Well I bit the bullet, and I'm going to swap out the stock Ecopia EP20's with Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires. I've never really been a fan of OE tires on just about any car I've bought. I'm pretty fussy when it comes to tires. I won't be able to test them out until later next month, as winter is not quite done with us yet. Mid-Late April is usually pretty safe to swap. Hoping I made a good decision. It was either these or the Bridgestone Ecopia EP100's. The only thing stopping me was the Summer only designation on that choice. I drove in a snow storm once on Summer Only tires Never again!
I have 35k miles on the original Goodyear Integrity tires, with lots of wear. I normally buy Michelin for all of my cars I've owned in the past, and find them to be long wearing and a great, quiet ride. I got a quote on Michelin Energy Saver AS tires from Costco, $618 installed, including tax. I'd like to know if anyone has had experience with these tires on the Prius, and if there is any change in mpg.
According to TireRack.com's August 2009 tests of several low rolling resistance tires on a Gen II Prius, you should get approximately 4.74% more mph with the Michelin Energy Saver AS tires than with your stock Integrities. Read the tests -- they're very interesting. Note however that TireRack didn't test the tires on snow and ice. When Round and Black Becomes Lean and Green .
I'll be installing the Goodyear Assurance Comfort Treads sometime soon. I'm willing to give up a tiny bit of FE to get the quiet and smooth ride that according to many, no other tire can match.
Let us know how it goes. I'm curious if it will be more comfy than the OEM Yokohama Avid's I have on my 15s. I think the Avids are alright thought to be honest wrt noise and comfort. I wouldn't want any worse though.
