do winter tires reduce fuel mileage

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I would say yes. The tread is usually deeper and squirmier than all season or summer tires.

There will be more rolling resistance, therefore less mpg.
 
I believe that they do. I would assume that the 'aggressive' (and blocky) thread pattern would increase rolling resistance.
 
Yes, I found my snow tires actually took a while to "break in". I always coast down a few hills near my house and for the first few 100km the car was not rolling as fast as it normally did. Like 10-15km/h slower, now its about 5 km/h slower than my all season tires.
 
I guess the real question is how is rolling resistance changed. Even that varies form brand to brand of winter and all season tire..
 
from what i have seen winter tire have much more flexible sidewalls, idk why exactly, but i would imagine this reduces fuel economy. I get lower fuel mileage in the winter, i think its a combination of the tires and winter blend fuel though.
 
rubber compounds of winter tires are of higher friction coefficient than that of the LRR (low rolling resistance) or even typical all season tire compounds, thus the lower fuel economy given all things equal (incl. tire size, tire air pressure, contact patch size, etc.)
 
This winter I installed 4 Firestone WinterForce tires on my Toyota Camry. The traction in the snow sucked without them, as I have a V6 with much torque! Since installing the tires, the car does seem to not roll as freely,than without them, there is more road noise due to the tread pattern (Agressive), however it goes like a hot knife through butter in the heavy white stuff! The car was downright dangerous without these tires!...I love them, however I am looking forward to Spring, to put the Touring Tires back on & have a quieter ride!.....
 
I don't think any generalizations can be made about winter tires and fuel economy. My five best tanks for mileage have occurred with my studded winter tires. There is probably less tread mass in my T-rated winter tires than in my Y-rated all-seasons due to the cheaper construction, and that's a big factor.
 
Originally Posted By: rpn453
I don't think any generalizations can be made about winter tires and fuel economy.

Yup, too many variables such as different rubber compounds (from one winter tire to another), lower operating temps, different gasoline formulations, etc.
 
Originally Posted By: Quest
rubber compounds of winter tires are of higher friction coefficient than that of the LRR (low rolling resistance) or even typical all season tire compounds, thus the lower fuel economy given all things equal (incl. tire size, tire air pressure, contact patch size, etc.)



Not always. Nokians Hakkapeliitta tires are designed to be low rolling resistance. Michelin Xice Xi2 are also low rolling resistant also.
 
I gained mpg running my winters:) They're Nokian Hak 5's, much lighter 4 plys, 31.7" tall, compared to the more agressive and taller 285/55-20 BFG AT's in an 8 ply flavor I run in the summer.

Normally you will see reduced mpg in the winter, unless it is actually less agressive or lighter than what you run in the summer.
 
Compared to an average all season, perhaps they offer worse mileage. It is entirely possible to have tires for the non-winter seasons that are the same or worse with regards to rolling resistance. It depends on the specific tires in question. I agree with those above that say you can't generalize.
 
I think we can agree that the results are all over the board, but nevertheless, tires constructed for cold service by design will have softer, synthetic rubber tread compounds, as natural rubber tends to be brittle at low temp. As we know, 60% of RR originate at tread. This is nicely illustrated in the tirerack study in which 2 of the 3 best LRR tires were summer tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/Tire...tirePageLocQty=

Similar example is Sumitomo HTR200, one of the lowest LRR tires, but summer only tire.

One of the reasons a few exceptions exist is more widespread use of silica in thread. The best LRR tire in the above tirerack study is silica based. Silica improves both RR and wet/cold traction. Cost and tread wear is the only trade-off for silica.

Another reason someone mentioned already is lighter tire with thin sidewall allowing for energy serving in that area independent of the tread.
 
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