Because of TRAC, I need some grippy tires. Has anyone done the work to find out which tire may be the best and keep milage at max? Eric
I've had the Michelin Hydro-edge tires for about 10,000 miles. I live in Northern California where we can get up to 75-100 inches of rain per season (rainy). Love these tires... I am curious however, how they perform in the snow. I'm heading up to Lake Tahoe to do a little skiing in December... guess I'll find out then.
CU rates the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred, an all-season type, first as far as wet braking -- they don't deal with wet gripping but to brake one would assume that they need to grip well to do so. Do you need a an actual winter tire in Oregon?
Thanks all for the tire info. Not foing to use the Prius in the snow, we do get a few inches at our elevation in Medford,Or. (Subaru sits for snow weather) We do use the Prius as our first car, around town trips and up Highway 5. Lowered the tire pressure to 35 f/r in our 05 Prius, helps a bit, I think. Just read about some tires made in Finland, sounds like Nokia (not the name, but spendy) Going to do a search. 75 inches of rain in N.Ca.? Must be Humboldt County. Eric
I have used Nokian snow tires in Vermont for several years (started when they were still called Nokia) and have liked them very much; however, I notice that the latest Consumer Reports ratings have several tires rated above them in both the snow and the all-season tire categories. I will have to deal with making this choice this January when I get my Prius.
Bridgestone RE950 stick so well in the rain it's hard to engage ABS. BUT, I am paying about a 3 mpg penalty. I'll be in Tahoe this winter also.
Try Nokian NRHi's. I replaced the OEMs with these. Not only do they stick in the rain, they are a low rolling resistance tire. You can find them lower in price than what was memtioned in an earlier post. They are not all-season, but are three season. I hav.e not seen any milage reduction due to the tires
I take everything I said back. I can do that. I bought the Nokian WR tires. WOW what a difference from the stock tires. I think it was worth the extra $, Eric
hehe. Yeah, I was slipping under slushy conditions on Sunday. The TRAC came on on all but the lightest of pressure on the accelerator.
Nokians are about $95 from the Portland distributor, $85 from the MI distributor if they'll still honor the "group buy" price arranged here last month (may have ended 11/30).
DCDura, We have had the Nokian tires for about a month. Running them at 40psi, milage has Dropped. 4-5 MPG. Safe but almost sorry, Eric
Was this drop from last winter at the same time with the OEM tires or from what you were getting in the fall?
I have had my Nokian WR since last December. This past summer I had no trouble getting high 40's low 50's on the highway at decent speeds. If I am forfeiting any MPG it is well worth it. These tires are EXCELLENT in wet and VERY GOOD in snow. For my next tire, I am going to try the GY Tripletreds.
Good point about last winter, drop was from previous month, same weather pattern. (wife driving the car most of the time..her last car was an Audi=lead foot) never mind. I love the Nokian's..stick like stuff on a blanket...