Time for new tires. What says PriusChat?

I'll be buying Hankook H727 size 195/65/15 from Gripston.com for $315 with free shipping. They also have 100,000 mile warranty. Can't beat the price. Its even cheaper than on eBay. I'm very happy with my Hankook winter tires and hope these will be as good.

 

Man, that is a great price! Hal

 

On my regular commute, I found out I set the volume on DNX6960 to 17. I used to set it to 20 on the same route with the worn out I3s.

 

I just talked to Costco about getting a set of Ecopia EP422's for my 2008. They almost refused to install them saying they will practically "fall apart" and that the only way they will install them is with a written warning on my receipt. They say their policy is to not install them on any Prius, as the car's suspension is incompatible with the tires.

What a crock of s**t! Of course, Bridgestone, who has to warranty these tires, recommends them as a "top pick" in their online configurator. I'm having Costco put them on anyway, complete with my stern "written warning". Cost out the door is $377 for 4 with the $70 discount.

I'd be interested in any long-term owner reports on the 422's. I will definitely report my experience. Even if they wear faster than some other brands, how can they be worse than the crap-tastic Goodyear's that are mostly gone at only 22k?! =)

 

I just replaced my Michelin Primacy MXV4, which held up well; got bout 80k miles on them, but mileage took about a 5 mpg hit. Great tires, smooth running, handled well and excellent traction; a little on the loud side; But expensive. About $115 each.

I replaced with the Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 and could not be happier. I immediately noticed a much quieter ride, even at 40 psi. Even smoother running and can already tell that the car rolls with less resistance. I've only filled the tank once, so I can't really comment on mileage, but I'm expecting to see an improvement.

Tire is rated for 65k miles, but much less then comparable Michelins. Picked up 4 for about $430 from America's tire, after price match with Costco and about $50 extra for the road hazard warranty and new tpms kits

I'm in Socal, so not a lot of rain, but I still went with the EP422's rather than the EP100. Mileage warranty was 25k more.

 

I'd be interested in any long-term owner reports on the 422's.

I have no idea what the Costco folks meant. Bridgestone designed these tires with cars like the Prius in mind. We have just over 10,000 mi on our 422's. They have proven vastly superior to the OE Goodyears. Just 3 weeks ago we put 900 freeway miles on them in one day with no failure, tread separation or other problem. They handle well, in both wet and dry. We're getting a solid 4 mpg improvement over the Goodyears. Based on current wear, we should get at least 50k out of them. David

 

I seem to be getting different results with my 422's. I have them at 40 front, 38 rear and got an immediate 5mpg DROP in mileage! The old tires were the originals, pretty bald with 40K miles on them. Driving home from the dealer on the NJ Turnpike I got 56mpg, tank half full. Now I am lucky if I can get 50 when I drive really conservatively. What's going on here??? Weather is warmer if anything, so that's not it. The 422's don't even have 1,000 miles on them yet, handle well in rain, but a rough ride. Should I decrease the pressure? Wouldn't that make mileage even worse?

 

That's one of the best tire noise comparisons I have seen:rockon:

 

I hear more wind now and I don't mean it in a bad way.

 

Brand new to Prius. Just bought 2005 with 49,000 miles in excellant condition. The only thing needed was tires. I done a bit of research and chose to try the Cooper GFE. I'll be posting as we go as to how they are working out. As far as the Prius goes I've only had it a few days but already like it. So far combo driving it's telling me I'm in the 51 mpg area.

 

I just bought a set of yokohoma avid S. Not the best tires but they only cost me about $300. Haven't got them installed yet because my michelin (3 x-radial and 1 Harmony) are still ok. im at 88k and plan to change them before I take the car in for the 90k service. When my car was involved in an accident the collision center put on a michelin harmony which really pissed me off because it didn't match. Plus 2 of the radials were old and one was new so my car handles like shit. Im hoping that upgrading from 185/65/15 to 195/60/15 makes a noticeable difference in handling

 

I seem to be getting different results with my 422's. I have them at 40 front, 38 rear and got an immediate 5mpg DROP in mileage! The old tires were the originals, pretty bald with 40K miles on them. Driving home from the dealer on the NJ Turnpike I got 56mpg, tank half full. Now I am lucky if I can get 50 when I drive really conservatively. What's going on here??? Weather is warmer if anything, so that's not it. The 422's don't even have 1,000 miles on them yet, handle well in rain, but a rough ride. Should I decrease the pressure? Wouldn't that make mileage even worse?

Sambucadog, I had an initial mpg drop with the 422's. That disappeared once they broke in. I consistently run mine at 35/33. David

 

Going from a bald tire to a new tire with full tread means you just put a larger diameter tire on the car assuming you stuck with the same size tire (there are minor variations despite being the same "size" but you get the point). This will affect the number of tire rotations per mile and will usually produce a lower MPG # than the smaller tire. The stock Integrity was rated at 855 revs per mile and 24.4" diameter and the EP422 is rated at 852 revs per mile and 24.5" diameter. So in your case, the car's odometer was reading faster than when your tires were new and thus gave you a higher MPG reading than what you were actually getting (let's ignore reduced rolling resistance with less tread here). With the new tires you are closer to stock and slowing the odometer down so your MPG appears to drop more than can be accounted for just for new tires. There are a bunch of other factors but since you stated your stock tires were bald, this issue was the one that jumped out at me.

A new tire also needs to be fully broke in and possibly heat cycled before you'll experience the full potential of the tire.

You can learn more from TireRack.com
Tire Tech Information - Tire Rolling Resistance Part 3: Changes to Expect When Switching from Worn-Out to New Tires

 

Brent just put Michelin Hydroedge on 195/65/15 in place of the 185's.
I think I lost about 5mpg and may use the 30 day satisfaction pledge and move back to oem size. I drive about 70 miles daily over a bridge with high winds and rain so far the tire grips like glue and the car no longer bobs and weaves with side wind and semi trailers passing.
I would ask the technical experts reading to advise on the bigger tire and impact on mileage. Michelin also has a $70 rebate w 4 tires thru 4/16 I think.
P

 

In January I put on 195/65/R15 Michelin Harmony. The difference from the Goodyear Integrity's is night and day! What a smooth quiet ride I have now. Would highly recommend the Harmonys! I love these tires. (I did evaluate the Michelin Hydroedge as well but certain reviews stated that they can be a bit noisy and I wanted a quiet ride..)

 

I've had EP422's on for just a little over a month and about 1500 miles. Generally happy, with the added plus that steering resistance is less. One thing that either I did not noice right away or is getting worse is a bit of noise. There's a slight humming or buzzing in the 50's, most prominent when coasting at exactly 55 MPH. At other speeds, higher and lower, the tires are quiet, and I think quieter than the Stock Turanza EL400's. I'm interested if anyone else has noticed anything like that, and maybe discovered if changes to tire pressure have any effect.

Regarding mileage, there's either no change, or a very slight maybe 1 MPG increase. The varied driving I do makes it hard to tell. Considering the new tires have a slightly greater circumference, that's good. (Driving past one of those radar, "your speed is" signs I'm now right on the mark, whereas with the old tires I was sometimes 1MPH slower than the car's speedometer said, so the new tires are effectively just a bit larger.)

Considering the EP422's are mid-to-low priced tires, I'd say I'm still happy. Anyone who comments on resonance noise, please be sure to mention if you too have the "touring" 195/55R16 size.

 

I have approximately 20K miles on my Ecopia's and they are now cupping and are generating a great deal of road noise. They were quite good for a while and still have a fair amount of tread but for the cupping mentioned. Now I am looking for a suitable replacement. I am pleased with the Goodyear Fuel Max on my wife's BMW X-5, and my daughters' Avalons. However, there is no compatible Fuel Max for the 16" Touring tires. Looking at Yokohama's but reviews are mixed.

 

An update to this thread. I logged a total of 40K miles on the EP100 installed on the 2004. The tread depth on the front tires is 4/32" at the center, the shoulders are getting pretty worn. The rear tires have 5/32" to 6/32". I only rotated the tires once during that period due to laziness. I would say that my extrapolation estimate above is conservative, if the tires were rotated more frequently.

Today I bought Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 at Discount Tire, to replace the EP100 tires and get ready for the winter wet season.

 

I put P4's on my Prius when the Goodyears got low... Lost 2-2 1/2 miles per gallon... but the car doesn't squeel or slide anymore.

 

For my 2005 I took the advice to go with the Nokian WRg2, which I would describe as a hybrid all-season and winter tire: one half the tread is akin to most all-season tires, and the other is much more aggressive, as seen on most true snow/winter tires. Tread life will not be as great, and I had a 2 mpg drop with these (they are slightly lower profile also), but worth it for the significant gain in traction. I am very pleased with the traction and handling of these tires. I have also run Nokian Haakapelita (spelling?) snow tires, which also offer excellent winter and wet traction (though with unimpressive tread life).