Hello, just bought a new 06 Mariner. So far I love the car except for the stock 16in. tires and wheels. I've ordered new tires and wheels ( Continental Cross Contact LX 255/55/18 and 18x8 Moda R9 wheels, height=29.1 inches vs 29 for the stock 235/70/16, rolling circumference 92 inches vs 91 for the stock tire....measured by me) Tire Rack says they will fit the Mariner. Does anyone have any experience with other than stock tire sizes and how badly it will affect my mileage? Thanks

 

I had 18" OZ Canyon wheels with 255/55/18 Bridgestone Alenza tires on my 2002 Escape and noticed little gas mileage change. Assuming correct offset, your package will fit fine with no clearance issues. I kept them and might very well put them on the Hybrid one day. You went an inch wider on the wheel tire package which will not help gas mileage, but it won't be a big penalty. The problem is with the Moda wheels, or more specifically, the weight of the Moda wheels. They are HEAVY!!!! (Modas are among the heaviest aftermarket alloy wheels on the market.) And it is unsprung weight. Adding unsprung weight is always a bad idea, especially in a Hybrid. It runs completely contrary to the reason low rolling resistance tires were initially installed. It will take that much more energy to get them rolling and to keep them rolling. They could potentially cause more wear on suspension components and I doubt Mercury will cover those repairs. They will ride smoother, however. I was going to put Modas on one of my 300ZXs as they really do produce beautiful wheels until I found out they weighed over 10lbs more each than my stock wheels, well over a 50% increase. Call Tirerack and ask them how much they weigh and then find out how much a comparable ASA wheel weighs. That will illustrate what I am saying. They also have tech articles dealing with unsprung weight you might want to read. Also curious why you opted for another set of Contis? Did you read the Tirerack reviews of them? Sorry to dampen the fun of the new purchase.

 

Well, from what I've read on this board the stock Continental Eco tires offer low rolling resistance so you will definitely see a mileage impact. Also, if your new tires are low profile and you plan to keep them at max pressure to compensate the ride will be rougher.

I'm with you as far as the look of the stock wheels and tires. There's nothing like custom wheels to set your vehicle apart. It depends on your prioirites. If you don't mind sacrificing a few mpg for the look then go for it. I would suspect there are some on this board that would be willing to buy your stock tires since I hear they are hard to find now.

Even with the new bling your MMH will get better mileage than all those other SUVs out on the road.

Post some pics when you get it done. I'd like to see how it looks.

 

Thanks for the good advice. They fit well and look great (I will post pics before I send them back) but you're right about the weight. Stock wheel and tire = 51#, these weigh 66# each, big difference! what would you recommend for an allseason tire?

 

What options are there for replacement Low Rolling Resistance (LRR) tires anyway? I couldn't find any listed on TireRack.com (but I did send an email inquiry and will share any reply I get if it provides useful info.)

I'm not in the market for new/replacement tires, except perhaps a full size spare (at least for long road trips) but it seems LRR tires are hard to come by at least for SUVs.

 

Here is a site that gives some info on LRR tires

Bill

http://www.greenseal.org/recommendat...Resistance.pdf

 

"The page cannot be found"

It appears to have moved here. Thanks for the point in the right direction, though! Sadly, the report's from 2003.

 

According to tirerack your new tire weighs 33lbs, the stock size Conti (EcoPlus is not listed) weighs 32lbs. Assuming the Ecos weigh the same as the stock Contis (and I do not know this to be the case) and using your total weight figures, the OEM wheel weighs 19lbs and your Moda weighs 33lbs. That is a HUGE difference.

Ignoring the rolling reresistance issue for a moment, the best all season highway SUV tires are the Goodyear Forteras and the Bridgestone Alenzas. For less money the Firestone Destination LEs are an excellent choice (not great in snow, though.) Michelin has an "Energy" line of tires that would seem to share some of the EcoPlus' materials composition attributes and are marketed as a fuel mileage tires. Unfortunately, they only get so-so reviews. Go back to tirerack.com and use their "Upgrade Garage" feature. You can read owners' reviews of different tires as well as their inhouse testing (if they did one.)

 

Extra wheel weight will not require any more energy to keep rolling, except to the extent that they add weight the car (meaning, loading the same amount of extra weight in the trunk would have the same effect). They would however take more energy to accelerate them, similar to the effect of having up to double the extra weight in the trunk. The only reason the new combo would take significantly more energy to keep rolling would be added rolling-resistance from a wider, stickier tire.

Also, going to a larger wheel will almost always require more weight, but a lower profile tire won't be able to skimp much on weight to be able to support the same load, so it's almost impossible to get around adding weight to size up the wheels.

However, the bumpier ride on the suspension due to the fact that the weight is unsprung will be a drawback as far as bumpiness is concerned. I did a similar upgrade to a heaver wheel and tire combo on a Civic Hybrid, as my stock tires needed replacement anyway. The wheels I went with were the best look available in my opinion, and they were an excellent price (about half the price of going for a lighter wheel, with a similar but inferior look). I did see a mileage hit but based on the way it's behaving, I believe that has more to do with the tires than anything. When I replace them, I will go with a narrower, lower rolling-resistance tire and compare the difference.

 

I disagree with most of this.