Appropriate Replacement tires for 2012 v five? (p215/50 R70 90W)

You can have high MPG or high tread life, take your pick.
I wouldn't buy anything that wasn't Michelin, but that's me. The Defender is best for tread life, and the Energy Saver A/S is best for MPG. You may be limited by the 17" wheel size in some areas.

 

Santam,
I buy only Michelin, and have for years. My v has Bridgestones on it, and I believe my first Prius, an '06, did, too. Those didn't last very long. I don't remember which Michelin my tire shop recommended, but I went with the recommendation. I would really recommend an independent tire shop, over Costco, as you will get personal attention, your records will be in their data base, so rotation time will be easy for them to retreive. Maybe Costco offers the same kind of service, but my understanding is, the tires they carry are a lower rung tire than those which specialty shops carry, but I have never verified that. I know that Costco's Michelins are generally lower-priced than those my shop carries, and volume buying accounts for part of that.
As to which tire to buy, in the Michelin line, I went to the Michelin Web site, and entered a '13 v with Level 3 finish, and a list of eight tires came up. The Energy Saver Pilot Sport A/S 3 was on the list, but it's only rated 7 out of 10 for Wear Life, whereas the Primacy MXV4 rates a 10 for Wear Life, Fuel Efficiency and Comfort, and 9 for Handling and Braking. That's my tire, when the Ghost needs some.
V. resp'y,
WmH37

 

Assuming they are still available when the Toyo's wear out, it will definitely be Michelin MXV4 tires from Costco for our Prius v Five. The MXV4's I bought at Costco in 2010 for my Lexus LS have almost 40,000 miles on them and still have between 6 and 7 mm of tread left - they will probably make it past their 60,000 mile forecasted life which is incredible on my LS. The longest any tire has lasted on this car was 40,000 miles and the shortest life and most expensive tire lasted only a bit over 20,000 miles.

The MXV4 has to be the best combination of ride quality, noise level, handling and wear I have ever experienced - I hope Michelin makes this tire model forever. I'm thinking that MXV4's on our Prius v will improve the ride quality and lower the noise level. Costco has become the only place we buy tires but we always wait for their tire specials and sometimes purchase tires a year or more in advance of when we need them - bought 12 tires at once in 2010.

 

Well, so much for the theory that Costco tires are inferior to independent tire dealers. Thanks for the information. That is great to know. It certainly confirms what I know about the MXV4. And I like your practice of buying when the price is right, and not necessarily when you need the tires. Duly noted, filed for future reference.
WmH37

 

The only MXV4's I have experience with are the H-series (130 mph). I had to sign a waiver at Costco when I bought them since V-series (149 mph) came on my Lexus. V-series tires are certainly not needed on a Prius and I've found that they are usually harsher riding and wear out quicker.

I would not replace only two tires! The handling characteristics could be too different to be safe and you will be limited in how you can rotate your tires. Frequent rotation is the key to making tires wear evenly. Rotate more often when tires are "young" and every 5,000 miles or so until they are worn out. One great thing about Costco is that they rotate for free and there usually is a short wait time with no appointment necessary.

 

There's a ton of information on the web regarding the replacement of two tires. If the tires are the same size (exact) there is little risk of handling problems. However, counter-intuitively, the new tires are supposed to go on the REAR of the car not the front.
Is it dangerous to put tires with the most tread on the front wheels?

 

This web page from Tire Rack provides information about this question: Tire Tech Information - Mixing Tires&

I doubt that mixing tires on a low power car like a Prius would be nearly as dangerous as on a high performance vehicle that is driven vigorously. Per the Tire Rack article, my recommendation is to buy one Toyo tire, rotate your tires often, and replace all four Toyo tires when the three oldest one wears out. That's what we did and are doing after my wife trashed one of the Toyo tires on a curb.

It is unfortunate that the Prius v Five has these 17" wheels. I would have rather had similar 16" wheels and slightly higher profile tires which would have provided a softer ride and have sidewalls that are harder to damage on curbs.

 

I think most people would prefer 17" over 16" wheels, so you should be able to find someone to swap 17" for 16" wheels here on PriusChat (PC), or locally on Craigslist.

I blame the Toyo tires over the 17" wheel for any sidewall damage. There are a lot of Toyo tire damage stories here on PC.

 

I just installed a set of Goodyear Assurance FuelMax 17" on my 2012 Priusv five, and the improvement in feel and handling over the OEM Toyo tires is significant.

 

Has anyone tried the Michelin Premiere A/S? I have the Toyo OEM 17" but don't want to buy these as replacements due to the high cost. I think they are overkill for a car that's supposed to be "ECO Friendly".

I have a set of Premieres on my 98 Accord and I can say they are very quiet, smooth riding, and have great traction (on dry pavement anyway.....I'm in southern CA and it doesn't rain here). I just haven't heard anything about how they may affect MPG.

Costco recommends either the Michelin Premieres or Pilots.

 

Johnny Zero swapped to premier a/s (from OEM Yoko?). I believe mainly positive, but taking some hit on mpg.

 

Do anyone know about wear with the Premiers? I hear they only come with 8.5/32 instead of 10/32.

Can't decide between Michelin Premier A/S and Continental PureContacts...

 

Neither of those choices is particularly LRR in nature. But I'd be surprised if you get more life than you will with the Premier. I'd rather have better MPG and replace the tire a little more often, but then I rarely have a car long enough to wear out tires.

A tire with deeper tread is just telling you that the tire wears faster. It also increases RR.

 

Thanks rdgrimes. I understand they are not the 'true' LRRs but they do say they are low rolling resistance of some sort and I am trying to find a set that will still give me good wet/hydroplane performance. Would these be good choices knowing that?