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Max Gas Mileage Tire for Mavericks

mwbaumannmo

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Any ideas what tire would give the max gas mileage on a Maverick? I heard the Michelin Defender 2 is a candidate.
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I have Defender 2s on my Dodge Nitro and they are a fantastic ride. Will be replacing my tires within 6 months after my 2025 arrives in July with crap Continental tires.
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Any ideas what tire would give the max gas mileage on a Maverick? I heard the Michelin Defender 2 is a candidate.
If you keep the same tire size/width/tread design, the difference between brands on your Hybrid is not enough to even obsess over. Wider tires and more aggressive tread designs often yield a bit less MPG.

If you're concerned about gas mileage, just let the EV Coach teach you how to use pulse & glide driving to get better mileage. More here.
 

ListedGuru

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A few PSI more in each tire will noticeably improve gas mileage and tire wear longevity and improve wet and dry handling. Plus they will run cooler.

Higher PSI will decrease traction on snow and ice and off-road, and might make a harsher more bumpy ride.

I have run my Maverick at 39-42 psi since purchase. My MPG is higher than the group average and my stock tires are still good at 39,xxxx miles. Will be good for possibly 45,000 miles.

There is not one correct tire pressure. The door jam sticker is the "recommended" standard pressure and the pressure that should be used for standardized testing (done by Ford, EPA, Motortrend, Etc.)

It is safe and reasonable to customize to your liking up to maximum sidewall pressure on the tire, down to about 10 under what the door sticker says.

Safety starts to decline, and wear starts to increase but the tire will stay on rim at 15 psi, and won't "blow up" until over 100 psi.

My second set; when the stock ones finally wear out (the wear slows down the longer you go, in mine it wasn't linear) will be Hankook Kinergy.
I just picked up my AWD Hybrid two weeks ago and I noticed all four tires are at 40 (might be one at 41) cold PSI. My Ford app says they should be 35 PSI and I assume the sticker on the trip says the same but I need to confirm. So I guess I should lower them to 37 or so cold PSI as 40 PSI is probably too much?
 

OleFordGuy

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yep ford over inflates them for shipping, i guess there's a reason. But i would suggest changing them to a cold psi as shown on the sticker (probably 35) you'll see when you open the drivers door
 

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The size of these tires doesn't really fit into the typical EV tire niche so we can't leverage those tires that lean toward efficiency. For example the Hankook Ion is one of the top rated and tested tires for the low rolling resistance , but it gives up a lot in other areas for it. They don't make them in the Maverick size. However Hankook does make a tire that is eco rated that does fit the Maverick. The tire weight isn't crazy or out of line as you are looking for the lightest weight tire for the best MPG. That would be the place I would probably start looking. Hit up Tire Rack and start comparing the tires that actually fit the Maverick first then narrow it down by eco ratings and weight.

Like others mentioned tire pressure and the level of lead poisoning in the right foot probably has a much greater impact than anything so don't over look those opportunities for efficiency. I tend to run my tires on the upper end of the tire PSI rating and have been for decades now with my eco focused driving style. Between the easy going driving style and the tire pressures my tires usually last forever now.
 

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The size of these tires doesn't really fit into the typical EV tire niche so we can't leverage those tires that lean toward efficiency. For example the Hankook Ion is one of the top rated and tested tires for the low rolling resistance , but it gives up a lot in other areas for it. They don't make them in the Maverick size. However Hankook does make a tire that is eco rated that does fit the Maverick. The tire weight isn't crazy or out of line as you are looking for the lightest weight tire for the best MPG. That would be the place I would probably start looking. Hit up Tire Rack and start comparing the tires that actually fit the Maverick first then narrow it down by eco ratings and weight.

Like others mentioned tire pressure and the level of lead poisoning in the right foot probably has a much greater impact than anything so don't over look those opportunities for efficiency. I tend to run my tires on the upper end of the tire PSI rating and have been for decades now with my eco focused driving style. Between the easy going driving style and the tire pressures my tires usually last forever now.
So how much overinflated do you normally run your tires? Like I mentioned a few posts up my Maverick tires on my AWD Hybrid XLT came inflated to 40 PSI and the recommended PSI is 35 PSI.
 

Maverick123

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Yeah tire pressure is super important as I noticed on the last road trip (1200+ miles each way)

Usually MPG averages about the same on the way there and back. This year on the way there my tires were accidentally inflated to only 20 psi. I noticed this after arriving, and pumped them up to 35 psi - I could literally feel the lower rolling resistance in the way the car drove after 😄

On the way home, MPG was 15% better
 

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The best tires I have ever owned were Hankooks. 74,000 miles when I replaced them with the same Hankooks for another very long trip. My junkman asked if he could have the old ones and I know he has put on more thousands of miles on them. When I need new for the Maverick I'll look for those.
 

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I agree the title could be improved, but folks aren't comprehending or just not bothering to read the OP's original post.
Post # 1 👇👇👇👇
You are trampling on the OP rights to post as they wish.....tsk, tsk, tsk.... Don't ask a moderator to step in now.....lol
 

HenryFord

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So how much overinflated do you normally run your tires? Like I mentioned a few posts up my Maverick tires on my AWD Hybrid XLT came inflated to 40 PSI and the recommended PSI is 35 PSI.
Every vehicle is different in how they respond to the higher tire pressures. I would start off by cautioning on high PSI due to differences in traction and handling. If you are expecting your vehicle to get "sporty" or are put in situations where you need maximum grip for whatever reason the higher the PSI can work against you. Now with that caveat out of the way. The tires have a max PSI rating on them that they are safe to inflate them to cold. As long as you keep it within that spec the tires themselves are not a concern. If you get really into this sort of thing there are places you can get the information on how they test tires and that they actually are safe well above that max PSI rating. The max PSI is on the tire is what the lawyers feel is a safe for the company recommendation. LOL

I am an eco driver mostly so I am easy on the go pedal, easy off, coast, regen... So I don't demand much in the way of handling from my tires in the maximum grip sense. Each vehicle is a bit different in how harsh the ride can become or how skittish they can get. So I start at the max PSI and then back it down from there based on how planted the ride is and its level of firmness and harshness. But generally I am up near that max setting. I have owned some vehicles that would jar the teeth out of your head at the max PSI setting, and I have had others that were still reasonably comfortable. If you plan to have passengers with you then you may want to take their comfort into consideration as you are giving up something in comfort usually. For me I was a high miles daily commuter so it was usually just me in the vehicle so I didn't have to take those other things into consideration. I found the benefits to outweigh the compromises and I have kept using this method ever since. It certainly isn't for everyone! ROFL

One additional thing to note is the tire design itself. Not all tires retain their shape with the higher pressures. Most modern tires that are well designed don't have an issue and deform in the center of the tread, but some do causing excessive wear in the center of the tread. You will want to look at the tire and see what that contact patch looks like and adjust the air pressure accordingly. I haven't bought a set of tires in forever that had this issue, but I understand some are still out there that do.
 
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The Real Maverick

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I just picked up my AWD Hybrid two weeks ago and I noticed all four tires are at 40 (might be one at 41) cold PSI. My Ford app says they should be 35 PSI and I assume the sticker on the trip says the same but I need to confirm. So I guess I should lower them to 37 or so cold PSI as 40 PSI is probably too much?
Totally up to you.
I've run +5 to the sticker cold for 25 years and 400,000 miles and my tires always out-last everyone else's. And my MPG is phenomenal.

I would NOT do this in below freezing conditions.
 

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High tire pressure in the rear (both FWD and AWD, as well as RWD) in a pickup will be very bouncy and unstable at times without weight in the bed. But weight in the bed will reduce mpg proportionately...
In my Transit (not Connect) I run 65psi in the rear unless there's a heavy load, then I go to the rated 80psi. It's very bouncy even at 65 with nothing in the back. I haven't messed with the Maverick yet, and the tpms is showing 40 rear 38 front. I'm averaging about 45mpg with mixed driving, not trying to be frugal.
 

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To answer the OPs question, I really wish there was an independent lab out there testing the rolling resistance of car tires to verify manufacturer claims of LRR (low rolling resistance) compounds, and just to keep consumers in general informed of how much fuel, aka money is being taken out of their pocket running the wrong tires and / or the wrong tire pressure.

My Prius C came with Goodyear Fuelmax tires that were absolutely horrible at everything besides rolling resistance. When I switched to Hankook PT H737, a sort of generic middle of the road, high wear all-season tire like a Defender 2, I lost 1-2 MPG. When I switched from those to Goodyear WeatherReady all-weather tires, I lost 3-5 MPG, even more on the interstate because rolling resistance increases exponentially with speed.

At minimum I would be buying a tire with some sort of LRR or "eco" claim, and looking for test that EV owners often do to see how different tires affect range. Tire pressure is also important, but I would not run a higher pressure that compromises the handling or ride of the vehicle.
 

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Totally up to you.
I've run +5 to the sticker cold for 25 years and 400,000 miles and my tires always out-last everyone else's. And my MPG is phenomenal.

I would NOT do this in below freezing conditions.
Thanks for the reply but I'm curious why you say not to run +5 in below freezing temps. I'm in MI and we do get our fair share of below freezing temps and I guess I've never really thought much about tire pressure when it's cold unless I get a tire pressure low sensor alert:)
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