Best tyres for Prius in Aus/NZ?

Low rolling resistance ones for best economy.

It appears tyres are a personal thing. I personally would get a good quality branded tyre as tyres last a long time and are your only contact with the road. A lot of our American friends recommend Nokian as a tyre but they're almost impossible to get in the UK. Maybe in NZ they're more common?

 

I would have said Michelin XM1+ but Michelin say the XM2+ is even better.
MICHELIN Energy XM2 - PassengerCar - www.michelin.com.au

I have about 80,000km on my XM1+ and have only just rotated the tyres front to rear. Expecting about 100,000km before a new set go on. I do recomend rotating tyres more often than I have. My front tyres are now noisy from being on the back too long.

 

No, Nokians are not available in Oz as far as I know for passenger cars but you can get Nokian tyres for tractors.

 

Probably not applicable for NZ'ers given their NZ$ isn't as strong against the US$ as the A$. A lot of people funny enough buy tyres from tirerack.com and have them shipped to Australia for a lot cheaper than what you pay for them at your average Bob Jane etc.

 

Here is my list of LRR tires available in the U.S.. You can see if any of these are available for you. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...esistance-replacement-tires-current-list.html

If you live where it rains a lot then I would look into something that is rated high for wet traction. The Michelin hydroedge with green x comes to mind and they last forever but they are a bit harsh in ride quality.

The Energy Saver A/S does pretty well in all areas as did the EP100.

If you only need a summer tire and don't get a ton of rain then the dB Super E-Spec has been a great tire for me. The Goodyear Fuel Max gets great reviews also and it is fairly priced like the EP100.

Here is a good review of some of the common tires available. When Round and Black Becomes Lean and Green

Watch the video and read the summary to decide if any of these tires will work for your needs.

 

I've also got 80.000kms on my Gen III, at 40,000 I had to buy new tyres to replace the Bridgestone Ecopia. I replaced them with Michelin Primacy LCs. They are about half worn now. I don't expect the same mileage as patsparks as I do a lot of high speed country freeway driving (110kph) and gravel roads in between times.

 

I'm almost at 50,000km on my Gen 3, my stock tires (Bridgestone Ecopia) are still good and do not see the need for replacement for at least another 20,000km. But I will be switching to Michelin XM2 as mentioned previously, just for the sake of trying another brand, and the spec looks pretty good too.
MICHELIN Energy XM2 - PassengerCar - www.michelin.com.au

 

I'd like to know what the tyre size options are here in Australia for the Gen II (2008) Prius.

In the US it's 186/60/R15 .

In AUS it seems to be 190 or 195/60/R15. I think I read some people also go for 195/65/R15.

What's the best, and what LRR tyres are available in Aus?

 

I'm not sure of Gen II sizes. Gen III is 195/65/15. I just found out that the Michelin Primacy LC is no longer being produced so it looks like I will be buying XM2s. It also seems that comparing tyres available in Aus/NZ to what's available in US is problematic with Michelin. The compounds for the "Asian" market are different and the model designations do not directly correlate if at all.

 

My 2007 Gen2 at 55,000 kms has the original Michelin Energy XV1s on all wheels, size is 195/60R/15 88V. I changed front to rear at about 40,000 kms.

I can't complain about their wearing ability because they look as if they'll go forever, worse luck, because the bloody things are very noisy at freeway speeds and I'd love to change them for something quieter even at the cost of a little fuel. I run the Michelins at the recommended town pressure settings even on long trips, to make them a bit quieter and to suppress the thumps that come through at every little crack or pebble on the road. I still average under 5 l/100k though.

If I live long enough I'll look for a nice quiet Goodyear or Bridgestone equivalent, what I spend on extra fuel I'll save on the cost of the tyres.

The recommended size should be on the tyre placard in the driver's side door arch. In case yours is missing, here's what mine says:
Rim size 15 x 655
Tyre size 195 60R 15 88V

 

I've noticed that the Michelin website list of sizes differs from some tyre (that's "teris" for our American friends) outlets. That isn't a big issue for 15" wheels, but 17" might have more to choose from than Michelin lets on. Check.

I ran Michelin XM1+ on my Citroën C5 for years and every set lasted 75-80,000km. In fact I changed early because of uneven wear resulting from the independent suspension. You give something away in wet and dry extreme cornering, so I corner smoothly instead. I'm in Canberra and poor tyres (tetris) don't grip on cold roads!

Autoexpress.co.uk runs proper long-term 16000km (10000 mile) tyre (tisre) tests that are sometimes relevant to small sizes. It found huge differences in rolling resistance, which might give 3-5% better economy overall.

I currently have 3 Ovation ecovision tyres (serit) and 1 Bridgestone ecopia thanks to the previous owner needing to keep it legal before handing the car back (!) If the ecopia is original it has lasted 3 years/70000km but won't last the Winter as it is almost on the bumps. The Chinese tyres (tiers) didn't spin in extreme acceleration in extreme wet (or engage the VCS), but were noticeably squidgy on wet roundabouts; a bit too much for my liking.
LRR often means good in a straight line but not the best around corners.

UPDATE 04/04/2012: I am getting wheelspin from takeoff in wet conditions. I was stuck at a roundabout and had to modulate the accelerator a few times before I could move as the tyres spun as the VCS cut power. The squidgy feeling was caused by low pressures (below the manufacturer's recommendations) and has lessened now that I'm running 42/40 PSI.
Definitely changing to Bridgestone ecopia or Michelin on the front axle before Winter.

 

If you live where it rains a lot then I would look into something that is rated high for wet traction.

 

Just changed the front tyres to Bridgestone ecopia PZ-X 195/65/15. Already getting 10% better FC (very small sample size of 1 day and 85km). Very smooth and quiet tyre. Despite its "comfort" leanings, it is slightly more fuel efficient then the Bridgestone ecopia EP100 and has better handling. And it's made in Japan and has maximum pressure of 60 psi (according to the tyre guy.)
Any similarity the Ovation ecovision VI-682 have to a LRR tyre is restricted to being round and black in colour.

Rally great Ed Ordynski (rival to the late great kiwi Possum Bourne) demonstrates the difference between the EP100 and tyres "G", "M" and "K" in a video here:
Bridgestone Ecopia Tyres - Calculate your Fuel Savings

Michelin energy are great, but Bridgestone tyres make sense on a Japanese car.
I should have got 4.

BTW, I must heap praise on Bridgestone Select - Belconnen for excellent service, polite and friendly staff, a product demonstration and an exceptionally-clean office and workshop. They even leave the vacant toilet doors open so that you can marvel at how clean they are.

 

I'd be reluctant to claim such a high percentage increase with such a small sample size AND only two new tires. This seems a bit unrealistic unless the tires you replaced were horribly inefficient.

The only problem with the Ecopia tires in the U.S. is the EP100 is rated for lower tread wear than the Energy Saver A/S and the EP422 doesn't have any tests that shows how it compares to the EP100 or a Energy Saver A/S in terms of fuel efficiency. The EP422 also lacks in performance so the idea of using a Bridgestone tire on a Japanese car is not such a wise conclusion. There are too many other factors to consider besides nationalism. LOL

 

I can't find equivalent LRR Michelin or Bridgestone tyres in Australia to the models discussed on PC. AFAIK we're not comparing the same tyres.
For example, there's no Michelin Energy Saver A/S in Australia, just Energy XM2, Energy MXV8 and Primacy LC categorised as LRR. And there's no Bridgestone EP422 All-Season, EP-02 or EP20, nor do they look anything like the EP100, EP150 or PZ-X so they're not here under another name.
BTW, in NZ you can buy the Bridgestone EP100, EX10, PZ-X and PZ-XC (for small cars).

The ecopias will only show rolling resistance (AAA) and wet grip (c) under the JATMA standard for tyres made in Japan. There's no other markings on the outside of the PZ-X. http://www.jatma.or.jp/labeling/outline.html
Unit (N / kN) Unit (%)
Rolling resistance coefficient
(RRC) Grade
RRC ≦ 6.5 AAA
6.6 ≦ RRC ≦ 7.7 AA
7.8 ≦ RRC ≦ 9.0 A
9.1 ≦ RRC ≦ 10.5 B
10.6 ≦ RRC ≦ 12.0 C
Wet grip performance
(G) Grade
155 ≦ G a
140 ≦ G ≦ 154 b
125 ≦ G ≦ 139 c
110 ≦ G ≦ 124 d
I've read about the PZ-X on http://www.bridgestone.co.jp/sc/ecopia/ for some time (I say "read". I mean I looked at the pictures while Google translate did its best). BTW the new EP0001S just released in Japan boasts AAA-a performance. But no indication of tyre wear.

It was probably the OEM Bridgestone B250 with 78000km and a nail in it that was the biggest drag on economy. But I can say that the noise, comfort, cornering and wet grip are vastly superior now that the very poor Ovation tyres with only 8000km (5000 miles) on them have been relegated to the rear. You are right to be sceptical with my small sample size, because I don't quite believe it myself and will no doubt get a shock at the next fill.

Apart from a tyre test in UK magazine AutoExpress years ago that ranked a dozen tyres, I haven't seen a comparison of LRR that isn't in the form of a vague comparison. (I bought Michelin XM1+ for my Citroën after reading that.)

And that is why I hereby declare war on nationalism.

 

Lmao! Awesome post.

I'm glad guys like you post something other than U.S.-centric information. This is somewhat of an international site so we need more information like this. Thanks.

 

Have you looked at the Hankook range of tyres, most are LRR but the best is the Hankook Kinergy Eco "possibly under a slightly different name down there" I find it a excellent tyre and very good value.

 

How are the hankook ecos doing.I have a 2006 gen 11, im getting 48 mpg..i was leaning towards the lrr michleens
but the efrin ecos sound interesting..I'm guessing it's the same tire but sold under a different name here in calif.