Replacement Tires for 2007 Touring

i just bought tires, sigh

me and americas tire store called bridgestone, they would not cave in on thier no treadlife warranty for oem installs

here are some choices for touring tires:

1) buy another set of turanzas
2) 80 % of all tires made in the 195 55 16 size are run flat tires, these can run 120 and up. the reason for this is most cars made in that size do not have a spare tire
3) consumers reports top rated the Falken ZE912 tire, these are about $99 each and are available in the touring size
4) for about $145 and up you can get michelin pilot primacy tires, these are made in that size, but there is no treadlife warranty on these tires, the mxv4 version of the pilot primacy has the treadlife warranty, and the mxv4s are not available in the "touring size"
5) upgrade to 205 55 16 as your choices will greatly increase, the tire will be slightly wider ??

it is hard for me to reccomend a tire when there are only 3 or maybe 4 tires manufactured in that size.

i went with the pilot primacy tires, the standard ones, i got them at sears, they mailed out a 15% automotive coupon to me
and i took advantage of them.

i seriously considered mailing my receipt for the tires to toyota financial to get an extension on my car payments, but did not haha

 

Here are the three all season, non-runflat tires that TireRack sells in the OEM 195/55/16 size:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?displayResults=10&compare=true&RunFlat=None&width=195%2F&sortValue=0&diameter=16&search=true&y=6&x=57&ratio=55&resultsNumberSelected=Y&filterType=all&startIndex=0&startIndex=0&goWhere=%252Ftires%252FCompare1.jsp&sortCode=&filterGoWhere=Compare1&filterGoWhere=Compare1&compareList=&startIndex=0&performance=UHPAS&performance=HPAS&performance=PAS&performance=GTAS&performance=ST&performance=AS&x=42&y=5

Seems like the Bridgestone Potenza G 019 Grid might be a good choice too in the OEM size given its price and very good reviews from TireRack customers who rate it second in its class of high performance all seasons.

Regarding the Falken Ziex ze-912, note that Consumer Reports tested and top rated its cousin or predecessor, the 512. It did not test the 912. Also, you should be able to get the Falken Ziex ze-912 in the OEM size online for much less than $99. I think misslexi paid $73; and that Discount Tire sells it for $77.

EDIT: Correction - As rigormortis pointed out below, Consumer Reports did test the Falken Ziex ze-912. It was among the tires tested in CR's January 2008 tests of Ultra High Performance tires, and it was the top rated Ultra High Performance all season tire tested.

Nokian also makes a high performance all season tire in the OEM size -- the WR G2 -- which a lot of our Canadian Chatters seem to like because of its performance in snow. But it's an expensive tire -- about $150 online.

Regarding the Primacy, I believe that is a summer tire, so it wouldn't be suitable for light snow.

Finally, note that there are a couple of threads about tires for the Touring. I think this is probably the lengthiest one:

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-modifications/37637-touring-edition-tire-upgrade.html

There are also individual posts about tires for the Touring in the standard Tire Upgrade thread:

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-modifications/20573-tire-upgrade.html

 

i just logged onto consumer reports, its an old report and it needs to be revised because the ratings don't include the current size choices, but it was the uhp falken ze-912 that was top rated in the uhp catagory with the score of 85. i am looking at that page right now and i am really confused when you claim they never tested it


that is probably your best deal, because the falcons are only $99 on average

 

Falken Ziex ze-912

You're right! Thanks for finding that report. It was their January 2008 report on Ultra High Performance tires. I had missed it when it came out.

Yes, the Falken Ziex ze-912 was top rated by Consumer Reports in its test of Ultra High Performance all season tires.

Also interesting is that they characterized the 912's rolling resistance as good (but my guess is that it's not as good as the OEM Turenza El400's)

And for $77 from DiscountTire.com, it sounds like a bargain.

 

Hard question for any of us to answer since (a) haven't seen a third party road test comparison of the two tires, (b) doubt that there's anyone here who has tried both tires, and (c) in your initial post you said you didn't want to lose mpg, and I don't think anyone has solid rolling resistance info on the two tires or the stock Turenzas.

If it were me, I'd probably go with the Falkens. In any event, both tires seem like good choices. I'm comforted by the fact that the tires have received good reviews from Consumer Reports, TireRack, TireRack customers and/or PriusChatters.

Good luck.

 

staze,

I have researched replacement tires for the day I need to replace tires on my wife's and my Tourings. Due to the fact that there are a slew of 205-55-R16's to choose from as opposed to the few OEM size 195-55-R16, I have decided to go with the 205-55-R16 size when I replace the Bridgestones. The three tires that I have filtered down to as possible Touring replacement tire candidates in this size are:

Goodyear Assurance TripleTred
Goodyear Assurance ComforTred
Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S

As of now, I am leaning toward the Michelin's when I need to buy replacement tires.

Hope this helps you with your selection!!! Let us know what you decide to go with and how it works out.

 

Michelin's new Energy saver, if available in the US...

 

I have a 2007 Touring edition Prius and just replaced the tires at 40,000 miles. The OEM tires served me well, but there just isn't a lot of choices in the 195/55 R16 size. I could have gone with a Firestone in the original size, but I decided to buy the Falken Ziex ZE329 in 205/55R16's. (They were the same price) I've only got 200 miles on these tires but so far my mpg had dropped from 48 to 41. The biggest difference I notice so far is that I really have to hit the gas to move the car from a complete stop. I'll let everyone know how the mpg does over the next few months. Of course I'll have to multiply the mpg on the screen by 1.7% (1.017) because the speedometer will be off with the 205 tires. Here's a website with a table to calculate the difference. Tire size calculator: 195/55 R15 -> 205/55 R15

I'd love to hear from anyone else who switched to the 205/55 R16 size especially the Falken's.

Barry

 

hmmmmmmm...........ok folks, here are my 2 cents from experience.

i tried a set of my friends turanza's. also, i had them on my caddy. they're OK tires, nothing to write home about. wore out really fast too.

when i got the touring rims, i opted with the bridgestone potenza's. G019's. they're AWESOME! car is on rails, as far as mpg's, i went from 47.7 mpg with my stock integrity's to 46.5 with the potenza's.

photos are included. if i went back in time, i would have done the exact same thing. my prius is so sure footed and handles so well, it's amazing!

again, my 2 cents.

cheers. :flame:

 

This is what my search came up with. I have been thinking I might go with the Continental Conti-pro Contacts when I get ready to replace mine.

Compare Tire Search Results

 

I just ordered the Nokian i3 185/65/15.

LRR, inexpensive, environmental "more friendly" company based in Findland. What more could I ask for? lol

 

Hi Neicy,

Just a suggestion that you might want to test ride the Conti's or other tires of that type first because they're RunFlats.

Maybe drive a friend's car with RunFlats or test drive a new car that has RunFlats as OEMs.

 

Okay, so, how's the road noise? What do you inflate them to? And lastly, how many miles do you have on them (common wisdom seems to be that new tires will give you lower MPG until they're broken in a bit)? Is the ride about the same on the Turanza's (as far as smoothness)?

********road noise compared to the turanza's................none to talk about. quiet and almost silent. i have put more than 800 miles on them already. i am putting about 46/44 or 45/44 psi, all within a pound. **************

I guess really really lastly, handling is better on the Potenzas? Mind if I ask what you paid, and where you got them?

**************i paid less than a 100 per tire, mounted, balanced/installed, i purchased them from a shop in walnut, california. handling, when i pushed the turanza's, it was strange. they held ok, then they would suddenly break loose, resulting in an unpredictable 4w drift. when i pushed the potenza's, they held better
and as i pushed them to the limit, the 4w drift was much more predictable to handle.*********

I think at this point I'm leaning away from moving to 205's... the hit to MPG, and the cost really puts me off... not to mention the speedo inaccuracy.

I'm going to hit Bridgestone and Sears (Falken's) in the next week or so and see if they'll work with me a bit on price.