You will need to factor in some difference in the odometer too if you put larger diameter tires on it. One would think that the difference if the circumference of the tires is changed by a couple of inches is not going to be worth much in terms of mileage. Might not make it much fun to drive either.
Many years ago my father had a Ford pickup with a 352 cid V8. He swapped in a 240 cid inline 6. Mileage improved as the gearing in the truck was intended for the V8. The truck was fine when it got up to speed but a bit of a dog at lower speeds. It wasn't a good idea to load it heavy and need to pull away uphill. It was a manual 3 speed with the column shift. Had to slip the clutch pretty good if there was any load just to get it moving. Not something I would do again as I don't think the mileage increase was worth the sacrifice in performance. If one really wants better fuel economy, I think the answer is to acquire a smaller and therefore hopefully, more efficient vehicle rather than to start messing with this sort of thing. The engineers generally have a pretty good idea of what will work well and what won't. Second guessing them is expensive and seldom all that successful. Randy -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of archer Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 12:08 AM To: Mercedes Discussion List Subject: Re: [MBZ] Biggest tire on 300D. was: Low Profile Tires: Was 300TE From: "Kaleb C. Striplin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > yes, a wide variety. > OK Don wrote: >> Maybe stick to the factory circumference, but change the gear ratio in >> the rear end - I suspect that Kaleb has a wide variety to chose from. >> On Feb 19, 2008 5:56 PM, E M <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>> Not something I'd play with, stick to factory with circumference. >>> You're better off just pushing a little less hard on the gas pedal to >>> save the bit of gas different tires would make. Aw, c'mon, Gerry just wants to be the first on his block to have a donked Benz. Alex Thanks guys. You're right; I should leave well enough alone, or at most change the diff. But the opportunity to save a few dollars, and the fact that it's a lot easier to change tires than change diffs back and forth makes it hard to pass up the tire change experiment. If I can find a couple of tires in the sizes Mitch mentions, I'll try 'em. If it makes the steering too squirrelly, I'll take 'em off. If I wrap it around a tree and go to my reward, well, it was nice knowing all of you. (-:] Gerry P.S. I will order a diff and a left half axle and a bunch of other stuff from Kaleb after he gets caught up. This diff is getting louder all the time. _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
