Help steer me in right direction on 17" tires

I'm personally leaning towards Michelin Primacy MXM4 base on F8L's review. Just not sure if I'm going to also replace my rims.

 

Of those I prefer and purchased the Primacy MXM4. The EP422 may be a bit better in fuel economy but it is a lesser tire in all other respects. You're going to take a mpg hit no matter what you do so you might as well enjoy the ride. Get the MXM4. You won't be sorry. They are also the least expensive of the bunch if you catch them during a rebate period like right now. Tirerack.com has them for $542 after the rebate. During the Bridgestone rebate period the EP422 will be slightly cheaper and it has a 65,000 mile warranty vs. the 55,000 mile warranty of the MXM4. I am happy with my Primacys.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-fuel-economy/95554-michelin-primacy-mxm4-review.html

 

Thanks, Pete.

I would try searching the CT200h forums as the Primacy MXM4 is standard equipment on that car. It would be interesting to see how they regard the tire's performance.

 

The aftermarket Primacy MXM4 and the OE Primacy MXM4 are different tires. They may have the same name, same appearance, but the compound is likely to have differences.

OE tires are built to specifications dictated by the vehicle manufacturer. The tire manufacturer is merely the supplier. Granted, perhaps the Primacy MXM4 may have been very close to the attributes that Lexus was seeking, but it is almost certain that certain tweaks to the compound were made to the OE version to satisfy certain specifications. Therefore, the two cannot be compared.

 

I'm riding on the Continental & personally like it alot but still taking about a 4 mpg hit from my 15" stockers. But from my experience & hearing from others, I hear it's normal to take 3-5 mpg loss for the bigger any bigger tire upgrade.

 

Sorry AZGeek, I just reread your post & noticed you're getting the model 5 so what I said don't pertain to u as much since u will have 17" rims as stock. As for offset, depends on how u want the stance of the wheels. I think 40-45 would be about right for 7-7.5" wheels. But I've heard people go lower for more aggressive stance(for wheels to stick out more). As a reference, mine's 17x7.5 w/45 offset & 5 mm. spacers in the rear.

 

Mike, I'm not sure how you can say with certainty that they are different. I agree that in a lot of cases the OEM version is different like in the case of the Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max but the CT200h is a rather low volume car so I am not sure Michelin/Lexus would go through the hassle of creating a specific tire. The OE tire has the exact same specs as the aftermarket version. When you look them up they are the same tire. I could be wrong but I doubt I am wrong enough for the CT200h owner impressions to be invalid.

 

I've been wondering about this same thing & the tire choices are different depending on what size you are looking for between a 205/50R17 & a 215/45R17.

 

I hope they're not different. Also, it seems to me: if a tire manufacturer does make 2 versions of tire and brands them the same, they alienate/frustrate consumers.

Bridgestone SE200 and SE200_02 is one example, the latter was OE, slightly less tread depth, and apparently lower RR.

 

I've heard the same thing. My guess is they're probably tweaking the compound to sacrifice treadwear longevity for ride comfort, which can explain why OE tires tend not to last too long.

Unfortunately, we'll never know which OE tires fall under that category as manufacturers don't provide those information. However, OEM replacements should be a near close match to their OE counterparts.

 

Ecopia is pretty decent tire.

 

Tirerack shows different speed ratings for the OE and aftermarket tires and different prices. Whether the end user would be able to feel a difference is another question.

 

But you can buy either one so it's a moot point. Most Prius owners would buy the one with the lower price and speed rating (V). This also happens to be the OE tire for the CT200h.

 

They want to cater to their biggest customer, namely Toyota. If Toyota wants a specific tire in a guaranteed bulk order, they will do it. Much like how Intel makes special chipsets for Apple as they're willing to commit to a big enough volume number.

 

Both wet and dry traction for the EP422 are notorious for being poor. I would seriously consider a different tire.

 

The CT200h definitely has demanding requirements so I'm sure that the tire was tuned for the application. Remember that this is an application where Lexus was looking for both efficiency and above-average handling (relative to hybrids).

This article explains the OE selection process very well. The author of this site is over on BITOG regularly and is an engineer for a major tire manufacturer:

Barry's Tire Tech

Also, here's an excerpt of what he posted on this subject over on BITOG:

Goodyear Fortera tires - Bob Is The Oil Guy

 

Mike, I totally respect Capriracer's knowledge on tires but I think we are splitting hairs here. I stand by my opinion that the Primacy MXM4 (V) sold at TireRack.com will perform similarly to the one that comes on the Ct200h. Enough so that generalizations could be made so that one could make a choice between them and a totally different brand and model. I highly doubt they would make the tire so radically different from the manufacture's version. If that was the case then consumers who chose to replace the tire with another set of OE tires as claimed by TireRack may wind up disappointed in the performance of the new tire.