Your going to lose about 2 to 3mpg going from the 265's to 285's.

 

I lost about 2mpg going from 265 to the 285's but i believe a larger factor than the size is the weight of the tire. The ones that came off the X weighed 35lb each and the new ones are 54 lb each.

 

if youre really worried about your mpg and do not wheel often just stick with 265. Once you get more lift and wheel more then go ahead and step it up. After a while you'll just except the fact that you're driving a brick.... good luck with your decision

 

Thanks for the info and opinions everyone. It's much appreciated.

 

I changed from P rated Hankook ATM 265/75 to Hankook MTs LT285/75 and went from 14.8mpg to 14.4 (mixed driving, 38-40psi). As long as I keep stay on top of air pressures, the mpg drop isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

 

Worried about mpg= stock. Maybe even Prius.
If you find a lot of joy from keeping mpg high or pollution low then go for it.

Most likely will regret the 265's

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I lost about 1.5 - 2 mpg going to 285's. Mine is a DD.

The problem with 265's is ground clearance. I hit way less stuff when wheeling with the 285's and even less now with the lift. Plus, the added grip and flotation makes getting to where you're going that much easier and more fun.

Like it or not, we're driving a truck. It's going to get crappy mileage. Until auto makers finally step up and offer a med duty diesel in vehicles like we have in the US, we're stuck.

 

Slightly off topic here, but I would avoid the Discoverer ATP. They are extremely loud, as loud as the BFG M/Ts on my Rubicon, and I've had to have them rebalanced 6 times in 15k miles. I'm extremely disappointed in them. I've ran like 10 different A/TS over the yrs and while some are better than others, these are COMPLETE JUNK.

Btw, they have only had a decent balance a few times and are currently out of balance again. My Dest A/Ts were completely silent and never needed to be balanced.


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I agree..very loud..so much so that when I put on my winters I said..gee these are quiet...I just then realized how loud the ATP's are

 

Thanks everyone. With the clearance issues and manhood being called into play with the Prius comment haha. I will go with 285's. Also thanks for the heads up on the coopers.

 

Yeah, the Prius comments were immature and uncalled for.

Its possible that I have a bad tire, but Discount tire swears up and down that I don't. If that's the case, then they are just poor quality tires. They are wearing very well and have good traction. I actually wish they weren't wearing so well so I could justify (to the wife) replacing them sooner. Lol.

 

The prius comments are very mature for their age.

 

Yes, we know that Xterras are not mpg friendly but that doesn't mean that anytime someone makes a comment about the cost of gas or mpgs people should jump right away with the Prius comments. While true, the comment does not belong here as the Prius have been around for a while and people knows about them, and under that train of thought, it is why the Prius comment is seen as immature (I also think so). If someone wanted a Prius, don't you think they would have already gotten one?

We may or not have the money you have but regardless saving a buck or two in gas is great, especially when you have other responsibilities.

I really like driving my truck and I am not happy every time I need to put gas on it, because I wished I was able to drive longer without putting that amount of gas that often. I am doing whatever I can to save in gas but I also want to have the 285 tires and the 2" lift.

Am I going to get a Prius, no.
Do I like them, no.
Do I expect someone to tell me about the Prius, no.

I (like others) just want to tell what we would like out of our trucks, but that doesn't mean we can have it. What we look is for someone that knows how to save a buck or two in gas in their modded Xterras by doing X or Y thing, not to hear about Prius.


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Oh god, my bad guys. Not sure whats more immature my comment or the manner in which it was received. Even the op didn't get his panties in a bunch.

 

http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60211

I thought there was another person that thought the same as I did but after reading a little more, it's quite the opposite. I jumped to quickly on posting this thread. I feel so dumb hehehe

 

Back for a minute to the thrust of the original post:

Are 33" tires worth the hit in mileage?

How about this word problem:

When a particular truck is rated at a combined 16mpg (such as an '05 Xterra 4x4 Off Road with auto), and the average driver drives 12,000 miles per year, the average price for fuel in his/her area is $3.69/gal, a change from 265/75R16 tires to 285/75R16 typically results in a 2-3% drop in fuel mileage, and the larger tires cost on average $50/set more, what is the additional cost per year for "big meats?"

12,000 miles /16 mpg= 750 gallons per year x $3.69/gal. = $2,767.50 per year for fuel x 0.03 = $83.03 more per year in fuel.

$50 more for larger tires / 3 year average tire life (@ 12,000 miles/year) = $16.67 per year.

$83.03 + $16.67 = $99.70/year in increased cost going from 265/75R16 to 285/75R16, plus slightly more frequent brake/steering/suspension service due to the increased unsprung weight and rolling mass.

About a hundred bucks per year more? Even if my 6th grade math skills are completely bogus it doesn't seem like a lot to me in the total scheme of things, especially if I skip some other accessory that is more bling than function and can resist the temptation to add that $1,500 suspension or a Titan Swap to go with the new tires.

Did I just talk myself into 33s? :idea1:

 

I care a lot less about the hit in MPG than I do the loss in performance. That's why I didn't go over 32s. Mine came stock with 31s and I can tell a difference in power goign to 32s. 33s would be more of a power hit than I'm comfortable with. Also, it has to effect the handling.

I know I didn't buy it for performance, but the reason that I did buy it was because it offers reasonable power, handling, and performance while still having decent offroad ability.

 

Well worth it. Also the price of remorse is high.

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That's epic!

Now, to the loss of MPG - Get over it! 33" tires are barely larger than 32" tires. For the sake of making this easy, lets say 33 x 3 = 100, as in 100%. So a 33" tire is approximately 3% larger than a 32" tire. Now say you lose 2-3 MPG with the larger tire. What was your MPG's before? To further alleviate the pain, lets say it was 20 MPG (which we all as X owners know is way too high). So we'll say you only lost 2 MPG or 10%. So... If your odometer is reading 3% less miles than actually driven, You're not losing as many MGG's as you thought. Also, not sure what size tires come with all other X's but the tires that came on my 11' Pro 4-X seem to be slightly smaller than the 275/65/18 Duratracs I had that were true 32" tires. And going 20mm wider (which is only 15mm taller with a 75 series tire) is not going to make a big difference, it is the weight of the tires that does it which most will say is the worthy trade off of running tires that don't pop on the trails.
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^^^ lol.


With my 255/85r17 km2s I lost 2 mpg.
It appears with my 285/75r16 general at2s I appear to only have lost 1 although it is a bit early to tell.

It looks soooooo much better than my 265s! Well worth it and now I have a better excuse for volant and snorkle.

 

Or a full inch going from 31 to 33 in my case.

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I would suggest you go and measure your 32" tire. I had 265 wrangler authoritys and they were only 30.5" tall. I changed to 285 Duratracs and they measure 32" tall. I love them though, they look great, ride great and I really can't tell any difference when I drive. I also have a friend that has a 10 xterra equipped just like me and he can't tell any difference either. I gained almost an inch at the skid plate, now I'm at 10.5" of clearance. I've got a 2" lift coming and am excited about where I'll end up. I've taken measurements to the fenders with the 265's, the 285's and will post everything once I install my
new lift next week. Go for it, you won't regret it. To off set the cost just cut back on a few beers per week and you'll actually save money!

 

And look like sex. Dont forget thats the most important

 

A philosophical quote pertaining to this discussion...

“Every action has its pleasures and its price.”
― Socrates

 

Just my two cents, I bought my 2007 Xterra 6 speed to replace my 2001 Excursion v-10 4x4, so 1-2, or even 4 MPG lower still doubles what I was getting before. This thing rocks for gas mileage, and I will still be happy when I put 33's on.

 

I had a 14.2mpg average on 265/65-17s in a more urban area. Now I live in a smaller town and average 17mpg on 285/70-17s. Red lights and speeding make all the difference. When you're cruising the two sizes are almost identical in terms of fuel usage. Take this into consideration.


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All of the points in this thread are the things I have been considering for the past 3 years since I bought the X. I want to go 33, but with an S that is a big change that I think will kill acceleration and is going to stress the drive train much more than just going up to a 32.
I do not plan on regearing or Titan Swapping at any time as I like the way it looks without the tires sticking out further.
That being said, this is not a daily driver, the wife has a fiesta and I have a 4 banger Frontier that appears to be getting 21 miles to the gallon, so the gas is the least of the issue.
I just want something that goes when I stomp on it and I can drive to and from the trail as well as have fun on the trail without hearing gears pop.
For those of you S drivers that have went to the 33 inch Duratrac, how much difference did you really see?
I guess the best response would be from someone that has 2 sets of tires, one stock and one 33 that they swap out when they go wheeling as they would see the change regularly.