Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 tires

Read this:

Tire Rolling Resistance Part 3: Changes to Expect When Switching from Worn-Out to New Tires

 

Ecopia's have deep treads and perforfed best in the wet per Tire rack of Low RR tires.. Run 42f/40rear psi. They will out perform the Yokos shortly. Amazing skins.

 

New tires often result in a 2-4 mpg drop for a lot of folks but after break in, the mpg comes back or gets better. I cannot say for sure that your mpg will get better but since the tires are bought and paid for there is not much you can do but try other techniques to increase your mpg. Maybe try driving slower, coasting more, reduce heavy AC usage etc. In my opinion you bought a great tire so don't fret over it too much.

 

I have new Ecopia EP422 tires on my 2007 Prius Touring...my husband told me it takes a few weeks to "break-in" the tires, and as the weeks go rolling by, my mpg is edging upward slightly. But oh what a difference in noise and comfort!

 

When I bashed a curb in our 2007 Touring at about 40,000 miles, I replaced all four tires with the Bridgestone Ecopia and noted an immediate 2 to 3 MPG gain even before breakin. Of course, I did have realignment and balancing as always with new tires. We are still very pleased with the Ecopias... they do 'sing' a little at speed on some pavements.

 

You may want to review Tire Racks test again. The EP422 tires did not perform well at all in the wet. and ranked third overall. Far from "amazing."

 

THe rating is relative. EP422 was compared against standard touring tires. If the EP422 had been compared against the Energy Saver A/S, I am sure the two would perform very similarly.

 

Perhaps. However, 4 tires were compared in Tire Racks test. 3 of which were considered LRR with the Yokohama Avis TRZ thrown in just
for comparison. The Bridgestone EP422 is placed within Tire Racks
Grand Touring All Season category and still ranked third among the
tires, with the Continental ProContact with Eco Plus being ranked first and it is in the Standard Touring All Season category.

Yes, the rankings are relative, but the poor wet performance of the
Bridgestone makes it a questionable choice with wet performance
being more important overall in the scheme of things than MPG....
at least to many. So would the Goodyear Assurance.

Or.....are you saying the Michelin Energy A/S has poor wet performance also ?

 

I have Ecopias on my new 2012. I have to say I am amazed by how quite and comfortable the ride is. Relative to my 2009 I'm getting at least 1 full L/100km on the new car - not surprising based on the differences between the Gen 2 and Gen 3 models. I know the tires are a factor as well.

 

You do realize you are comparing a completely differt car and one model of tire with a completely different Ecopia right? It's like saying you like oranges therefore Durian fruit is good.

 

The EP422 is considered a grand touring all season tire and was mostly paired against other Touring tires. Touring tires generally provide higher levels of performance. The Energy Saver A/S is grouped as a "passenger all-season" tire. Based on the performance of the fuelmax, I would estimate that the three tires perform similarly.

MB860 ? 2

 

According to Tire Rack. tires in the "Grand Touring All Season" category perform at a higher level than those in the lower "Standard Touring all Season" or "Passenger All season" category. The Bridgestone EP 422
was positioned in the "Grand Touring All Season" category and was outperformed by tires in categories that are less demanding in performance expectations. The bottom line is, the tire performs poorly in wet conditions.....I think you yourself termed it "deathly" though
I seriously doubt it's anywhere near that bad.

In any case, there are other LRR tires that outperform it, and you currently have one of them on your car. Unless of course, you have found the Michelin Energy Saver A/S to perform poorly in the wet also.

All tires are a compromise in performance abilities. It depends what
your criteria requirements are. Wet performance ( and other areas ) is more important than LRR in mine. If you can achieve both, thats terrific for everybody !

 

Thankfully many LRR tires do very well in wet conditions due to unique compounds. The Ecopia 100 actually does well in wet conditions but it lacks in dry conditions. The Ecopia EP422 lacks a bit in all conditions. LOL

 

Very true ! And to your point about "unique compounds".....how are you finding your Yokohama Avid Ascends to be in overall performance
( wet, dry, and mileage ) ? I assume you have the "H" rated tires since the 195-65-15's aren't available in the "T"s.

 

I wrote a full review in the fuel economy section.

I have the T rated tires in a 195/65/15.

 

THANKS ! I read it right after I posted to you. GREAT info, well written and very thorough. Head and shoulders above anything
that appears in Tire Racks consumer comments !

The reason I asked about "H" vs "T" is that I didn't see the 195-65-15
size listed on Tire Rack for the "T" rated sizes.

 

My tires on the 2010 Prius(Yokahoma S33) that I have are all rotated at every visit to the dealer for free maint, are worn out! I ran over something today and got a flat so I am going to replace them all. I have had Michelins all my life every car I have had. My Acura TL had them, my BMW Z4 had them and my 2007 Porsche Turbo had them. All of them had one thing in common, NOISE! I switched over to Bridgestone and all my vehicles drive smooth and quiet. I am going to go to Costco and get the Ecopia EP 422 for my Prius. That has been my families single complaint with the Prius "Dad that car is loud" 27344 miles on the Prius, stock tires are junk!