Bridgestone Ecopia EP100

My 2010 came with the Bridgestone tires. I'm presuming there are better options out there since I generally consider OEM tires as suspect! Tire rack did a comparison that may help you. Search the forum, you'll find lots of information on tires.


http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ity-against-energy-saver-ecopia-fuel-max.html

 

I too have a question about these. I'm going to do more searching. I'm ready for tires on my '08. I have 43,000 miles on the Integrity's so I did get good mileage out of them. The tires are terrible in the wet and slippery conditions but that doesn't happen much here in AZ. I'm assuming Toyota wouldn't put on a tire with worse rolling resistance so I'm considering the switch to the Bridgestone tires. Since I'm pretty happy with the existing Integrity's about all I'm hoping to achieve by switching is perhaps a bit lower road noise.

 

Consumer Reports did a tire review in November. This link has a file with the data. Maybe this will help you in your quest! Good luck!
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...michalin-primacy-vs-hankook-optimo-tires.html

 

Check out the comparison Tire Rack did recently.

Test Report
Charts

 

We got a set of Bridgstone Ecopias the last time out, after three sets of original equipment Goodyear Integrity tires and one set of Bridgestone Potenza RE009s (which we removed after less than 1,000 miles under warranty because they cut our gas mileage by nearly 25%).

The Ecopias have been absolutely WONDERFUL! Our gas mileage improved slightly, maybe somewhere in the range of 4%-5%, over the Goodyears, which was nice enough, and the feel of the car's handling improved very noticeably, with reduced road noise and more secure and stable handling that inspired far greater confidence.

But the best thing is how long the Ecopias have lasted. We are now ready to replace the Ecopias, but while the Goodyear Integrities would only last 22K-25K miles (the Prius really gobbled up front tires!), the Ecopias have lasted 50K miles (we're at 127K now on the odometer). Please note that we always keep our car in alignment whatever tires we've shod it with and rotate them per manufacturer's schedule.

I am very happy with the Ecopias.

 

I am lucky to use it, PM me I will share with you

 

I loved to drive my 2008 Prius. OEM Goodyear tires wore out at 30,000 miles. Michelin Energy Saver E/S not available locally. Costco recommended Bridgestone Ecopia. Everything is great except it feels stiff, like too much air pressure. Others have noticed this as well. Will I ever love my Prius again?

 

Hi Art. Do you mean that the steering feels stiff, or that the ride feels harsh? What tire pressure are you running?

 

Like I say, the Ecopia's feel like they have too much air (they don't) causing too much feel of the road surface. The salesman at Costco says that it will get better with time. Is this true or does he just expect me to get used to them?

Don't get me wrong - it isn't terrible. Just enough to take the edge off of driving pleasure.

 

I would get the Ecopia EP422 since the EP100 may be discontinued since the EP422 has a newer version of the Ecopia technology.

 

It would be interesting if they did because the EP100 is a summer tire and the EP422 is an all-season tire.

 

I doubt there was much of a market for a low-traction, summer tire for the hybrid audience. Those who are in the market for a summer tire are usually looking for something that is sticky and high-traction, which is not what the EP100 delivered. I suspect that the EP100 was a "stop-gap" tire until the EP422 came.

 

it does but it may take some time, a couple K-miles.

If you'd like to speed it up use this trick:
- inflate your tires to ~50-60psi for overnight
- drop pressure to 30-32psi in the morning and drive
- after a few days you are done; set up your normal pressure.

This works well for hard casting touring motorcycle tires. There it is more of concern as lack of grip is a safety issue.

 

Well, I would say the EP100 provides adequate traction for wet and dry conditions (non-snow) and does a very good job in southern states where snow on the ground is not a concern.

 

In the tirerack tests ( When Round and Black Becomes Lean and Green ) the EP100 was just slightly worse than the others (about 4%) in the dry stopping test, but surprisingly was the best performer of the bunch in the wet stopping test! This really stood out to me as interesting, in that it had considerably less difference between dry and wet performance compared to the others tested.

I haven't driven the EP100 but I actually like the idea of that low wet/dry asymmetry. It seems to me that it would be very good for inexperienced drivers (like my wife) who often don't seem to fully appreciate the effect of the wet on stopping distance.

 

I found this comment on Bridgestone Ecopias on another site:
"This tire made my prius ride rough. It also cost me gas millage form 50 to 45 mpg.
I should have bought 185/55/16. the 195 in this tire is larger then the 195 i had
on the car"
I am not concerned about the mileage. They apparently changed tire size.

 

Take it with a grain of salt. Most people do not understand that tires require a break in period, they are larger in diameter than a worn out tire, and most people do not do rigorous testing or even consider environmental cause for mpg changes. So if this person simply slapped on a new tire then went on a single trip and measured the difference in MPG then their opinion/review is worthless.

You'll also notice that they state the new tire is larger than the original tire. This means they are rotating less per mile than the original tire and thus will show an artificially lower mpg reading.

Again, that review is worthless. I'd trust TireRack.com testing review that showed the EP100 had the second highest mpg of the group they tested.

 

Thanks. I think that you are right!

 

NP, Art.

They are a great summer tire. Even Patrick Wong likes them. He lives in a mild climate though.