Best mpg in a 35" tire/wheel combo? What factors to consider?

[Cainer]

Considering a 4" or 6" lift for my Ram 1500 and I was pondering upgrading both wheels and tires at the same time. I figure my mpg is going to take a huge nosedive, but it would be nice to minimize it as much as possible. Basically I was wondering if you guys had any pro tips on the best way to get the most mpg on 35s.

Couple of things I was considering:

• Does wheel size make a difference? I was thinking this might be the case because larger diameter wheels might simply weigh more than the tire sidewalls they are replacing. Maybe not, depending on...
• Wheel composition: Basically thinking that on average, aluminum wheels should be lighter than steel wheels, but wondering if they may be more expensive and could be less durable than steel wheels. Or if they would have to be so beefy that there would be little net weight benefit.
• Tread width. I'm assuming that rolling friction should be higher for wider tires, all other things being equal. I live in the western US and the majority of my wheeling will be in the Rocky Mountains or in the desert, so it's not likely I really will need super swamper-wide tires for soft boggy mud driving. I'm thinking narrower might be better for traction and mpg for me anyway.
• Rubber compound. The ideal rubber compound for mpg would have very low rolling resistance. For cars, they make special high-efficiency compounds for like hybrid and electric cars...I'm guessing manufacturers probably figure most people buying 35" tires aren't super concerned with mpg and probably want to bias "traction" (i.e. soft compounds with just about the opposite effect) over just about anything else when buying a ginormous big off road tire, but I thought I'd ask about this too because hey, who knows, maybe someone here knows if anyone makes like a 35" tire with somewhat aggressive tread that people routinely get high mileage out of.
• Probably something else I'm missing. Ideas? More rake? Rocket boosters? I'm open to ideas.

What do you guys think?

 

[Hemipower392]

I'm not by any means an expert and have little advice to offer, but I think tread width will have one of the biggest if not the biggest impact when it comes to mpg

 

[sbuko213]

An A/T tire over an M/T tire will help with this a lot

 

[Cainer]

An A/T tire over an M/T tire will help with this a lot

Interesting point! Do you think this is just due to the compounds used? Like M/Ts are just softer compounds?

 

[PCT]

Interesting point! Do you think this is just due to the compounds used? Like M/Ts are just softer compounds?

MT tread is not road friendly, a lot of resistance, aswell as the tires are just ******* heavy, im sure A/T are heavy too but when i swapped my goodyear wranglers MT with Nitto Terra same size, the weight difference was like 40lbs or something ridiculous like that. Also the gap between tread is good for only bawlz situation and you will only utilized the mud traction maybe 1% of your total driving so dont sacrifice 100% of your comfort and ride for it...

Regardless going with 35's MPG shouldn't be a big concern because its going to tank, especially depending on what ratio you got.

Im no tire pro, so take what i saw with a grain of salt haha

 

[sbuko213]

Interesting point! Do you think this is just due to the compounds used? Like M/Ts are just softer compounds?

It's the more aggressive tread.

 

[Cainer]

MT tread is not road friendly, a lot of resistance, aswell as the tires are just ******* heavy, im sure A/T are heavy too but when i swapped my goodyear wranglers MT with Nitto Terra same size, the weight difference was like 40lbs or something ridiculous like that. Also the gap between tread is good for only bawlz situation and you will only utilized the mud traction maybe 1% of your total driving so dont sacrifice 100% of your comfort and ride for it...

Ah...that makes a lot of sense. I didn't realize there was that much difference between the two.

Regardless going with 35's MPG shouldn't be a big concern because its going to tank, especially depending on what ratio you got.

Ratio! Of course! Totally forgot about ratio. What would be a more ideal ratio for 35s? I have the 8-speed but my rear axle ratio is 3.21.

 

[AustinB]

I lifted 6" and have mud tires. Lost an average of 3 mpg. It's not that bad, just get what you like the most. I am a weight weenie when it comes to wheels and tires though, so I went with 20×9 vise 20x10 and Coopers over Toyos.

(8 spd 3:21 also)

MO

 

[aziniy]

I got a 4"lift with 35/12.5/20 mt tires on '14 5.7 hemi with 3.21 axle 8spd and i only use 93 octane and most of hwy driving averaging 11.5-12mpg

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

Weight is the biggest mpg killer next to tread pattern. Even an AT will hit the MPG's compared to something like a Michelin LTX MS2. I get 15-16 mpg on the hwy traveling 75-80.............for my super short trips around town where am am literally accelerating or on the brakes 90% of the time I have seen as low as 11.5 mpg BUT I enjoy listening to my hemi and she has plenty of get up and go with the 35's to still be plenty of fun.

Cheap gas these days sure helps too!

 

[DannyMK2]

weight and tread width are the biggest MPG killers (they also usually go hand in hand). tread pattern has an impact but it alone isnt the biggest killer. there are plenty of road friendly m/t's out there that dont suck mileage. the biggest downfall to m/t's over a/t's is noise, comfort and tread life, but like i said, they make much better m/t's now then they did a few years ago.

if your lifting and planning on buying bigger tires, its going to suck no matter what. might as well buy what you like an enjoy it.

 

[Whitetrash]

I got 35 federal couragia mt tires with 8 speed tranny. I've seen as high as 17 mpg on highway but usually average around 14

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