I need advice from savvy Prius owners. I bought a 2012 Prius three about a month ago with 30, 000 miles on it. The Jaguar dealer put a new set of tires on it. The brand is Accelera alpha. I suspect they are generic inexpensive tires. Do you all think that the Michelin AS LRR tire could make a noticable increase in my mpg. Your input will be greatly appreciated.
I get 47 to 48 driving very conservatively at 62-65 mph on the highway. On my way home in partially heavy Houston traffic and a lot of over passes to climb with the ac on I get 45-46 mpg.
Seems decent. Maybe 1-3 mpg low, but probably not worth throwing away a set of tires unless they suck on the road.
I would say that figure is about average. The Michelin Energy Saver A/S may get you 2-3 mpg more, but its handling and traction are definitely below average. iPhone ?
Thanks for your input. Im new to driving a Prius. I have driven Lincoln Town Cars for the last 25 years and this is a huge difference. I wonder what are you guys mpg at 70-72 mph. I am taking a 2000 mile trip in 5 more week and was wondering what I should expect.
If you look hard enough, I'm sure you'll find something that will give you better mpg. However, the cost of the new set of tires will exceed what you could save on gas. I say keep the tires and use them til end of life
I'm assuming that you'll be spending a lot of time on the freeways. If you take it easy, I don't see why you wouldn't get 50 mpg with A/C on. If you haven't done so already, go to youtube and search for "Prius Pulse and Glide" to check out some driving technique.
Thank you so much. I will check out youtube. I need all the help I can get. I guess using cruise control on the highway is not a good thing if you are going for good mileage.
I pulse and glide on freeways as well but not as often as when I'm driving on local roads. On freeways, I glide when I see the road is in a descend and pulse just before the start of the descend.
Welcome any time. Actually on a flat freeway, cruise control is recommended. It doesn't work well when you're driving on hilly roads.
After doing some research, I bought a set of Bridgestone Ecopia tires a couple of years ago, and they've been great. The ride is a bit more harsh than the stock tires, but the car handles better, is more secure on turns, and these tires got one of the best ratings on wet pavement -- as good or better than the michelins. I kept close track of my mileage with those new tires, which they gave me an additional 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile per gallon over the stock rubber over the first 5000 miles -- 46.5 mpg. Many people consider the Prius to be "under-tired" -- the tires smaller than a car of that weight should have -- but I got 35,000 miles out of the stock tires, and if the current wear continues, expect to get at least that much with the Bridgestones. Unless I hear (and read) of a better tire out there, I'll put another set of Bridgestones on when these are worn out.
"Ecopia" is a whole family, albeit they're all pretty good for RR. What specific tire? Just my 2 cents: Ecopia EP20 is a well priced LRR option. Readily available. (For 15". In 17" it'd have to be EP422).
