Pirelli P4 Tires anyone?

Just bought these from Kauffman (we live in the ATL metro area too) today for our '06 Prius. Paid $97 each (a bit steep if you compare to tirerack.com, but Kauffman's price includes mounting, valve stems, road hazard, & lifetime balancing & rotation) BUT they have a $75-off-a-set-of-any-4-tires coupon on their Web site that we used (I think it expires on 1-24-08).

Anyway, we have all of 20 or so miles on these, so it'll be a bit hard to give you any impressions at this point. I will say, I just drove up to the grocery store which included a stretch of windy country road. Of course, I goosed it pretty good through the curves, and was very impressed w/ the handling, especially compared to the crappy factory Goodyears we replaced.

I, too, have read the reviews on these, which prompted me to give them a shot. If I remember later, I will be sure & post back more long term impressions (especially related to MPG given the reduced rolling resistance as well as wear).

Tom

 

The OP in the Touring Edition Tire Upgrade thread loves them. He got them in a wider 205 size than the stock Touring Edition's 195 size.

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

 

Just curious- what do you keep your tire pressure at? I am getting mixed messages from my tire dealer (who is sticking with the manufacturer recommendations of 35-33), and the dealership, suggests 38-38. Prius chat line suggests going even higher. Help.
Jeri

 

44PSI is safe unless the cold inflation max is lower than that.

 

Recently replaced the original Integras at 32,000 mi. on recommendation of the serviceman. Ordered Pirelli P4 88T from TFT, but after they put them on I discovered they were the 86H model (at the 88T price!). Decided not to make an issue of it, even though the T's have a longer rated life. So far their performance has been good, both on dry and rainy days. The mileage has taken a 5mph hit, but that may be because of the increased diameter of the new tires. I will try bumping up the pressure to 40/38 at my next gas stop.

 

I have some and they are basically shot at 50,000 miles. I am really disappointed. I am going to go with Michelins next.

 

Is that a 5 MPG hit, do you mean? I'm seeing 3-4 MPG loss with my new Pirelli P4s and am NOT very happy with that! I've recently bumped them up to 39-40 PSI and it seems to have improved some... or am I just hypermiling more?

 

It would be helpful if you could state how many miles your have on the new tires. All tires have a break in period and during that's time you may not experience the max potential for that tire.

 

Feel like a Bridgestone salesman here but I have over 11,000 miles on my Ecopia Ep422 and absolutely love them. All around a much better tire than GY after initial break in period I have noticed an increase of fuel economy of 3 mpg's over stock tires and Tirebuyer.com sells them for 79 a tire after tax and install which they set-up for you I paid 396 out the door.Costco also sells these tires and have heard they have them cheap as well.

 

I was wondering if any of the Atlanta area folks had updates on these tires. We need new shoes for our baby and we are looking at the Pirelli P4's from Kaufman Tires. They have a $125 off coupon for a set of 4 and we have used Kaufman before (and have the Pirelli on our Honda). They handle great. My biggest question is their durablity.

Any feedback before the weekend?

 

Do they have the P6 as an option in the size you are looking for? At least they are rated as LRR whereas the P4 is not.

 

Not in our size. We would need 16" rims or up.

 

I see them for the optional Prius size and for the 2010 OEM 15" size but you are right. I didn't see a 185/65/15.

The discounted price may make it work the purchase from an economic standpoint but I didn't check the treadlife/warranty and price. Do you think they are a better value than the Fuel Max or the Continental ContiPro with eco plus or the Kumho ecowing? The 60,000 or 80,000 mile warranty looks good as do the prices when you can find a discount. I wish the Energy Saver A/S would come off backorder. Those are nice once the discount is factored in.

 

i have the p4s on my '04 prius, the car has 185,000 miles, the tires have 49,000 and discount tires here in san diego is giving me basically about 1/2 off for a new set of p4s.

i have liked the tire's performance a lot, the 195s do cause a slight reduction in mileage, but the good stuff outweighs the loss of some mileage.

i do recommend these tires.

 

I have about 20K on my P4's. I have very mixed results on the mileage. I've been playing with the tire pressure since I had a sidewall blowout on one a month ago which did some damage to a rim and I replaced them with aftermarket ones since it wasn't all that much to get four versus one OEM rim.

At 40/38 I got 35.5/32.7/42.7. All were on the same routes and about the same temps.

At 38/36 I got 35.7/42.6/39.8/39.5

Right after I replaced the blown tire and rims I did some errands and with the pressure at 35/33 most of the trip was above 50mpg on the MFD.

While the ride and performance have been pretty good, I am to say the least disappointed in the mileage. Highest I've ever gotten on the tires is about 49mpg (mostly highway).

I'm going to put the pressure back to what it was after the tire/rim replacement and see what happens. Otherwise, I guess I'll have to keep taking the hit on mileage. I have toyed with the idea of just getting rid of the car (2007) and maybe get a Prius V since I could use a bit of extra room in the car.

 

I didn't get all the miles (I'm on my second set of these) warranted, and took them to Discount Tires and got a new set for about $150. I think they're warranted for 65K and I got like 40K. But considering the price of tires nowadays, I"m happy; as well, I'm about to hit 200,000 trouble free miles on my 04.