Ecopia 422 MPGs update...

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

badtlc

Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
5,440
Location
KC
I now have about 11k miles on my Ecopias and 1 full year. Now that fairly consistent weather/commute patterns have returned, I have been able to get a better idea on MPGs of these tires. Before the Ecopias I had Turanza EL400 (OEM). My round trip commute would return 42-43 MPGs regularly and now I'm hitting 43-45. I don't think the tire is completely responsible for all the increase but I feel safe in saying the tires definitely improved the MPGs. If I had to guestimate, I'd say the tires are responsible for about 0.75 MPG improvement.

One other factor that has changed from when I was on my Turanzas is I'm now running Mobil 1 0W-20 AFE where as I was running Pennzoil before.

EDIT: I forgot, I did change from OEM air filter with 40k miles on it to a new Fram at the end of winter time. I don't think that would make a measurable difference, though.
 
Last edited:
What I wonder about these higher mpg claims on tires is: are they playing with the outer diameter of the tire in addition to the lower rolling resistance?

How does your speedometer compare to your GPS?
 
Originally Posted By: KGMtech
What I wonder about these higher mpg claims on tires is: are they playing with the outer diameter of the tire in addition to the lower rolling resistance?

How does your speedometer compare to your GPS?


It is currently the same as old tires but it is odd on this car. My speedometer reads about 0.5 MPH "low." and the trip meter actually shorts me about 0.1 miles every 10 miles. When I calculate and adjust accordingly, my numbers go up just a hair. So these tires are just a bit too big circumference wise.
 
Last edited:
Lower rolling resistance tires usually sacrifice traction for mpg. Ep422's are now ep422plus. Not sure what the + adds but do hope for more mpg.
As they wear, the circumference will change. So, I don't believe that they tires are purposely oversized.

Both sets that I have, EP422 and EP422+ were made in the USA. I wanted to try the Goodyear FuelMax since they were a few ounces lighter. I couldn't figure out where they were made. Time for new glasses or Lasik. Maybe next time.
 
Originally Posted By: Greasymechtech
Lower rolling resistance tires usually sacrifice traction for mpg. Ep422's are now ep422plus. Not sure what the + adds but do hope for more mpg.
As they wear, the circumference will change. So, I don't believe that they tires are purposely oversized.

Both sets that I have, EP422 and EP422+ were made in the USA. I wanted to try the Goodyear FuelMax since they were a few ounces lighter. I couldn't figure out where they were made. Time for new glasses or Lasik. Maybe next time.



They aren't purposely oversized. It is the side effect of the car being designed around larger wheels. My car is fairly basic and has 16" wheels instead of the 17" wheels. If you throw those on, the speedo and trip become perfectly in spec. I guess they expected to sell more 17" wheels.
 
Tires don't matter as much as people would like to think. I used to max at 42mpg on "LRR eco tires", and I recently got 44 on my extreme performance summer tires, being much wider, same pressure, and much stickier.
 
Originally Posted By: Greasymechtech
Lower rolling resistance tires usually sacrifice traction for mpg. Ep422's are now ep422plus. Not sure what the + adds but do hope for more mpg.
As they wear, the circumference will change. So, I don't believe that they tires are purposely oversized.


Lots of things play into better fuel economy, and I agree that intentional oversizing isn't one of them. Rubber compounds, sidewall compounds, lighter weight, etc, will all contribute.

The new EP422 Plus is the updated version of the EP422. There's a slight difference in the tread pattern, and likely a difference in tread compound as well. The EP422 had a 480 treadwear rating in most sizes, along with a 65,000 mile warranty. The new Plus has a 640 treadwear rating in most sizes, along with a 70,000 mile warranty.

In general, longer tread life is not consistent with lower rolling resistance, but we'll see how Bridgestone is striking the balance with the new Plus version.
 
Originally Posted By: horse123
Tires don't matter as much as people would like to think. I used to max at 42mpg on "LRR eco tires", and I recently got 44 on my extreme performance summer tires, being much wider, same pressure, and much stickier.


I generally agree, but it should be noted that it can very depending on use. One graphic I've seen claims that tires contribute to about 4% of the energy consumed in urban driving, and about 7% of the energy consumed in highway driving.

In the best of scenarios, assuming that those claims are correct, a 10% reduction in rolling resistance in the tires would contribute to a 0.7% reduction in energy consumption for a highway driver...and a 25% reduction in rolling resistance would generate a 1.75% reduction in energy consumed...
 
Originally Posted By: horse123
Tires don't matter as much as people would like to think. I used to max at 42mpg on "LRR eco tires", and I recently got 44 on my extreme performance summer tires, being much wider, same pressure, and much stickier.


well, yes, everyone gets better mpg during summer. i thought we were talking "all things equal" here.
 
Durr i forgotted what a season wuz kan sum1 tel me agen?

Look honey, I'm not stupid. I didn't say "my winter tires used to get 12mpg spinning on ice all day, but my summer tires got 35 going downhill with the engine off, so clearly summer tires are better for mpg" so you had no reason to condescend like that. Back off.
 
agree, ecopia EP422 is the real deal. i have the SUV version of 422 and there was 0 mpg penalty from going from used OEM LLR tires to new ecopias. that was impressive. on the other hand i recently bought supposedly LLR car size continental purecontacts and lost whooping 15% mpg compared to the used OEM LLR tires (which happened to be ecopia EP20). if there is decreased traction in ecopia (i doubt it), i never detected that.
 
Originally Posted By: horse123
Durr i forgotted what a season wuz kan sum1 tel me agen?

Look honey, I'm not stupid. I didn't say "my winter tires used to get 12mpg spinning on ice all day, but my summer tires got 35 going downhill with the engine off, so clearly summer tires are better for mpg" so you had no reason to condescend like that. Back off.


you forgot to take your aggression pill this AM, i forgive you.
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
agree, ecopia EP422 is the real deal. i have the SUV version of 422 and there was 0 mpg penalty from going from used OEM LLR tires to new ecopias. that was impressive. on the other hand i recently bought supposedly LLR car size continental purecontacts and lost whooping 15% mpg compared to the used OEM LLR tires (which happened to be ecopia EP20). if there is decreased traction in ecopia (i doubt it), i never detected that.


I agree. I haven't come across any traction concerns with my Ecopias, either. Snow was fine and I haven't had any slipping in wet conditions yet, either. I had some hard stops I was concerned about as I slammed on the brakes in the rain last week and no hint of breaking free was observed. I'm guessing most of the traction loss on these tires comes from lateral grip.
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
you forgot to take your aggression pill this AM, i forgive you.

Sounds like he may have taken too many of them.
smile.gif
 
On my Element, I switched from Toyo Open Country tires on stock wheels to RSX wheels with the Dueler Ecopia tires. I weighed them and it was a 11lb per corner weight loss, or about 20% lighter. I am only a few thousands of miles on the tires, but I think there's a slight increase in gas mileage. I'll know a little more at the end of summer when I can compare overall mileage for a season.

I do feel slightly better acceleration too (or it's in my head).
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: horse123
Durr i forgotted what a season wuz kan sum1 tel me agen?

Look honey, I'm not stupid. I didn't say "my winter tires used to get 12mpg spinning on ice all day, but my summer tires got 35 going downhill with the engine off, so clearly summer tires are better for mpg" so you had no reason to condescend like that. Back off.


you forgot to take your aggression pill this AM, i forgive you.


Sounds like he was somewhat confused about your user name.
 
Originally Posted By: horse123
Durr i forgotted what a season wuz kan sum1 tel me agen?

Look honey, I'm not stupid. I didn't say "my winter tires used to get 12mpg spinning on ice all day, but my summer tires got 35 going downhill with the engine off, so clearly summer tires are better for mpg" so you had no reason to condescend like that. Back off.


You might want to chill and grow some skin that reply seems way over the top oversensitive.

I went from 30mpg to 27mpg switching from the oem yokohama geolandar g95a to kumho ecsta 4x(UHP all season)

your statement might have more validity if you listed actual tires used.. since you don't it seems more "off the cuff made up story".
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

A
Bridgestone Ecopia H/L 422 Plus versus Alenza AS Ultra
Replies
16
Views
7K
meep
JustN89
Continental True Contact Plus tires installed and review of my old Goodyears
Replies
7
Views
3K
Sonny88
S
Tires for HD diesel truck (50/50 towing/not, 90/10 pavement/dirt)
2 3
Replies
54
Views
8K
userfriendly
racer12306
19 Ram 1500 Classic Tires - 265-70-17
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
OVERKILL
A
Nokian Outpost APT All-Weather (Winter) Review
Replies
14
Views
9K
k1xv
Back
Top