Do Low Cost "Made in China" Tires (215/45/17)Really Impact MPG?

I had crappy Chinese tires when I bought my cpo prius it had BCT ie Beijing Capital Tires S600, tires were garbage, Terriable wet conditions traction, very loud tire hum, and since the side wall limit is at 30 psi my mpg was only 43-48. Tire were very soft so it had a squishy gummy feel when going over bumps and cracks on the road. I got rid of thouse tires for Dunlop signature series II and it's day and light differences my mpg is close to 47-50

 

Have not heard of that brand. Cooper backing them they will probably be ok. Thx.

 

I like the Michelin X Radial (80,000 miles) on my old 2007 Prius. I changed @ 62K (07-13-2009), now 163K . I got average 52-55MPG. So I will stick with Michelin for known quality, safety, and save gas...etc...

 

It was $470.00 Out of the Costco door 07-17-2009 ( 4 Tires + CA tax + CA STATE TIRE FEE + TIRE INSTALLATION + TIRE DISPOSAL ).

This included Tire rotations (every 5K miles, I brought my car in for tire rotation; sometime I requested for tire balancing).

While my 2006 with Costco BFG Tires little bit cheaper, but looks Very bad even only 30K miles might last 50K miles.

 

Looks like the current equivalent is the Michelin Defender, 90k tread warranty(!!!), great test results, LRR, and available for $366 from TireRack (hardly known as the cheapest option)...

 

How much to pay for at Tirerack + Shipping + installation + Tax etc...?

I think I can drive for about 5K miles more. At Costco in Bay Area Out of the Door cost $510.61 for 4 Michelin® DEFENDER XT 185/65R15
( 4 Tires + CA tax + CA STATE TIRE FEE + TIRE INSTALLATION + TIRE DISPOSAL ).


I think I will bring my car in for tire rotation every 5K miles, so for the life of tires, I might bring in for at least 15 times (this cost around $300.00) Costco price is included this tire rotations.

 

There's currently a $70 discount from Michelin if you buy 4 tires, looks like it works at TireRack and Costco. I'm considering getting some Defenders for my Prius, the current tires are getting pretty worn and they're weather cracked like none other.

 

No spare tire in a plugin prius. How much will you save when one of your reps gets stranded with a flat from those cheap tires?

 

If you think that's cost-effective, do it. But ToyotaCare is 3/36,000, and I assume you're putting these tires on a vehicle that's already past that point. So now it's tires + TototaCare, or maybe you get AAA instead because it's a lot cheaper and more tow trucks are available. It's hard to do the math, but I don't think cheap Chinese tires are a smart way to save money

 

I only buy good quality used tires and they do great. I can get 4 China tires out the door for $130 or Bridgestone Quiettrac for $500 with 80k warranty but haven’t made the decision to get new yet.

 

You bought a magnificent piece of technology in the Prius, why feed it dog food now?

Experience has taught me NEVER to "go cheap" on three things: Tires, Brakes, Steering. Everything else is secondary.

I am a huge fan of the Goodyear Fuelmax tires. They DO give me better mileage than the Assurance series and the grip is very good.
I haven't seen another tire brand as good with my Prii (driven Prii since 2003).

In the winter (when I lived in Montreal), I used to always use Bridgestone Blizzak - there is no better ice tire anywhere and I have tried Toyo GO2, Michelin Alpen and 2 or 3 other competitors.

However, for summer driving or year-round now for me in Virginia, it's Goodyear Fuelmax. They last a good long time, they grip well, they save gas.

All my own personal opinion based on experience.

Willem