Summer vs All Season range

[TahoeMichael]

Hey all, just stumbled across MotorTrend covering the BMW iX3, published earlier today: https://www.motortrend.com/news/2027-bmw-ix3-pricing-range

The thing that caught my eye was range estimates for the different tires. For a 20" wheel, they say 434 miles range on summer tires, 383 miles on all season. For 21" wheels, summer tire range is 398 miles, vs all season 399 miles. When I saw the summer tire stats for 20" wheels, my first reaction was that summer tires must have lower rolling resistance. But then I see the range for 21" wheels, and the all season tires actually go slightly farther. I guess the exact performance characteristics of summer vs all season tires are too dependent upon the specifics of each tire design to draw a firm conclusion. But it does make me wonder how effectively someone might be able to get more range from a Gravity on the 20/21 or 21/22 wheel combos if they switched to a summer tire from the standard all seasons the vehicle ships with.

 

[037]

Hey all, just stumbled across MotorTrend covering the BMW iX3, published earlier today: https://www.motortrend.com/news/2027-bmw-ix3-pricing-range

The thing that caught my eye was range estimates for the different tires. For a 20" wheel, they say 434 miles range on summer tires, 383 miles on all season. For 21" wheels, summer tire range is 398 miles, vs all season 399 miles. When I saw the summer tire stats for 20" wheels, my first reaction was that summer tires must have lower rolling resistance. But then I see the range for 21" wheels, and the all season tires actually go slightly farther. I guess the exact performance characteristics of summer vs all season tires are too dependent upon the specifics of each tire design to draw a firm conclusion. But it does make me wonder how effectively someone might be able to get more range from a Gravity on the 20/21 or 21/22 wheel combos if they switched to a summer tire from the standard all seasons the vehicle ships with.

Could be wheel weight or tire weight. Summer tires are generally lighter due to tread design.

 

[ke2]

Could be wheel weight or tire weight. Summer tires are generally lighter due to tread design.

But 15% difference? That sounds like there's a measurement error.

 

[037]

But 15% difference? That sounds like there's a measurement error.

Or maybe they are hyper optimized. I think Gravity epa small to large tire is like a 10% difference.

 

[ke2]

Or maybe they are hyper optimized. I think Gravity epa small to large tire is like a 10% difference.

But in the gravity EPA measurements the smaller wheel is always better on mileage, whereas here the larger wheel is is significantly better. Something seems odd.

 

[037]

But in the gravity EPA measurements the smaller wheel is always better on mileage, whereas here the larger wheel is is significantly better. Something seems odd.

Could be a lighter forged wheel.

 

[DeaneG]

When talking about different wheel diameters, tire tread compound, tread design and contact patch width are going to be the main drivers of efficiency.