wheel discussion for mpg - Toyota Yaris Forums

tire · 05-20-2011, 08:59 PM

i come from the mustang world and this import business is pretty weird to me. i have an 07 yaris (base) sedan and got 37.3 mpg with 30% street / 70% highway on the 4-spd auto. (i feel i must vent how much i dislike autos... i'm trying to be a responsible future-family man)

i did a search but came up wanting. i'm interested in finding a similar sized alloy/otherwise lightweight wheel as my stock steel 14 inchers so as to improve mpg/kpl and not cause any rubbing issues.

basically, i'm attempting to find non-invasive ways to improve the car. non-invasive meaning nothing permanent or at all risky. this is obviously my daily driver and could potentially be resold, so indications of modification are not wanted. lightening the curb weight is another possibility but i'm not sure where to start, so i figured a lighter wheel would be ideal for bang-for-the-buck-ness as it covers both rotating mass and curb weight.

austin

PS - i'm a tard for not putting this in the wheel/tire forum, my apologies.

*kimona* · 05-20-2011, 09:25 PM

A lightweight 14" alloy and some taller tyres (175/70/14) since you do mostly highway driving.

BEEF · 05-20-2011, 10:04 PM

K.I.S.S

I would first air up the tires to max sidewall (or as close as you feel comfortable with). mine are set at 42psi. also invest in either a scangauge or ultragauge so you have an instant MPG meter to go by. most mods you do to the car will gain you less than 5% where you can gain upwards of 30% simply by changing your driving habbits.

both the scangauge and the ultragauge just plug into the obd-2 connector and can easily be removed if you get rid of the vehicle. it was one of the first things I bought for both of my cars when fuel economy became important to me (about 3 years ago).

I know you were asking about the wheels and to that I say to save the several hundred dollars they cost and buy a $160 scangauge or a $75 ultragauge. either way is less than a set of wheels and tires.

just my 2 cents

***edit***

it may also be worthy of note that the resale on a scangauge is around $130 so you don't lose much if you don't like it.

tire · 05-21-2011, 07:33 AM

interesting. i suppose my only concern with that would be accuracy of the instrument. i'm not opposed to computing it by hand, though. i drive pretty tame but you're right, i could at least get it in my head how best to drive per situation and use that for long term reference. thanks for the advice. i'll think it over.

are there any clearly unnecessary parts that could be removed or replaced? (eg., in the 94-98 mustang v6 convertibles there was literally a 20 lbs weight bolted to the engine bay between the right fender and "frame" used to reduce "vibrations" Ford said, but it was actually useless and a free 20 lbs reduction mod)

Mead · 05-21-2011, 10:19 AM

Unless you're getting free wheels it makes no sense spending money to save fuel.

rningonfumes · 05-21-2011, 10:39 AM

Mead is right.... how far are you willing to go with this? You may just try changing your driving first as it saves drivers the most money. Then once you get that down, the other stuff you intend to do will be that much more beneficial.

BEEF · 05-21-2011, 11:16 AM

both the scangauge and the ultragauge have calibration procedures so that you can get them pretty accurate. my gas log (hand written) numbers and the scangauge are usually within a tenth or two of each other. I haven't had the ultragauge long enough to know but people that have it say about the same. putting accuracy aside, it is a good indication of how you are doing. nothing like going down a hill and taking your foot off the gas and seeing your mileage jump to 300+ (just for an instance of course).

http://www.scangauge.com/
http://ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/index.htm

I would get wheels if you are going for a look but for saving gas i would just not worry about it. wheels are expensive and that buys a heck of a lot of gas. I just bought a set of wheels but just because I like the look of them.

tire · 05-21-2011, 05:05 PM

Y'all seem like reasonable and knowledgeable people and I'll start with driving habits.

The reason I mentioned wheels is because of experience. Stock 17" alloy wheels on 99-04 Mustangs are actually the lightest wheels you can get for the car (with the exception of some really, really expensive ones), and people would use a set of those stock wheels for drag radials for the weekend warrior group... a cost effective way to lighten the car and rotating mass for the strip...

I don't care about style at all for the car. I have traveled a bunch in Asia and find the quirky little Toyota to be a bit of a throwback to diving in Japan and getting around in Singapore. Weird but homey to me. :-)

05-20-2011, 08:59 PM	#1
tire Drives: 2007 Yaris Sedan, 4-spd auto Join Date: May 2011 Location: US Posts: 12	wheel discussion for mpg i come from the mustang world and this import business is pretty weird to me. i have an 07 yaris (base) sedan and got 37.3 mpg with 30% street / 70% highway on the 4-spd auto. (i feel i must vent how much i dislike autos... i'm trying to be a responsible future-family man) i did a search but came up wanting. i'm interested in finding a similar sized alloy/otherwise lightweight wheel as my stock steel 14 inchers so as to improve mpg/kpl and not cause any rubbing issues. basically, i'm attempting to find non-invasive ways to improve the car. non-invasive meaning nothing permanent or at all risky. this is obviously my daily driver and could potentially be resold, so indications of modification are not wanted. lightening the curb weight is another possibility but i'm not sure where to start, so i figured a lighter wheel would be ideal for bang-for-the-buck-ness as it covers both rotating mass and curb weight. austin PS - i'm a tard for not putting this in the wheel/tire forum, my apologies.

05-21-2011, 10:39 AM	#6
rningonfumes Drives: Yaris Sedan 5MT Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 865	Mead is right.... how far are you willing to go with this? You may just try changing your driving first as it saves drivers the most money. Then once you get that down, the other stuff you intend to do will be that much more beneficial. __________________

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05-20-2011, 09:25 PM	#2
kimona Super Moderator Drives: 2014 White VITZ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Huntington Bch, CA Posts: 4,938	A lightweight 14" alloy and some taller tyres (175/70/14) since you do mostly highway driving.

05-20-2011, 10:04 PM	#3
BEEF View User's Garage Drives: 2008 yaris 3d Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: north carolina Posts: 732	K.I.S.S I would first air up the tires to max sidewall (or as close as you feel comfortable with). mine are set at 42psi. also invest in either a scangauge or ultragauge so you have an instant MPG meter to go by. most mods you do to the car will gain you less than 5% where you can gain upwards of 30% simply by changing your driving habbits. both the scangauge and the ultragauge just plug into the obd-2 connector and can easily be removed if you get rid of the vehicle. it was one of the first things I bought for both of my cars when fuel economy became important to me (about 3 years ago). I know you were asking about the wheels and to that I say to save the several hundred dollars they cost and buy a $160 scangauge or a $75 ultragauge. either way is less than a set of wheels and tires. just my 2 cents *edit* it may also be worthy of note that the resale on a scangauge is around $130 so you don't lose much if you don't like it.

05-21-2011, 07:33 AM	#4
tire Drives: 2007 Yaris Sedan, 4-spd auto Join Date: May 2011 Location: US Posts: 12	interesting. i suppose my only concern with that would be accuracy of the instrument. i'm not opposed to computing it by hand, though. i drive pretty tame but you're right, i could at least get it in my head how best to drive per situation and use that for long term reference. thanks for the advice. i'll think it over. are there any clearly unnecessary parts that could be removed or replaced? (eg., in the 94-98 mustang v6 convertibles there was literally a 20 lbs weight bolted to the engine bay between the right fender and "frame" used to reduce "vibrations" Ford said, but it was actually useless and a free 20 lbs reduction mod)

05-21-2011, 10:19 AM	#5
Mead Drives: BSP Yaris LB 2007 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: LBC Posts: 315	Unless you're getting free wheels it makes no sense spending money to save fuel.

05-21-2011, 11:16 AM	#7
BEEF View User's Garage Drives: 2008 yaris 3d Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: north carolina Posts: 732	both the scangauge and the ultragauge have calibration procedures so that you can get them pretty accurate. my gas log (hand written) numbers and the scangauge are usually within a tenth or two of each other. I haven't had the ultragauge long enough to know but people that have it say about the same. putting accuracy aside, it is a good indication of how you are doing. nothing like going down a hill and taking your foot off the gas and seeing your mileage jump to 300+ (just for an instance of course). http://www.scangauge.com/ http://ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/index.htm I would get wheels if you are going for a look but for saving gas i would just not worry about it. wheels are expensive and that buys a heck of a lot of gas. I just bought a set of wheels but just because I like the look of them.

05-21-2011, 05:05 PM	#8
tire Drives: 2007 Yaris Sedan, 4-spd auto Join Date: May 2011 Location: US Posts: 12	Y'all seem like reasonable and knowledgeable people and I'll start with driving habits. The reason I mentioned wheels is because of experience. Stock 17" alloy wheels on 99-04 Mustangs are actually the lightest wheels you can get for the car (with the exception of some really, really expensive ones), and people would use a set of those stock wheels for drag radials for the weekend warrior group... a cost effective way to lighten the car and rotating mass for the strip... I don't care about style at all for the car. I have traveled a bunch in Asia and find the quirky little Toyota to be a bit of a throwback to diving in Japan and getting around in Singapore. Weird but homey to me. :-)