Bridgestone Duelers A/T Range Hit? Or is it the heat?

[Downriver Desert]

Hi there,

Long time lurker on the forum. Own a 2022 Platinum and just hit 40k miles this past month. Bought used last year out of state at 26k miles and driven back home across the country. Best vehicle I've ever owned- trying to build a mean EV truck camping setup.

Last weekend, I went ahead and upgraded from the OEM Grabbers to the Bridgestone Duelers A/T (275/50R22 115H). Tread on the Grabbers was not quite at replacement point, but we got a nail stuck in one of the rear tires that the shop said couldn't be patched. Oh well.

I had been considering the Toyo A/T but went with the Duelers due to price; hard to justify more than $500 in additional cost when the Duelers seemed to provide all the off-road capability we would ever need at a comparable low range loss (based on what I'd read).

Since we swapped to the Duelers, we've put a little over 125 miles on them this week and have averaged a 1.4mi/kwh efficiency. This has been all city driving.

This a far cry from the 2.1mi/kwh we have been averaging since purchase according to the Trip 2 counter I've had going over 14k miles, which would cover both around-town driving and the monthly trip out of the city. Our effeciency didn't seem to change much in the past when we added the bed topper or the cross bars.

This kind of range hit from the Duelers alone seems pretty high- certainly more than I had anticipated.

To make matters more complicated, we live in Phoenix, and this past week has been a hot one here. This is our first summer with an EV. Is this just normal range loss from A/C and external temps over 110+?

Also noticing the Duelers rub against the wheel well liner when taking sharp turns.

Here's a few photos. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the Trip 2 energy breakdown for the last 14k miles as my wife unintentionally reset it last week.

What do you smart folks think? Is it the tires? The heat? Something else?

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[BhamDCam]

I got the same tires about a year ago. I have the 20” OEM rims. My range loss was negligible compared to the stock tires.

I wouldn’t think these same tires on the 22” rims would cause that big of an efficiency drop. Are you sure the tires aren’t rubbing elsewhere? Just trying to think of other possible causes.

 

[TaxmanHog]

125 miles in the extreme conditions is not long enough to compare to the long haul statistics, give it more time.

 

[BhamDCam]

125 miles in the extreme conditions is not long enough to compare to the long haul statistics, give it more time.

Ah I missed that part. Good point.

 

[carys98]

Are the tires rubbing because the diameter is larger? If you didn’t adjust the speedometer for the larger size it will be reporting a lower mileage that could be part of the drop.

 

[K6CCC]

Based on the Where did my energy go chart, the high temps are at least part of it. However as other have said, give it more time, and what about the size difference.

 

[DavidS]

The new tires are the stock size. Anyone else see tire rub on stock wheels and tires?

 

[fhteagle]

I have only seen that big of a range hit in EVs from a bad alignment. A simple tire swap shouldn't mess with your alignment any unless the tire shop really messed up.

Are you doing a ton of short trip driving where the HVAC is running full tilt? Even at 80 mph in 20F conditions (way more thermal load in cold than heat) I still get more like 1.8mi/kWh.

I agree with others, give it a bit more time but keep watching efficiency. Watch carefully for uneven wear, rubbing, or anything else that would indicate tires are not rolling in straight lines correctly.

 

[Rthol21]

I have a 22’ platinum and got the Goodyear Wrangler Steadfast HTs to replace mine at 24k dude to a bulge. Tread otherwise had life left. I’ve dropped 0.3 mi/kwh with the change over the past 4k miles driven. Not apples to apples but you’re in a similar boat.

 

[SLTX]

What psi is it filled to? Changed to Michelins after the stockers also got a nail and noticed a drop in m/kw. It was inflated to 36 as per door sticker. Drove for 300 miles and noticed 2.0 on highway to 1.7. Had discount pump it to 45 and it's back to 2.0.

 

[Downriver Desert]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. It seems a part of the consensus is that I need to give it more time.

The new tires are the stock size. Anyone else see tire rub on stock wheels and tires?

Yes, as David pointed out, it is my understanding the diameter of the Duelers are the same as the Grabbers. Which is why I was both surprised to see the efficiency drop and the grinding against the wheel well liner. I did call the shop about the grinding noise and they chalked it up to the beefier treads.

I have only seen that big of a range hit in EVs from a bad alignment. A simple tire swap shouldn't mess with your alignment any unless the tire shop really messed up.

Are you doing a ton of short trip driving where the HVAC is running full tilt? Even at 80 mph in 20F conditions (way more thermal load in cold than heat) I still get more like 1.8mi/kWh.

I agree with others, give it a bit more time but keep watching efficiency. Watch carefully for uneven wear, rubbing, or anything else that would indicate tires are not rolling in straight lines correctly.

I'll watch for that, thanks. Alignment crossed my mind, along with some other unknown friction going on.

It's definitely been mostly short commutes to and from work; A/C on full throttle. Which for the most part is regular driving for me, minus the A/C is perhaps working harder this past week.

What psi is it filled to? Changed to Michelins after the stockers also got a nail and noticed a drop in m/kw. It was inflated to 36 as per door sticker. Drove for 300 miles and noticed 2.0 on highway to 1.7. Had discount pump it to 45 and it's back to 2.0.

I thought it could be PSI as well, but I'm at 42 PSI across the board.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it the next couple weeks....

 

[Firn]

The "Where did my energy go" screen is your answer. You are spending 40% of the energy used on covering distance, you are spending SIXTY PERCENT of your energy for everything else. You use more energy per mile for cooling than you use for driving.


As a comparison, for straight highway driving here I have 97% trip distance energy usage. Lets call it 100%, all the energy goes into covering distance. I will expend one KWH for every 2 miles driven. If I had your energy usage I would still expend one kwh per every two miles, and on TOP of that would expend another one and a half KWH for other things, or MORE energy than was used driving.

The heat and keeping the cabin cool is where all your energy is going. Dont forget that the panoramic roof sucks in a LOOOOOT of heat. Some reflective ceramic tint on that would help a LOT.

Do you drive in sport mode? That will also expend more energy just trying to keep the battery cooler (84f instead of 100+).

 

[Downriver Desert]

The "Where did my energy go" screen is your answer. You are spending 40% of the energy used on covering distance, you are spending SIXTY PERCENT of your energy for everything else. You use more energy per mile for cooling than you use for driving.


As a comparison, for straight highway driving here I have 97% trip distance energy usage. Lets call it 100%, all the energy goes into covering distance. I will expend one KWH for every 2 miles driven. If I had your energy usage I would still expend one kwh per every two miles, and on TOP of that would expend another one and a half KWH for other things, or MORE energy than was used driving.

The heat and keeping the cabin cool is where all your energy is going. Dont forget that the panoramic roof sucks in a LOOOOOT of heat. Some reflective ceramic tint on that would help a LOT.

Do you drive in sport mode? That will also expend more energy just trying to keep the battery cooler (84f instead of 100+).

Good feedback. I think this is the final push I needed to go ahead and move forward with ceramic tint. We will see if that changes things.

I think through Firestone I have 60 days or so to swap the tires at no cost. I'll move forward with the tint and go from there. Hate seeing the efficiency so low, even if its temporary

I don't drive in sports mode, though.

 

[Maquis]

I’ve never seen more than 10% or so on climate use during the summer. But I don’t live in Arizona!

Almost half of your energy was used by climate and exterior temperature. It looks like the heat is your biggest culprit.

 

[Zprime29]

What do you smart folks think? Is it the tires? The heat? Something else?

Your trip 1 says 7.5 hours and 125 miles traveled. Are you idle a lot with the climate on? That will eat up energy and with no distance traveled, it results in a lower computed efficiency. I'm in Tucson and now in my 4th summer with this truck. In my experience, efficiency for me normal commute (mostly city) goes down about 10-15% during peak summer. I have 30k miles on my Dueler Ascent tires and have had zero difference in efficiency compared to the 35k I put on my Grabbers.

What does the "this trip" say for your commutes? Watch the SOC for when you start and stop a trip and compute a ball park avg to compare with. I know my morning commute takes about 6% SOC +/- 1% depending on weather. I ignore the efficiency number as long as my SOC is inline with my norm.

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