Whats the biggest tire i can run without sacrificing fuel economy?

[Jordanf1986]

Im new to changing wheels and tires on a truck. I have a 06 CrewCab Z-71, whats the biggest tire that i can run without seeing a huge difference in fuel mileage. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Im rolling stock wheels right now and about to install a 2.5 in leveling kit. Thanks again!

[nadrojcote]

It all depends on the tire. LT tires generally cause the most decrease in MPG because of the weight of the extra ply's. I personally stuck with P metric but went with XL's. I wanted something light weight and didn't want to sacrifice fuel economy. Lots of websites show the weight or shipping weight of each tire so you can get an idea.

[KMGZ400]

The bigger you go and the heavier you go worse it's gonna get..at's will get worse MPG the ht's It's pretty simple. It your so worried about mpg's don't level it and keep highway tires on it. Leveling or tires will not yield good MPG.

 

For reference I had an 03 Silverado that I leveled and put 285's on and I lost about 2 MPG

[nadrojcote]

Not necessarily true, I have 305/45r22 at's that are p metric xl so they're only 6 ply instead of 9-10ply. The tire and rim setup weighs less than GM OEM 22's so I still get 10l/10km's with a 2" level. I didnt lose any fuel mileage. If mpg is an concern for OP then he needs to be smart about what he puts on, the biggest thing being the weight.

 

One size bigger than stock and a fair amount wider. They work out to be about 33"x12"

[Jordanf1986]

Losing 2-3 mpg doesnt really concern me that much i just didnt wanna take like 5+ mpg hit. I dont want a huge tire, i just want it to look good is all. Thanks for all the input guys i really appreciate it.

[Hoss83]

I just installed Toyo open country at2 extreme in 295/55/20 on fuel maverick 20" rims with a +1 offset and only lost 1L / 100km. Very happy I didn't lose much as I was also concerned with fuel economy

[kstruckcountry]

I disagree with the comment about 10 ply hurting mileage... I have 26k on my 13 pound per tire heavier E tires and have yet to see a mileage change. Anyone who has taken even an introductory physics course can tell you weight doesn't make much difference.

[Chris]

The weight will effect handling but not economy too much. Size will effect economy because it changes the effective gear

[Big Whiskey]

I ran 285/70/17's on my leveled 06 Z71. No rubbing at all. Looked good. Lost about 2-3 mpg.

[Chevor]

Tread pattern/design is the biggest factor. Typically sacrifice traction to gain fuel economy. Low rolling resistance tires get the best MPG.

 

Sidewall also comes into play. Tall aspect ratio generates more flex and hurts economy. If you haven't noticed OEMs are going to low profile tires.