New tires-please help

Nokian WRs are also well-recommended, but they can be hard to find. I do not have personal experience with any of these yet.

 

Karyn,

Sorry to hear about your back.

As between the TripleTreds and the HydroEdges, the TripleTred is considered to be quieter and more comfortable riding.

But neither tire is among the most comfortable riding tires.

If you haven't seen it already, attached is a chart of Consumer Reports' ratings of passenger all season tires. It was published in its November 2005 issue.

It shows two tires that Consumer Reports gives its highest rating for riding comfort.

Good luck. Hope others pipe in with what they know about comfortable riding tires.

My apologies for attaching it as a Word file, but that's the only way my limited computer skills allowed!

Attached Files Consumer Reports Ratings Passenger All Season Tires.doc

 

Firstly: new tires will not make THAT much of a difference. I've spent quite a bit of money on my last few sets of tires, on two different cars, and can honestly say I really can't tell much of a difference. This time, I purchased TireRack's highly rated General Altimax. They sound a bit quieter and if you use pressure under 40psi the ride is smoother, too (but then you give up mileage). Buuuuuuut I also have a bad back, and we are not talking about a cushy soft, Cadillac sedan silent, mushy ride here. The Prius's 'sporty' ride is what it is. It's built for low fuel consumption and low emissions. I can say the Altimax tires are better in the snow and slick surfaces, but nothing NOTHING will stop you on black ice, not matter how slow you go. The original Integrities were absoullutely terrifiing on ice with only 23,000 miles and I suffered three flat tires the last year.

And, lastly, the tires don't car about your sex!

 

Go to TireRack and Consumer Reports for good info on the very subtle differences between tires. You will find it's not a brand as much as a specific product. And remember this: no tire will change the ride of the Prius nearly as much as you are hoping.

Also don't "tap" your brakes. "Cover" them. Then slowly ease on to your pedals. Those jerks can really hurt. And memorize your street route potholes--this, by far, makes the greatest comfort when I'm in pain.

And you SHOULD care about your mileage--it's a Prius!!!

 

Here is my tire input.

Nokian tires are 'the best'!
I have had experience with both their snow tires and their all season tires.
The snow tires on my Prius have made it unstoppable in the snow, I was amazed at how well they work.

The all seasons, the WR model, can be used year round. I had done that in my previous car which was a New Beetle. They are very very good on wet roads and feel very safe in snow. I had one set that I had 50,000 miles on and they still had appreciable tread left.

As for availability, there is a dealer search function available on the nokian tire web site. I had no problem finding a dealer close by. The site will also provide all of the technical information about the tires. They do have low rolling resistance tires so that we don't loose MPG using them.

That is my tire rant. You can likely tell I am a complete Nokian freak. I drive 40,000 miles per year and have come to expect good tires to stay safe. I love my Nokians!

(now that i have blathered on .....i did not answer any of your concerns. somewhere in my past i had a michelin tire that felt like i was riding on a rail, the ride was very hard, you could feel pebbles in the road. the nokians are not like that. they will give a good ride, no rails or pebbles here! the tires that came on the Prius were the most horrible things in the rain. they scared me to death, i normally drive home at night, it is an hour drive, with the integrity tires i would drive in the extreme right hand lane and had to go really slow, because it felt like you were going to loose control of the car. i never wanted them to be on my car when it snowed.
if you live where there is a considerable amount of snow, then a dedicated snow tire would be best. if it is just occasional snow then the WR will certainly get you through anything you can throw at it. they feel like they are glued to the road even in the rain, slush whatever. anyhow enough about the nokians....good luck with your choice.)

 

Don't go to wider tyres if you want a softer ride. To soften the ride on wider tyres would require lower pressure and result in higher fuel consumption. If you want a softer ride go to narrower tyres but that may not be legal.
I'm an ignorant Aussie so I'll leave it at that.

 

Personally, I have the Triple Treds and they seem fine with the ride especially in rainy conditions.

However, you have to consider that your Prius was not designed to ride like a Mercedes or Lexus no matter what kind of tires you put on it. My bet is that your concerns about your herniated disks will override the tire issue and you will decide to purchase a different vehicle with a much softer ride experience.

Rick

 

Now that you've had the generals for awhile, how do you like them. I've had the Hydroedge and now the Falken 912's. I don't like the 912's because they seem to make the car wander around even more than it did with the stock tires. I upsized and shouldn't have because I'm pretty sure these tires are heavy and that really hurt my around town mileage. So far even max toe-in really doesn't help with the wander and I'm considering the Generals because they only have two radial grooves which should handle th rain grooves we have in SoCal better. Did you notice any mileage difference?

I think I lost 1-2 mpg with the Hydroedge and 5 mpg with the Falken's. Thanks

 

SEARS has Goodyear Eagle GT's (185/65/15) for $69.97 this week.
blow 'em up to 44psi and they'll work great!

 

I just turned 9k on Hydroedge tires. Quiet, smooth, "easy rolling." They seem like a good choice to me and meet most of your criteria.

 

For a soft ride, remember to keep your tire pressure around 32-35 PSI.