Gas mileage and performance with 20" wheels

NissanCowgirl · Oct 26, 2005

I've looked around in the forums but I could not find a thread that addressed this specific issue.

For those of you that have put on 20"+ wheels, I have read that the gas mileage and acceleration takes a noticable drop.

Can anyone tell me how much their gas mileage has changed with their new wheels and how much acceleration is lost?

My current gas mileage is 13-15 MPG and I love the acceleration. I would hate to lose that the most!

4DRSS · Oct 26, 2005

Bigger wheels and tires look great but negatively affect nearly every aspect of performance.

Mass concentrated further away from the objects axis of rotation requires more energy to move at a given speed. More energy equals more gas. Not only that wheels and tires are unsprung weight. Adding one pound of unsprung weight is equivilent to adding seven pounds of sprung weight. Adding rotational weight and overall vehicle weight hurts performance and economy. How much depends on many factors.

That's not even considering if you are using a wider wheel and tire combo adding rolling resistance and increased aerodynamic drag.

if you are concerned about mileage and performance adding "dubs" is not a good idea, do it strictly for looks.

abmobil · Oct 26, 2005

While larger wheels may affect acceleration it probably wont hurt it to much since the titan has plenty of power to spare.

92TripleBlack · Oct 26, 2005

I get 16 mpg on cruise at 75 mph. I get 11 mpg around town flooring it almost continuously. (I'm not joking.) If I had a difference, it would easily be less than 2 mpg but I never noticed. :cheers:

Snap · Oct 26, 2005

I have increased tire/wheel size on nearly every car I've owned (although I haven't done it on the Titan). I'd say 95% of owners wouldn't notice much of a difference. If you're racing, doing really heavy towing, lots of off roading I wouldn't recommend upsizing to more than 18's. If you get a good quality set of 20" rims/tires you're probably looking at maybe a 5% (give or take a bit) difference in performance/mileage. You have to decide if you want the look or if you need every last ounce of performance.

JHOOTITAN · Oct 26, 2005

I haven't noticed any decrease in milage. However another consideration is what size tire you put on your bigger wheels. The tires I have on my 20's actually have a slightly smaller diameter than the stock tires on stock 18's. My wheels and tires are 1/2 inch wider than stock, But I'm willing to give up whatever small losses come with larger wheels/tires, 'cause. . . DAMN, it looks good.

NissanCowgirl · Oct 26, 2005

92TripleBlack said:
I get 16 mpg on cruise at 75 mph. I get 11 mpg around town flooring it almost continuously. (I'm not joking.) If I had a difference, it would easily be less than 2 mpg but I never noticed. :cheers:

I drive the same way. Which explains why I need new tires with 25K on my Titan.

How much difference will I see in cornering with the 20's vs. the stock 17's. I don't want the front sliding or the rearend kicking out.

rays05titanse · Oct 26, 2005

I have 22s and can roast the tires, but not as much as when it had the OEM 18s on it. It affects acceleration a little, but not much IMO. It all depends on the weight difference. Just because you go bigger doesn't necessarily mean the wheels are significantly heavier. This is often the case though. You have to spend big bucks to get light aftermarket wheels.

NissanCowgirl · Oct 26, 2005

I appreciate everyone's input on this subject. Its helping.

gr8titan · Oct 27, 2005

NissanCowgirl said:
How much difference will I see in cornering with the 20's vs. the stock 17's. I don't want the front sliding or the rearend kicking out.

The 305-50/20's in my CC 4x4 gave a vast improvement in lateral handling. I had the 18" OEM comparably, and the ride quality seems to be the same and road noise is insignificantly louder.

I purchased my set of 20x9 rims & Nitto Terra Grapplers from www.tires.com and the fit is perfect. IMHO, they are the best combo you can use without any "rubbing issues" on a stock suspension. These tires are 1/2" smaller in rolling diameter as the SE CC 4x4 OEM tires meaning the truck sits a mere 1/4" lower in mathematical comparison. The width of the 305 tires gives the truck a "wider stance" to improve the lateral handling department.

The lifted suspension is a whole different ballgame where you could mix and match suspension height vs tire diameters of your choice and taste.
:cheers:

Chromematrix · Nov 6, 2005

gr8titan......what is the offset of your rims?

skyhammer · Nov 6, 2005

I would also be concerned about the low sidewall profile that most of the 20-22" tires have. While they may fine for the street, they are nearly useless for any type of off road use. I would also stay away from the low profile tires if I was going to be towing very much.

HudsonValleyTitan · Nov 6, 2005

As long as you keep the diameter the same or close to stock, performance shouldn't change at all. If you go to a 20" rim, you'll need a much lower profile tire to compensate. The overall turning mass shouldn't change enough to be a problem if it's done right.

gr8titan · Nov 6, 2005

Chromematrix said:
gr8titan......what is the offset of your rims?

It's been a while and I have forgotten. If it will help at all, they are MB motoring express rims I purchased from www.tires.com They gave me the acceptable offset for the tire/wheel combo I wanted. You could call them and ask what offset they would recommend for any specific tire/wheel combo before you "buy". They have all the info about which ones fit which cars.
:cheers:

92TripleBlack · Nov 6, 2005

NissanCowgirl said:
I've looked around in the forums but I could not find a thread that addressed this specific issue.

For those of you that have put on 20"+ wheels, I have read that the gas mileage and acceleration takes a noticable drop.

Can anyone tell me how much their gas mileage has changed with their new wheels and how much acceleration is lost?

My current gas mileage is 13-15 MPG and I love the acceleration. I would hate to lose that the most!

I would guess its 2 tenths slower 0-60 and I lost maybe 1 mpg, maybe. This is from the added weight and taller tires. If you got 305-50-20 or so, you probably would have similar acceleration because they are smaller in diameter slightly. I only say I lost 1 mpg because I can't see any difference but it makes sense that there should be some due to larger amounts of rotating mass. Loosing "large" amounts, like half a second 0-60 or 2mpg or more is a myth. Maybe if you had 26" rims as they weigh a lot more. :cheers:

noel55 · Jan 12, 2018

i HAVE OWNED 3 SE Titans and just bought a 2012 SL and i am getting 12 city and 14.5 highway on average. On my SE's I would get 14 to 15 city and 19 highway. will the 20's make that much more diffrence. Is there more weight in the SL/LE models. I'm sure someone has put 18's on a SL/LE and if so do you get better gas milage then?

Gas mileage and performance with 20" wheels

NissanCowgirl

4DRSS

abmobil

92TripleBlack

Snap

JHOOTITAN

NissanCowgirl

rays05titanse

NissanCowgirl

gr8titan

Chromematrix

skyhammer

HudsonValleyTitan

gr8titan

92TripleBlack

noel55

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