To save gas, go a tire size taller?
#1
06-09-08, 05:35 AM
To save gas, go a tire size taller?
So that the gearing would be more like having overdrive? Especially for people who do a lot of highway driving, where dead stop acceleration is not the key issue?
Yes, the speedometer would be off then - but one could compensate.
IF this were to save any substantial amount at all, you'd think the gov't would encourage or madate this change. Or require people that do highway driving to buy cars geared for highway driving.
My mechanic, who installed a 460 in his Lincoln told me he gets 28 mpg on the highway and has already hit 30.5. We discussed this, as I could not really believe that. He claims it is due to the way he drives and the gearing of the car. I never asked him if he had overdrive.
But if that is even CLOSE to being true, that is remarkeable. My latest mpg on my lightweight 4-banger was at 24. I would think the 460 in a big car would be more like 12!
I don't think many people realize this, but if one gets say 20 mpg and you have a 40 mile commute, daily, that is like $8!
Heard on the news this morning that out in California gas is above $4.40 a gallon and they said it go could to $5 a gallon now. This is getting serious. If say one is self employed and had to pay taxes, that you could be paying $2000 a year toward your taxes, instead of gas, if the gas prices were anywhere near where they were just a few years ago!
Yes, the speedometer would be off then - but one could compensate.
IF this were to save any substantial amount at all, you'd think the gov't would encourage or madate this change. Or require people that do highway driving to buy cars geared for highway driving.
My mechanic, who installed a 460 in his Lincoln told me he gets 28 mpg on the highway and has already hit 30.5. We discussed this, as I could not really believe that. He claims it is due to the way he drives and the gearing of the car. I never asked him if he had overdrive.
But if that is even CLOSE to being true, that is remarkeable. My latest mpg on my lightweight 4-banger was at 24. I would think the 460 in a big car would be more like 12!
I don't think many people realize this, but if one gets say 20 mpg and you have a 40 mile commute, daily, that is like $8!
Heard on the news this morning that out in California gas is above $4.40 a gallon and they said it go could to $5 a gallon now. This is getting serious. If say one is self employed and had to pay taxes, that you could be paying $2000 a year toward your taxes, instead of gas, if the gas prices were anywhere near where they were just a few years ago!
#2
06-09-08, 06:02 AM
How you drive can affect gas mileage a lot! My wife has a big right foot 
She used to have a merc with a 2.5 V-6. I'd get 29 mpg and she got 22 mpg. The merc she has now is bigger and has a 3.0, she gets 25 mpg and I get 27.
But I find it hard to believe that you could get 25 mpg or more out of a 460 cid. I used to have a 4x4 with a 460, it got 6 mpg when I bought it and after fiddling with the carb and timing, I increased it 7 mpg. That thing was too expensive to drive when gas was only 98 cents per gallon!
Taller tires can affect how a vehicle handles and depending on gearing [not an issue with a big V-8] may take more power to get it rolling.
She used to have a merc with a 2.5 V-6. I'd get 29 mpg and she got 22 mpg. The merc she has now is bigger and has a 3.0, she gets 25 mpg and I get 27.But I find it hard to believe that you could get 25 mpg or more out of a 460 cid. I used to have a 4x4 with a 460, it got 6 mpg
when I bought it and after fiddling with the carb and timing, I increased it 7 mpg. That thing was too expensive to drive when gas was only 98 cents per gallon!Taller tires can affect how a vehicle handles and depending on gearing [not an issue with a big V-8] may take more power to get it rolling.
