Howdy ya'll. Last time I was here I was looking for some audio help. Well today its my tires that I need some help with. I know NOTHING about car tires. Now I've heard about Low Rolling Resistance tires, but I don't really know if they help. Unfortunately, it looks like I need replacements. And soon. Sadly, looking around on Tire Rack for replacements, I've found a variety, but for LRR tires I've found that only the Kumho eco Solus HM KR22 will work for me. This is because I live in the northern US and also because I have no storage for any winter/summer tires I might buy (also no money for 2 sets) I've also heard a lot about the Ecopia tires, however they don't manufacture in 175/65 R14, except for summer tires. So again, TL; DR: I need new tires. I'm interested in LRR tires, but don't know if they are worth it. Any recommendations on new tires for a 2001 Prius?
Oh good luck. When I needed tires, I decided to read everything I could. After a couple weeks and a lot of confusion I gave up and bought a set of the standard tires on sale.
I most recently put the Kumho on. They are ok. Long treadwear rating. Here is what a 'big' tire seller told me in an email...
Nokian markets its WRG2 tire for year-round use, and it's available in 175/65-14. I haven't owned that particular tire myself, but the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R snows I use seasonally on our Prius stick like glue on snowy roads. They've held up well, too -- this winter will be their sixth season of use.
In 2008 I bought a set of Nokian i3 tires for my 2002. Compared with the original Bridgestone tires the Nokian i3 have superior wet traction and anti-hydroplaning, less noise, and better dry handling, in particular less tendency to get "grabbed" at high speed on grooved concrete highways. I was disappointed I lost about 4mpg but I may have recovered half of that after replacing my Toyota/Panasonic 12V battery with an Autozone 12v AGM vented Miata battery. I bought the tires from Ryan Holzer at TireFactory.net based on recommendations from this PriusChat board and I received excellent customer service from him. The tires were installed at my local Toyota dealer. Ryan recommended the Nokian i3 tire over the WR based on my driving conditions (Central California, no snow but lots of rain).
Does anyone have GPS data to tell if the speedometer is accurate with the Bridgestone Potenza RE92 OEM tires? Assuming it is accurate or at least close the OEM tires had 902 revs per mile and are rated for 1100 pounds per tire (this is higher load rating than a standard 175/65/14 tire). If you do the Kumho eco Solus HM KR22 I'd go for the 185/65/14 instead to keep the load rating similar (on a slightly wider tire). Slightly higher rolling resistance but still an option is Hankook Optimo H727 in the 185/65/14 size it does well in the winter and it's a cheaper tire than some options. And if you just want a top notch tire RR be damned the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S 195/60/14 is a good fit. In short don't stop looking on tirerack if the 175/65/14 options don't look the greatest. Stay as close as you can to the specs (load rating, revs per mile) of the OEM tire and don't worry if that means a different 1xx/xx/14 label.
I put Michellen Harmony's on my 2001 Prius. There not low roll resistance but I like them because they have a 80,000 mile tread life warranty one of the highest ones I had found. The ride well and are a good tire I've had them on on the 2002 Prius I bought then I replaced them when needed with Harmonys and then on my 2001 Prius when I got that one. I hope this helps.
I'd just like to say me too on this one. I've been using the Harmony's for around 6 months and have no complaints at all. They were much less expensive and had a higher tread life rating than anything else I could find. I have a co-worker who uses Dunlop S10 (I think that's the model) on his '01 Prius so that would be an option too. I think the S10 is also weight rated which the Harmonys are not.
The Hydroedge and Kumho eco Solus HM KR22 are also high mileage tires as well as low rolling resistance. 80,000 and 100,000 mile warranty.
This is a Gen I Prius thread. They don't make the Hydroedge in 14" tires and even if the OP put 15" rims on there is no Hydroedge near the 900 Revs per mile mark.
People from all over the country have subscribed to this thread. The OP is from Ohio and suggested that snowy roads are part of his annual driving equation, which it certainly can be in the Lake Erie snowbelt. That's why I suggested the Nokians. If you drive in an environment where you can encounter a 12-inch snowfall from mid-November till mid-April, I stand by that advice. Tire Factory is a proven online vendor of Nokian tires (I've used them myself), but an increasing number of brick-and-mortar vendors also offer the brand. Living in southeast PA, you probably don't need to worry about snow day after day. In your situation I'd probably look for a mainstream all-season tire. A quick check on the Tire Rack site determines that Bridgestone Ecopia tires are closeouts, so if you can find them, it may be your last chance to get them in 175/65-14. Again, looking at tirerack.com for its extensive offering of sponsored tests and customer reviews, the Pirelli P4 Four seasons tire looks like a great deal at $63 per tire. You could also go with a slightly wider tire, which would improve handling (a dire weakness of the Prius with stock tires IMO) at the cost of some fuel mileage. I go with the wider tire myself when the car isn't on snow tires. Looking again at Tire Rack for 185/65-14 tires, there's the Hankook Optimo H727 at $62 each. This tire comes highly rated from Consumer Reports as well as Tire Rack. Others swear by Goodyear Integrity and Michein Harmony. But there is a much greater selection of tires at this width than at 175, and the tire circumference doesn't differ that much. Hope this helps.
I ended up with the Michelin X-Ice Xi2 tires. So far they have vastly superior wet traction and they have had Zero impact on my mileage (a good thing). Thanks for all the help, though!
