Getting at a/t tire that fits an unlifted Patriot seems to be a shopping challenge! They're not a/t tires, but I'm running 225/75-16s right now. Really, they are too big, but I'm doing what I've warned others against. All I can say is I'm being careful on the turns and not stressing the vehicle. The only off-roading I've done with these tires hardly qualifies -- just a few lousy dirt roads/trails and a venture onto some very uneven turf -- stuff that might only be out of range for a car, but not for a Jeep, even FWD like mine. Hard bumps or body lean would likely cause a problem with those tires. You're looking at a size down from mine and maybe just maybe you'll have better luck.

I asked my dealership (whom I trust) if I would void my warranty with those tires on there -- thinking as you, that the tranny will be working slightly harder -- and she said its not a problem. I suppose if you got way off size it might, but apparently not if you're sticking close to OEM size.

Fuel economy will appear the same if you calculate using the odometer reading. However with oversize tires you will actually be traveling further than the odometer says because its based on axle speed and it doesn't know the circumference is now larger. For example, with 225/75-16s I travel 7% further than the odometer. WARNING: You're also traveling 7% faster -- when the speedo says 70mph you're actually traveling at 75mph. Blue lights, ticket, fine, etc. Around town its only a mile or two different, but on the highway, watch out!

I've learned to trust my Garmin. Presently my odometer says I've been 102 miles, Garmin says 110. That's 8 miles different. I use Garmin for watching my speed on the highway. Its not perfect, but its closer than my speedometer.

 

........Fuel economy will appear the same if you calculate using the odometer reading. However with oversize tires you will actually be traveling further than the odometer says because its based on axle speed and it doesn't know the circumference is now larger. For example, with 225/75-16s I travel 7% further than the odometer. WARNING: You're also traveling 7% faster -- when the speedo says 70mph you're actually traveling at 75mph. Blue lights, ticket, fine, etc. Around town its only a mile or two different, but on the highway, watch out!

I've learned to trust my Garmin. Presently my odometer says I've been 102 miles, Garmin says 110. That's 8 miles different. I use Garmin for watching my speed on the highway. Its not perfect, but its closer than my speedometer.

^ What Ignatz said^

I went with the over tire size thing both to gain a little more road clearance and an attempt to quiet the road noise a little more.
Roughly 2" greater dia. than the stock tire.

Threw my speedometer off if i remember correctly about 5 or 6 mph according to my GPS.
Before the tire change, the GPS and speedometer matched perfectly.

The bigger tires also cause the overdrive gear to kick in about 4 mph higher than stock with my 6-speed tranny.
Does that take away any mpg benefit of the bigger dia. tires?
Don't know? Never calculated the mpg.

Luckily i have a Jeep technician friend who re-calibrated the speedometer to the point where its now only about a half mph off.

 

PS, After posting I remembered that you were concerned about high RPMS. All things considered, I'm a pretty easy driver. If you're really going to be working it hard, the transmission and engine will be doing more work because of the increased circumference. Essentially you are running a higher ratio so the transmission is responding like you're on a constant incline. If you're going to be on steep grades, they'll seem 7% steeper; if you're driving aggressively in traffic, the drivetrain will be working 7% harder.

In my case I'm just too cheap to throw out a set of tires my Wife didn't like on Her old Wrangler so I'm using them up on my Patriot. Come winter they'll be gone, permanently. These are so NOT snow tires! Won't be worth remounting them in the spring.

 

I have a friend who drives a 2010 Patriot 4x4 with the CVT. The stock tire size is somewhat rare and the few tires that come in that size cost more money, so she buys whatever makes sense at the time. I believe she now has 215/70 r16 Blizzaks for the winter and all seasons in 225/70 r16s for summer. She has had that vehicle for many years and has put a lot of miles on it without any CVT issues at all. Tire diameter change from 205/70 r16 to 225/70 r16 is only 4% and it really doesn't seem to make much difference. Technically yes it does make the speedometer inaccurate and changes the overall gear ratio slightly.
Tires themselves make a big difference in fuel economy, and you need to consider what your own priorities are, long tread life? ride comfort/noise? off-road ability? on-road handling? A suggestion - Hankook Dynapro ATM in P225/70 r16. Reasonably well priced and well rated tire with a good mix of on-road and off-road abilities.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...ireModel=Dynapro+AT-M&partnum=27TR6RF10OWL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

Zoner 99, I'm glad to hear about your friend with an old but healthy Patriot. She is wise to run dedicated snow tires in winter. Ain't no all-season tires equal to a dedicated snow tire. IMHO, All-season tiers are 3 season tires and anyone who gets them for winter either lives south of Georgia or waits for the snow to melt before venturing out. A few years ago I posted about being stranded with all-season tires from a brand I consider reputable. Maybe it was the vehicle, but I spent a long afternoon trying to accomplish a trip that usually takes less than an hour, and I went through a roll of Tums on the trip.

Truly, there are trade-offs with any tire -- none can be good at everything.

FYI, General is now making RT43s that are available in our OEM size. It is an excellent highway tire but I've only driven in the lightest of snowfalls so I can't evaluate it for snow, but as above, I think its worth the money to change them out for winter.

 

Turns out there's a lot of good options in the 215/70r16 range, which is only a 2.2% difference, so I'll definitely be running that size. Now it's just a tossup between the Toyo Open Country AT2 and the Cooper Discoverer AT3!

I have some really nice studded winter wheels/tires for my Chrysler 300C (which I am no longer going to be running in the winter) which might fit that I was considering running on the jeep, but they'd be maxing what could fit with a bit of rubbing. I don't remember the size exactly but they're 18s with like a 29.3" diameter. Might just do the sensible thing and buy some proper sized winter tires and then reconsider the ATs again after winter. I live in eastern Canada, and we get some seriously long, cold and snowy winters. Winters tires are unfortunately a must, even with 4x4.

 

i switched to oversized aggresive tires early on, using 235/65/17's for 150k miles going through a few sets,
at the time i didnt notice much of a change, speedo was only off by about 2 mph compared to gps
i was used to the 16-18 mpg
then i switched to stock 215's eco tires and my mpgs shot up to averaging 20-22 mpgs
1 factor is not just the size, but the aggressive treads i had