I put winter tyres on my Octavia VRS for the first time last week. I had been averaging 45-46 mpg on the standard summer tyres (on 18" wheels)

On the winter tyres (Dunlop Winter Sport 16") I got 55 mpg on Saturday and 57 mpg today from a run of about 160 miles each way. used TOMTOM to check that the speedometer was still fairly accurate with the change in wheel size (though overall size with tyres the same).

Have others with winters on found an improvement in mpg?

Edited 11 December, 201114 yr by awhitham

Yes, lower rolling resistance due to them being narrower and also probably lighter!

If you have fitted 205 55 16 your speedo would be -.078% out iirc.

Yes, lower rolling resistance due to them being narrower and also probably lighter!

If you have fitted 205 55 16 your speedo would be -.078% out iirc.

yes have 2055 55 16's fitted.

Just seemed like a huge difference in mpg!

yes have 2055 55 16's fitted.

Just seemed like a huge difference in mpg!

Part of it could be a placebo effect in that you are driving a lot more caustiously. The wind could have been on side and the cooler air will help once the engine is up to temp as it will be running a lot more efficiently (only tends to help on diesels on a longer run though due to the immense amount of time they take to warm up in freezing temps - up to 20miles in very cold weather).

Its probably more to do with the change in tyre sizes that you are getting improved MPG that and you may be driving slower.

I have usedd winter tyres for the past 2 winters now but mine are the same size as my summer tyres and I still drive it prety hard and my MPG hasnt changed.

As with ruffday, I used the same sized winter tyres, and the mpg is virtually identical. If anything, very slightly down.

MPG - no change between same size summer (on alloy) and winter (on steel) tyres. Since the last fill up the mpg seems a bit down probably the cold and the winter diesel.

Although I cannot speak directly from personal experience, as I don't have winter tyres fitted, BUT my mate who does every year reports a 5mpg drop across the board (urban/country roads/motorways) and all driving styles. OK, so his is a 1.9 Fabia TDi, but the tyre size is the same for both sets of tyres.

So I'm quite interested in why there seems to be this increase in MPG with Winters fitted? If it is due to WHEEL size and having narrower and higher profile tyres with less rolling resistance, then the effect of low profile wheels is very marked on fuel consumption!

As with ruffday, I used the same sized winter tyres, and the mpg is virtually identical. If anything, very slightly down.

That should be expected. Winter tyres have a more open block pattern which leads to a higher rolling resistance for the same sized tyre. If you change to a smaller wheel and tyre then you should get better economy due to the lower mass of the wheel (lower mass means less energy is required each time you accelerate each wheel).

+1 to this!

iv put my winters on a few days ago now and im seeing an average of 43mpg, thats with not changing my driving style, infact iv probably got worse as the goodyears have a ton more grip then my summers and iv been exploring

Similar here, 5-10% better MPG moving from 225/40/18 Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 2s to 205/55/16 Nokian WRG2s.

I put my winters on the same wheels as my summers and notice very little change in mpg. Any change I put down to winter diesel and the colder temps so takes an age to warm up!

I'm getting between 4 and 6 more miles to the gallon since fitting my winters.

Summer - the 18s wearing 225 40 Continentals

Winter - A4 16s wearing 205 55 Avon Ice Touring ST

I've noticed an improvement too. Changed from 225/40 Vred Ultrac Sessantas on 18" inch Neptunes to 205/55 Goodyear Ultragrip on 16" steelies and gained an extra 10% improvement in mpg. Being the Statto that I am, I weighed a single wheel/tyre combo and it was 23.6kg versus 17.4kg respectively, so a saving of about 6kg per corner = about 25kg lighter overall and less rolling mass, so this should contribute significantly to the improvement (and prob explains why those swapping only the tyres have not noticed much difference). Taking into account of the improved mpg, the winter wheel/tyre combo will be paying for itself at this rate!

Edited 13 December, 201114 yr by Statto

No noticable difference here. Michelin energy 205 55 16 swapped for Avon Ice touring 205 55 16, 1,000 miles ago.

The Avons are working well, no wheelspin/traction control when pulling off on cold wet roads. Part of my drive home has a hill-start right hand turn which has to be done spirited as its a side road onto a mad A road.