Lighter Wheels to Offset Heavy Tires?

StarGazer

StarGazer

New member
When I finally get my Trail Edition, the first thing I'm doing is upgrading the tires. I read somewhere that adding 10 lbs per tire would be equivalent to hauling an additional 400 lbs, thus reducing MPG and wearing related components faster. While this isn't a big deal to me (it's more of a curiosity), I have seen several people on this forum concerned with gas mileage.

So would purchasing lighter wheels to offset the heavier tires be a good idea? It would probably come down to how long you plan on owning the truck to recuperate the cost of new wheels. Would switching to 16" wheels and bigger sidewall tires to keep the same diameter be a good idea (I imagine this would be counterproductive but then again, I'm no physicist)? Lastly, does anyone know how much the stock TE wheels weigh?

Thanks in advance for your input.
 
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1. Yes, lighter wheels would offset the greater tire weight in a 1/1 ratio since they are both in the unsprung weight category. That will be a challenge though as wheel weights, especially alloys, do not vary much in the weight department. Going from steel to magnesium sure could save but going from aluminum to aluminum does not save much. Tires are a different story. You can buy tires for the 4Runner that will vary as much as 30 lbs/tire(!) depending on what you are getting.
2. 16" rims, while a good idea, are not possible as they will not clear the brake components.
3. I have no idea what stock TE wheels weigh.
 
Excellent 1engineer! Thanks for the lowdown. I imagine the TE wheels are pretty light already but it would be nice to know what they weigh.

I've been looking at tires with relatively aggressive tread and it's looking like the Goodyear Duratracs are lighter than most. Just debating on whether I should go with C or E load (D is not available).

This brings me to another question: How much does an E load tire make up for its extra weight by being stiffer and having less rolling resistance? I would imagine a C load would be softer and have a larger surface area on the asphalt thus hurting MPG a bit.

Just hijacked my own thread! :)
 
StarGazer said:
I've been looking at Duratracs. Just debating on whether I should go with C or E load (D is not available).

How much does an E load tire make up for its extra weight by being stiffer and having less rolling resistance? I would imagine a C load would be softer and have a larger surface area on the asphalt thus hurting MPG a bit.
Click to expand...

E won't have any less rolling resistance. If anything, a bit more.

Sidewall stiffness is mostly due to air pressure. The increased stiffness you're referring to is fairly subtle and would have almost no effect on the highway footprint of the tire at the same psi. If you want better mpg just pump em up more -- though discussing mpg with this vehicle/tire combination feels odd.

You should also realize that a same size Light Truck (LT) tire needs about 12lbs more psi than the stock passenger tire.
 
PSI for stock TE with load E Duratracs is 44psi.

I lost a few MPG, but not enough to make me curse the tires. I love the Duratracs. Great in the snow, great off road, wearing relatively well.

Average MPG week day to work, 50 to 70 mph stop and go, is about 18.

If I stay below 55, it will be around 19.

Hope that helps. :cheers:
 
Thanks guys. :)

Ryan_S said:
PSI for stock TE with load E Duratracs is 44psi.

I lost a few MPG, but not enough to make me curse the tires. I love the Duratracs. Great in the snow, great off road, wearing relatively well.

Average MPG week day to work, 50 to 70 mph stop and go, is about 18.

If I stay below 55, it will be around 19.

Hope that helps. :cheers:
Click to expand...

This does help. That's about the mileage I was anticipating.

BTW, I'll be picking up my TE tomorrow! Finally found one and bought it on the spot. :)
 
StarGazer,
Congrats on the TE. I'm in LA too and just wondering where you found one. I had a hard time finding one around here.
 
rpparkster said:
StarGazer,
Congrats on the TE. I'm in LA too and just wondering where you found one. I had a hard time finding one around here.
Click to expand...

That's because there are none in SoCal. Mine is up in NorCal. I saw some others up there but I don't remember which dealers/cities they were in. Some black, salsa red, and one blue one.

Good luck!
 
Xiao Yue said:
Instead of changing out the tires, try driving the speed limit. If fuel economy is important to you, you'll pay heed to the speed limit especially at HWY+ speeds (e.g., 55+ mph). That will make a much bigger impact than spending money on an extra set of wheels. I can pretty much guarantee you that you won't make up even half the money on wheels that you save on gas. Ask the question to any competent chemical/biological/mechanical/aeronautic engineer and he/she will give you the same advice.

Though, OP, I'm not sure this is the message you want to hear. Seems that you're pretty set on buying new wheels (which is not necessarily a bad thing, just realize you won't be saving money on gas).
Click to expand...

Actually, as you can see in my original post, I'm not really concerned with MPG. This was more for my curiosity and for those that indeed are concerned about the amount of fuel they use.
 
From a suspension standpoint, the unsprung weight is a 1:1 relationship (i.e. 1 lbs saved in wheel weight is equal to 1 lbs in tire weight), however, from an acceleration and gas consumption standpoint, the tire weight is at a further radius, hence, has a higher moment of inertia and its weight is far more influential. Probably about 4:1 relationship.
 
Check out the new Enkei RPT1s...They are the offroad version of the RPF1s. The RPF1s are a classic light weight racing wheel. Many people use them to offset un-sprung weight. If memory serves me right the RPF1s are 18 to 20 pounds.

If you compare that to the typical 4runner wheel that runs 30 to 35 pounds it will make a huge difference. Im not sure you get 100% of the offset but it will be impressive.
 
Last edited:
The C rated BFG's in 285-17 will save a bunch over E's and most Aftermarket wheels will be 3 or 4 pounds lighter at least. 50 lbs lighter is possible.
 
83Mule said:
The C rated BFG's in 285-17 will save a bunch over E's and most Aftermarket wheels will be 3 or 4 pounds lighter at least. 50 lbs lighter is possible.
Click to expand...

^ this.

The TE/OE wheels are only 29.5lb or so, which is pretty light already for a vehicle like this and serious use. Any quality lightweight option will cost real money. I would not personally touch a cheap aftermarket wheel for actual offroad use.

I ran LT-D KO2s on Enkei Racing RP03 on my OB and that was fine, but only because I went for two sets of wheels anyway; would not have bothered to save less than 5lb per wheel had I been willing to run the KO2s in town.

If one can really/actually/truly use a 3-ply sidewall on a 5th generation, which I could but do not as yet, then there are solid MT options in LT-C in 255 75 17. Yup: LT-C and 3 ply sidewall and low weight. Destination AT 2 is 47lb. Same as my P metric Wildpeaks.
 
Check out SCS wheels, there's are pretty lightweight. I recently went from a 38lb wheel to an SCS F5 that weighs only 23lb and the difference was definitely noticeable!
 
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