I recently replaced my Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval 235/50 17 tires with a set of Avon Tech M550 215/55 17 tires and immediately realized an improvement in my gas mileage. I went from anywhere between 15.5 mpg-16.7mpg in the city, to 18.2 mpg and 18.5 mpg, in the city, respectively on my first two tanks of gas with the new tires. I have some ideas on why this occured, but I really am just glad it did. Especially with the inflated gas costs right now. Do I miss the 235/50's? Not really. I think the car rides better and handles just great with the new tires, and as long as the gas mileage stays in the 18 mpg range or better, in the city, I'm smiling every time I drive away from the gas pumps. Haven't had a chance to check the highway mileage, but I bet it has improved too. Just thought it was interesting and was wondering if others have had similar results.

 

Yep, reducing contact patch area improves MPGs. I plan on going with the same tires when these crap Turanzas wear out.

 

Bump up the tire pressure within a few of the max for the wheel that'll help too

 

Dave's right, less contact patch = more mpg. but Spudly... you dont want to set the psi within a few of the max of the tire. most often on that size tire the max is 44psi, if you put even 40psi in the tire it will wear uneven (Balding in the center) Your not gonna have the tires long enough to know the difference in gas mileage. The perfect psi for the car with the tire combo would be 34-36psi. dont listen to Spud... doesnt know what he's talkin about

 

I have those tires on my Altima and I'm very pleased with them.

 

I love my Avon's period.

 

Other than tirerack.com, where else can you get them?

 

not sure where else you can get them. but the tirerack people are good to deal with and the tires came quickly. i wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

 

tirerack.com

...But trust me the experience will be great if you use tirerack, you'll likely have the tires the next day.

All this talk of the Avons is making me wish I'd stuck with those... In all honesty I chose the Wide Ovals in the interest of trying something which I hadn't seen many reviews of... They're fine tires, actually... but louis is sure making me doubt my decision

Don't be afraid of tirerack, they are awesome. You won't be disappointed.

 

doogie, don't doubt your decision. i just wasn't crazy about the intial experience i had with the firestones. the whole balancing 3x thing kind of pi#$ed me off to the point that i really had a bad taste in my mouth from the whole thing. after the aprox. 600 miles i had on them, they settled in pretty well.

of course while i was waiting for the firestones to break in, i kept reading about the avons and thought i might as well order a set, just in case the firestones didn't pan out. i knew both sets of tires had a 30 day ride warranty, so i wouldn't get stuck with an extra set of tires.

the thing i liked most about the firestones was they felt pretty sticky on the road. but that was about it. the avons are less sticky feeling, as i have said, but they do offer an incredibly smooth and quiet ride. but they probably aren't for the guy/girl looking to really "feel" the road. i think they are for more of a daily commuter, with an occasional spirited driving type of person. not that they aren't fun to drive on, they are. i've had them up over 100mph and they do inspire confidence at speed!

keep in mind, i also went to the original size tire. this has a bunch to do with the feel of the tires too, i am certain. as i stated in other threads, i think the best part of the change to the avons, is the fact that my mpg went up by about 2-2.5mpg.

anyway, keep the firestones until your 30 days are almost up and then decide. they had no problem refunding my money on them. even though they said they never had a return on them yet.....

 

They may not be the most performance focused tires out there, but I'm sure they'll be lightyears better than my EL42s!!!!!!