. When running on dirt road or off road, the oem tires beat you to death compared to the atv tires. I think a 13 inch mud and snow tire would bridge the gap nicely.

[themadscientist]

16x7s fit a Hijet,,,,sort of.
Top end did improve a slight bit. The final diameter is actually not much more than stock. An unexpected benefit of the wide stance is high speed stability. the Jet feels like a slot car and when a close call put me into a 50MPH spin on the expressway the truck was planted through the whole thing.

[SpikeFiend]

Will running a taller tire (25" instead of 23") reduce performance (ie...gas mileage, power, etc...) on mini-truck?

Yep, you'll notice a pretty significant drop in torque (and probably a drop in top end speed with a jump that steep).

I switched from the stock 145/80 R12's (OD=21.1") to 175/70 R13's (OD=22.6") and noticed a big drop. I couldn't accelerate up hills at highway speeds like I used to be able to, and the "supercharger" light kicks in a lot more frequently (i.e. it needs to boost more often to keep going). That being said, the ride is much smoother around town. If you're keeping it low speeds (<70 km/h or so) you should be alright...but if you need to do any high speed driving, I wouldn't recommend going too large.

I think I'll be looking for some 165/65 R13's (OD=21.4") in the spring and try and get back the pep of the smaller diameter and the ride of the wider tires.

Also note that if you switch tire sizes and use the odometer reading directly without converting it to the actual distance, your MPG numbers will be off. A larger tire will read lower MPG's than it should be, because your odometer will read less distance than was actually traveled.