I need new tires again, whats the "best out there?"

On my last eco car, a Toyota Will Cypha I had these: y-yokohama.c product/tire/bluearth_ae01f/

The AE-01F tires are AAA rated and were wonderful. I was getting 33 mpg on the Will Cypha.

I think I'll get those again should I feel the need for beyond 60mpg.

Are these not available stateside these days? They're great here in Japan. I'm curious if anyone has heard of them or even tried them against the best AAA rated tires you have available. I'm curious specifically how they do against the Goodyear Integrity if those are truly the highest MPG tires because of their hardness.

 

Thank you for your reply. I think then the defender is little better than truecontact in mpg although it's $20 -30 more expensive per tire. Mine is truecontact and get 4- 5 mpg less than stock Yokohama.

 

Best ride is probably Michelin. I prefer a smooth ride over a couple MPG. Actually, I don't really care about the MPG as I'm not good at driving slow and always get very low 40s.

And not sure if it is just me, but in several priuses I have owned, when I'm on the freeway going over 70, sometimes the car feels a little wobbly if you have cheap tires. If there are strong wind gusts it feels like the wind is tossing the car around. Michelins help improve ride imo and safety/comfort is my #1 concern.

I have driven Tru Contacts, Michelin Defenders and Michelin Premiers, and Bridgestone Ecopias.

I currently have Ecopias on my 2008 and Premiers on my 2012.

 

I just took my 2014 PiP in the snow with my Defender A/S tires - they performed well in 3 inches of snow and ice in sub-freezing weather. Took it easy, had cable chains just in case, but was able to make the 2 miles until I hit the highway.

 

I was just looking at some defender t+h at a dealership, and noticed they don't say Green-X any more, instead say Total Performance. I wonder if this means anything, would the rolling resistance be down a step from before, or it's just Michelin being clever?

As far as all-seasons in snow: especially if they've got near-new tread, they'll be "ok", but a snow tire with lots of tread will do better, traction, braking. Even on bare road: the snow tire has a different rubber compound, stays more pliable at low temperatures.

We actually had a snow dump recently, but being on the west coast it's not the norm. Still, I just slap on the X-Ice late into every fall, take them off maybe mid-March. Two sets of tires at least last longer, and my alloy rims stay out of the winter salt.

 

I've had a couple sets of Michelin Defender's and each set has always been warrantied out way before they were worn out due to excessive sidewall weather cracking. Defenders are very nice riding, handle well, stop well, and plow through water like nobody's business. However, I can't spend that kind of money on tires prematurely because something as simple (and dangerous) as sidewall weather cracking. So far, my True Contacts perform nearly identical to the Defenders that I used to run. I love my Continental True Contacts and would recommend them to anyone.

 

Interesting..I will keep an eye on this on our 2010 that has the Mich Defenders.

 

Being that Costco wasn't listing the Michelin Defenders as an option for my Prius v (wagon), I was poking around online for tires and saw that discounttiredirect.com had the $70 Michelin *instant* discount. I ordered a set....came to $400 (USA) shipped. I will have to lug them to my shop but tire install usually isn't too expensive. Seems like a good deal to me! Seems like discounttiredirect is discount tire's Tirerack competitor.

BTW - This is a great site for looking at tire ratings. Search | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Edit: BTW they were Defender T+H...if that means anything.

 

The T+H has a higher speed rating than the original Defenders (which were speed rating T). It is pretty irrelevant for us Prius drivers.

I have been shopping for tires and looked at the Michelin web site. They list both the original and the T+H but when selected the original and clicked "does this fit my vehicle and put in my 2010 Prius it said "no product available for your vehicle" whatever that means. So, it seems only the T+H is available for Prius at this time..

 

Smoothest ride I ever had on my G2 was Kumho Solar 21. Loved it. Got talked into GoodYear Triple Tread by the tire guy and they suck.
Cant wait to get Kumhos back on my G2.. There on my other cars and I love them.

 

I really like the Defenders...Have them on the 2010 and they ride well, have *great* treadwear life ( personal experience...and the government site linked above backs me up ), only a little MPG hit ( 2-3MPG...but long tire life makes up for it), and have decent ratings on snow. In my view they are the best all-around you can get...IF you can find a decent price.

Of course..talking about tires is like talking about........oil ( or religion/politics ).

BTW (off topic by not wort another post) - the fact that discounttiredirect.com has the *instant* Michelin rebate is quite interesting. This is the first time I've seen this outside of Costco.

 

So I was wandering around window shopping at a local Super Wally World while my wife was doing some shopping. In the tire area, Ecopia EP422 195/65/15 were advertised at $49 each on clearance. Seeing as my son's 2005 is coming due for tires, what is the thought on these? They are not the + version. I believe stock tire size is 185/65/15. Don't know if Wally would give me hassle about requiring purchase of stock size.

 

For Bridgestone 195/65R15, also consider Ecopia EP20: tried-and true, get a little noisy as they wear down, but very good for rolling resistance. Treacherous when worn in snow, which may or may not matter. In more northern climes, with separate snow tires, not really a factor.

 

My 06 came with 185/65x15 and the speedometer was incorrect, I moved to 195/65x15 and my speedometer was correct, I would still buy the Defenders, get twice the mileage, two steel belts, silence and safety.

 

Changing tire size to "correct" the speedometer is completely tail-wagging-the-dog imho: the speedo is mandated to read slightly high, no big deal, and oversizing tires will also:

1. Throw the odometer off.
2. Change the "gearing".
3. Raise the car.

 

The prius was made for 195/65x15 tires, my 16 and 17 came with 195/65x15 tires, and the speedometer reads correctly.
No myth, just fact.

Stop the myths.

 

The Prius in question is second generation:



3rd and 4th gen, spec'd. for 195/65R15, should also have speedo reading slightly high with those tires. Again, this is mandated.

 

Again, my gen2 speedometer read low with the 185/65x15 tires but read exactly correctly with 195/65x15 tires, via garmin, and my 17 with 195/65x15 reads exactly correct, via garmin and the local speed displays.

 

They (the plus version) wear well and provide decent fuel economy but aren’t the lowest LRR.

I would never have Wally World mount a tire, buy them as spares then have an independent shop mount them for $5 a pop

 

This makes sense to me............

MPH (indicated on dash) is directly proportional to driven wheel rpm.
Let's say a 185 wheel shows 60 mph on the dash, but true mph is 58.
Now put on a 195 tire.
Put the wheel at the same exact rpm. The indicated speed will remain at 60 mph. The actual speed will increase due to the larger circumference of the 195 tire.