Thread: Does tyre weight actually impact fuel economy much?

Don't know about fuel consumption but tyre weight will affect 'unsprung mass' and therefore the ability of the suspension to respond to the changing road surface. Sports cars try and reduce unsprung mass as much as possible to maximise grip but the pay-off is in ride quality. I suppose heavier tyres could make a car 'feel' heavier by reducing the response rate of the suspension (and improving the ride somewhat).

I went from the OEM passenger rated tyres to BFG A/T which are a good few k's heavier,and fuel economy didn't change.

What does make a massive difference is tyre pressures.

pressure and width have a bigger influence imho

That makes more sense, even though two or three kilos per tyre looks like a bit on paper I can't really see even that much making too much difference in fuel economy compared to pressure and width.

I think pattern makes the biggest difference.

Rolling resistance does affect fuel economy...

From my cycling experience hehe

Weight. in itself is almost irrelevant - but it is likely to reflect the wall thickness, which does have a direct effect. Thicker sidewalls need more energy to flex them, and this energy comes out of your fuel. However, this effect is usually pretty small compared to other tyre variables, such as tyre size, tread pattern, belt stiffness, rubber composition, and by far most importantly, tyre pressure.

You use more energy spinning them up, especially if the weight is towards the outer part of the wheel.
Effect on fuel economy ??? Not much in a heavy car I'd say.
Think of them as small flywheels.... I've seen a wheel and driveshaft finish 200m from a crash after a race start. The cars would have been only doing less than 50kph or so at the time.
Ratio of sprung to unsprung weight is important for handling. In a 4wd... next question plz, as there is a lot of sprung weight.