Tires Choices for Prius Gen 3

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Preeeus, Mar 5, 2016.

Tags:
Page 1 of 3
  1. Preeeus

    Preeeus Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2014
    255
    59
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    The tires on my Gen 3 are showing serious sidewall cracking. It's too bad, they are expensive Michelin Green X's that are only a few years old. The Michelin's on my previous car also had sidewalls that cracked early.

    There are a couple threads about this topic, but they are old enough that it's probably best to start a new thread. Tire manufacturers seem to like to change things up almost every year.

    I went to two tire shops, and each shop recommended completely different 15" tires:
    • Discount Tire (aka America's Tire) heavily pushed the Continental Control Contact Touring AS and the RoadHugger GT Eco. They said those tires only weigh 17 pounds each, and claimed lightweight tires are important for mileage on the Prius. Never heard that before, maybe someone can say if that makes any sense.
    • A competing chain strongly recommended against buying Continental's for the Prius. They recommended the Yokohama Avid Tour S and the Hankook Optima H727.
    Here's what I'm looking for (all are important, listed in order of importance):
    1. Safe (i.e. reliable composition, short braking distance, good wet and dry, road handling, minimal hydroplaning)
    2. Good MPG (prefer low rolling resistance)
    3. Good tread life to price ratio
    4. Quiet
    5. Smooth driving
    Tire choice should be compatible with 80% dry road driving, 18% rain, 1% snow, and 1% off-road.

    (Oh, and the photo in my Avatar is not my vehicle... no camper shell on mine!)
     
    #1 Preeeus, Mar 5, 2016
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2016
  2. matt b.

    matt b. Member

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2013
    251
    60
    0
    Location:
    L.A.
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    You do realize that you're driving a Prius right? The best tires are the Michelin premieres.
     
    #2 matt b., Mar 5, 2016
    lar.smith42 and Xterra72 like this.
  3. BZzap!

    BZzap! Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    1,607
    877
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    What you have indicated as your "Order of Importance" criterion points strongly in favor of the Continental PureContact tires.
    I just removed a set of factory equipped Yokohama Avid tire with just 32,000 mile because they were terrible in wet conditions and were overall dangerous. They also exhibited early tread wear. I replaced them with the Continental PureContact's.
    I must say that I am totally impressed with these tires.
     
    #3 BZzap!, Mar 5, 2016
    Kurt Weiske likes this.
  4. Tandem Rider

    Tandem Rider Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2012
    56
    7
    0
    Location:
    Indianapolis, Indiana
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I replaced Yokohama Avids at 45,000 with Michelin Defenders on the advice of the tire shop. I lost 1 or 2 mpg but the Defenders are quieter and at 40,000 the Defenders look like new.
     
    #4 Tandem Rider, Mar 5, 2016
  5. Preeeus

    Preeeus Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2014
    255
    59
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Thanks. Any change in mileage since switching to the PureContact's? One review on the Discount Tire site says they lost 2 MPG on the Prius.
     
    #5 Preeeus, Mar 6, 2016
    Newtothewheels likes this.
  6. BZzap!

    BZzap! Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    1,607
    877
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I can't speak for anyone else but my mileage has not suffered and I can easily match or exceed the the previous the readings from the Yokohama's. As an example, I can maintain at least, the Toyota EPA claims for fuel mileage. I certainly am not a Continental fanboy by any means. In fact this is the first set of Continental's that I have ever owned. My choice was based on the research not on spontaneity. As a result, I've made a (IMO) a very educated selection for a very good tire.
     
    #6 BZzap!, Mar 6, 2016
    Preeeus and Cpt.Jazma like this.
  7. Preeeus

    Preeeus Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2014
    255
    59
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    That's great feedback. Thanks.

    Any other feedback on 15" tires for the Prius? I expected more healthy obsession on the topic! (y)
     
    #7 Preeeus, Mar 8, 2016
  8. Steve terry

    Steve terry Member

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2013
    217
    80
    0
    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I went with the Bridgestone ecopia EP422+. They are good tires and last a lot longer then the ep20 tires it came with. Mileage is good. Look up thread about Bridgestone ecopia 422 tires. And you will see new updates.


    iPhone ?
     
    #8 Steve terry, Mar 12, 2016
    Preeeus and Mendel Leisk like this.
  9. Preeeus

    Preeeus Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2014
    255
    59
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Thanks... I'll look it up. I seem to remember Bridgestone having major problems with tires a while back. Has all that been corrected?
     
    #9 Preeeus, Mar 12, 2016
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2016
  10. alanwagen

    alanwagen Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2008
    121
    79
    0
    Location:
    FORT WORTH
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I think you are thinking about Firestones and not Bridgestones. Bridgestone make an excellent tire. I went back with the EP20 as I was very satisfied with its mileage and performance. I get very good MPG with this tire. My wife has the EP422 and they perform good to but the MPG is not quite as good.
     
    #10 alanwagen, Mar 13, 2016
    Preeeus likes this.
  11. Steve terry

    Steve terry Member

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2013
    217
    80
    0
    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    No issues here. Bridgestone on car when I bought it and have 1 year and 15,000 miles on EP422+ now. Great wear and smooth ride


    iPhone ?
     
    #11 Steve terry, Mar 13, 2016
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,116
    39,440
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    EP422 plus is maybe the "Goldilocks" tire. I've been thinking Premier, but so many mpg drop reports. I'd be needing 17" size fwiw.
     
    #12 Mendel Leisk, Mar 13, 2016
  13. Steve terry

    Steve terry Member

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2013
    217
    80
    0
    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I made two trips to Chicago in 2014 and 2015. 1800 mile round trip. Same time of year (May) and first with ep20 and second with ep422+. Overall the ep20 I got 40 mpg and ep422+ I got 44.5 mpg. Not a big difference but some. On my daily drive of 75 mile round trip for work I average 40 to 42. Have north or south wind as a big factor here in Oklahoma.
     
    #13 Steve terry, Mar 13, 2016
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  14. Preeeus

    Preeeus Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2014
    255
    59
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    The difference between 40 and 44.5mpg is very significant.

    It's interesting to read that Alan got better mileage on the Bridgestone EP20 than the EP422, and Steve got better mileage on the EP422+ than the EP20.

    Obviously, we need more data.
     
    #14 Preeeus, Mar 13, 2016
  15. Steve terry

    Steve terry Member

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2013
    217
    80
    0
    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    When I have light traffic in town, I can get 55-60 mpg but that is a steady speed of 30-35 in traffic

    I should also mention that the speed was on average 70 mph after I left Oklahoma which was 200 miles at 75mph no babying with gas peddle.
     
    #15 Steve terry, Mar 13, 2016
    lar.smith42 likes this.
  16. Preeeus

    Preeeus Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2014
    255
    59
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    More importantly, those two trips to Chicago, on two different sets of tires is very useful data. Same car. Same driver. Different tires. Different MPG.

    Yet what you experienced is the opposite of what Alan reports.

    Good info. Did you do that on both trips to Chicago? If so, your test would still be a useful comparison.
     
    #16 Preeeus, Mar 13, 2016
  17. Steve terry

    Steve terry Member

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2013
    217
    80
    0
    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Yes. Drove the posted speed limit the whole way both times
     
    #17 Steve terry, Mar 14, 2016
    Preeeus likes this.
  18. Preeeus

    Preeeus Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2014
    255
    59
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    That makes your data pretty strong.

    I wonder why the difference between what @alanwagen reported.
     
    #18 Preeeus, Mar 14, 2016
  19. Steve terry

    Steve terry Member

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2013
    217
    80
    0
    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Maybe driving habits. I did not like the longevity of the ep20s. Replaced at 35,000
     
    #19 Steve terry, Mar 14, 2016
  20. SAronian

    SAronian Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2013
    334
    144
    0
    Location:
    Oakland, CA
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    N/A
    I recently switched from Bridgestone Ecopia EP20 P195/65R15 89S to Michelin Premier A/S P195/65R15 91H, added my observations below

    Safe - So much better than the stock EP20's that the Michelin's make the Bridgestone's seem unsafe in any environment.

    Good MPG - Only three fill-up's so far but MPG has remained the same.

    Good tread life to price ratio - The tire is more expensive than most, and the Michelin Defender will lsat longer.

    Quiet - Much quieter than the EP20

    Smooth driving - Only slightly smoother over surface irregularities than the EP20. My experience with other cars found the Continentals to be a smooth tire.
     
    #20 SAronian, Mar 14, 2016
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 1 of 3