Which Tire/Wheel for BEST Mileage???

I have two complete sets of tires/wheels/tpms's. I rode road bicycles in my younger years so I understand increasing tire/wheel size/weight equals increasing rolling resistance, thus equates to fewer mpg's. Based on that, I'm assuming the Michelin 18" wheel set should get better mileage. Looking for Tundraforum experts to weigh in on the subject...

FYI...pictures were all oriented upright but some have rotated and I don't know how to fix that issue.

The Michelin 275 65 18 LTX A/T2 tires by advertised specs weigh 40 lbs. and are 32.1" diameter. That leaves 31 lbs. for the 2017 TRD wheels. Overall weight = 71 lbs.




The Bridgestone Dualers 275 55 20 tires by advertised specs weigh 45 lbs, and are 31.9" diameter. That leaves 37 lbs. for the 20" Platinum wheels. Overall weight = 82 lbs.

 

Big weight difference there.

I just switched from Toyota TRD wheels to Enkei Commanders, kept the same tires.
I wish I weighed the wheels, I would estimate the Toyota wheels weighed 12-15lbs more each than the Enkei's. I also removed 1.5" wheel spacers at the same time, maybe 4lbs each.
Without changing anything else on the truck and doing the same type of driving around the county I have gone from 12.6 mpg to 13.1 mpg in just a few weeks. This is via the onboard lie-o-meter.

 

Interested in the findings.

 

I didn't weigh tires/wheels separately...I will if I ever break them down. I used manufacturers advertised tire weight to get the wheel/tpms weight. I'm not taking into account differing coefficient of frictions among tires of similar overall sizes. I'm only looking at the difference of the total mass of the wheel/tire combination which here is approximate 44 lbs. for the 4 tires wheels. Is that a significant amount of rolling mass to affect mileage? For perspective, I'm guessing Prius tire/wheels weigh what...30 lbs. +/-5 lbs?

From the onboard tire pressure sensors, I'm running 33 psi in the front and 36 psi in the rear cold...outside temp was 70. I don't know how far I'd have to drive at highway speed to reach an equilibrium, but I noted after driving 100+ mile trip, front psi was up to 35/36 psi while rear was up to 38 psi...outside temp was 75 and checked immediately upon stopping. Nitrogen is supposed to be affected less by temperature changes than normal compressed air...but the air we breathe is almost 80% nitrogen to start with so I'm not really impressed when the salesmen say "the tires are filled with nitrogen"...blah, blah, blah.

I recently drove from Columbia SC to/from Atlanta GA and and got right at 17.4 mpg (calculated by hand...trip computer calculated 17.7 mpg). I drove 520 miles on the trip of which about 50 miles was city driving. I kept the cruise set at 70 on the highway...seemed like everyone was passing me except for a few big rigs...I'd pass them on the way up the hill and then they'd pass me back on the way down the hill. That trip was with the heavier Platinum wheel/tire combo(82 lbs each/328 lbs total). The next time I make the same trip, I'll do it with the lighter TRD wheel/tire combo(71 lbs. each/284 lbs total).

 

Did you change out tires with the wheels? If you still have the TRD wheels, how much do they weigh?

 

Same tires on new wheels. I'll check the weight on the toyota wheels if I get a chance this weekend.

 

I think rolling resistance will make a bigger difference than the weight. Once the wheel is in motion the heavier wheel will technically have more momentum which can carry you further when you let off the gas, so it can cancel out the extra effort to get it moving. (That's a very broad statement, I know)
But, both wheels are 275, so the wind resistance as well as rolling resistance are about the same for both. I think you will see a big difference if you compare 255s with 305s, or something like that. Other factors such as pressure and rubber compound might also impact resistance and you do not have enough information on each tire to evaluate that.
In my opinion, pick the wheel that you like most aesthetically and roll with it. (pun intended)