Prius Prime - OE Tire life and other recommended tires

Alignment is perfect, and was checked a few weeks ago.

The change was also "overnight" from when I got rid of the OEMs to when I got the new ones.

Tire pressure is the same at 44psi.

 

I had Conti True Contact on my previous Gen3 after OEM Ecopia EP20 was done at 25k miles on them. I did like the ride and handrings and mpg on Gen3 was equal or just slightly less than OEM. However, I had the car only 3 month after putting those tires, so I don't know the longevity and quality after some wear down.

I am considering Hankook Kinergy PT now. It's cheap, very long tread wear, LRR, and TireRack rate it high.

 

Might be a bad batch then. Another member on PC also saw a decrease, but it was just installed. Everyone else seem to not see a decrease in mileage.

Michelin Energy Savers lowering MPG? | PriusChat

That's not a bad choice, but the higher rated truecontact is only $2 more per tire. It has a better ride, noise, and mpg according to TR testing:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=228

 

I found Hankook Kinergy PT priced substantially lower at elsewhere ~$60 each. TrueContact was good on Gen3 for the 3 month I had them on, but I can't say it was substantially better than Ecopia 422 Plus. The problem with Ecopia was they have at least three different tread patterns, and one I had got very noisy as they got worn out, and tread did not last long at all (done by 35K). Any new tires usually give good comfortable ride in beginning, Usually, that is, so I don't know how Conti would have fared if I had it longer.

According to TireRack, Michelin Defender T+H is the highest rated tire in its category. There are many fans of this tire on PC. So that it another consideration. I also have had Yokohama Avid Ascend LRR tires on my other car and really liked it, so that is on my short list as well. I was thinking of Michelin Energy Saver AS, but tread life and comfort level rating was concern. I still have time to shop around, so I will keep watching what comes along.

 

karthik, nobody knows what tires will be on the market when your tires are due for replacement (hoping it's before they're bald...but some folks think tires are OK until you can see the air in them). And we don't know what fills your needs for tires. All tire designs are a compromise. Tread wear vs. traction vs. comfort vs. rolling resistance.

I always look to the newest tires on the market in the category I need. The tire makers are always leap-frogging each other with better tire casing design, better tread design, and better rubber compounds. My current possible favorite is the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady. Or it might be the Michelin Premier. I don't need the highest tread life tire nor the lowest rolling resistance. I want excellent wet traction. I live in the Pacific Northwet. Are you on the eastern side or the western side of Oregon? Snow or rain? Or ice in the gorge?

All that said, I got rid of the light, thin casing Toyo Nanos and put on a set of Bridgestone Driveguard run-flat tires. Said to be good for 50 miles at 50 mph without air in them. OK noise & harshness. Good wet traction. Heavier and a hit to efficiency. Not great in snow, but I put on winter tires. That's what meets my needs.

 

They make special wheels for run flat tires, does anyone know about this.

This is from Pirelli.

http://www.pirelli.com/mediaObject/pirellityre/us/en/extra-catalogue/car/all_about_tyres/technical_bulletins/001-RunFlatMounting/original/001-RunFlatMounting.pdf

 

Wheels, I don't know. Our 2005 AWD Sienna came with OEM run flat tires, but there was nothing special about the wheels. I switched to conventional tires after having gone through 2 sets prematurely. Those were 1st generation run flat tires, and back then shop required special machine to mount those tires, so very few service shop could work on them. I've read somewhere that has changed for newer run flat.

 

Run Flats have been around a long time, my 1999 Plymouth Prowler came with them. I couldn't stand them but the car had a harsh suspension already and the tires made it worse. I choose to take a chance of having a flat than the rough ride. Anyone who ever put conventional tires on a Prowler never put run flats back on. On a normal car it would be different.

 

For my case on 2005 AWD Sienna with run flat tires were not so much about harsh ride, but all about cost. Being AWD, I was instructed to change all 4 tires if one need to be replaced. We had flat on on those run flat tires, not once but twice. On both occasion, the side wall has completely collapsed that I could not run flat. The van had to be towed on a flat bed. The cost of replacing all 4 tires back then was ~$1200. Also OEM run flat that came with the van had very short tread life of 1 year (or ~15K miles).

 

Bridgestone Driveguard run-flat tires don't require a special wheel this article says.

Bridgestone DriveGuard: Run-flat tires for cars without run-flats - Autofocus.ca

 

Bridgestone calls their DriveGuard tires the 3rd generation. Ride quality is better than earlier versions. The price is similar to other tires.

 

I got less than 20K out of my Nano tires. Even the dealer was blown away by how fast they went. Great gas mileage but poor longevity.

 

Totally. Could not agree more. Those tires were scary slick.

 

I once got a flat in the carwash... the plate fell off the car in from of me and the screw punctured my tire. I used the kit to get to the dealership for repairs. It worked although it was less than 3 miles. Cost 99 to replace the kit (carwash reimbursed me). Free repair. I was told by the serviceman not to use the kit in the future unless absolutely necessary, as it will wreck the air pressure sensor. In my case it did not since the fluid was only inside for 20 minutes. Any longer it usually will wreck them.

 

I have 34,500 on the Nanos with plenty of tread left.

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When your A29's go, would you be willing to buy another exact set for a decent price for an MPG experiment ?


Rob43

 

I would consider it.

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I just did my 30K oil change and tire rotation. I have a ton of tread left on my Nano's. (6/32's of 9.7/32's new) I was a bit surprised how much there was compared to other OEM's I've had over the years. I've run them at 35 psi from day one. I did the whole high pressure MPG thing on my 2010 and frankly, it's not worth it. So, 35 psi on the Prime. I'm just not seeing the issues with the A29's others have complained about.

 

My Prime came with OEM Dunlop Enasave 01 A/S. With use of snow tires in winter, my OEM actually had 5/32-6/32 left after 20K miles on the road when I put them back on late this spring. I drove 8K additional miles on them so far this summer, but when I rotated them a few weeks ago, they still had the same 5/32-6/32 on them. These tires have only 8/32" of tread when new, thus they seem to use only ~1/32" in 10-15K miles. I thought I will be needing a set of tires before the end of summer, but at this rate, I may wait for a new set till next year. I would consider buying those OEM tires again if they are cheap, but OEM tires sold in stores are usually more expensive than aftermarket ones. Those tires are no exception. With UTQG: 540 A B rating and 89S loading and speed index and without any warranty, it sells for ~$90 each. Plus I can't get any rebate on them. I think I can get better tires cheaper.

 

That's sort of how I feel about the Nano's. They're doing fine but I may go with a better tire when the time comes. Not because of any issues with them.

I have more tough, in-town miles on them than highway miles. I also make sure the tire pressure is correct especially with ambient temperature changes.