20-02-2022, 08:42 PM
the value of not over-gearing (mentioned a lot on here) was brought home when talking to a taxi driver Prius owner who had plainly been experimenting to find a sustainable solution for a huge annual mileage. He found that on raising the profile of standard wheels from 45 section to 50 then 55 (increasing diameter in order to give better ride height on rural roads) the average mpg decreased from 65 to 58 to 52. Remarkable. Presumably mostly torque-related and also rising drag as it gets less near the road.