Goodyear Assurance Fuel-Max Tires

I have the viva's (the Walmart version) and am very happy - handle well in all conditions, good mileage and good ride. As long as they last a decent number of miles I'll buy them again.

 

Was it Goodyear that made the tires where the tread kept peeling off for no reason and people kept crashing? That freaked me out and I've only bought Yokohama since then.

 

Are you thinking of Ford Explorers where Ford (also) specified too low a tire pressure, and the Firestones failed? If so, no.

 

I've only had problems with Firestones. Once the belts started coming through the sidewall on one of my cars and the other where the tread "delaminated" on another car. In both instances the tires were replace free of charge by the car dealer.

 

It was the Firestone 500s that had this problem back in the early 2000s.

 

I have to drive about 3 miles to get my tires inflated. Will I then get a false reading since the tires have heated up from driving, or is that too short of a distance to be an issue? I currently have 38/40, but I want to increase it to 44/42. And with the max psi of 51, would that mean you are in danger of a blowout if you fill to the max when cold, but it goes higher than that when the tires get hot? But I'm assuming that the max is when cold, which would allow for tires heating up and expanding.

 

You should own your own decent quality tire gauge.

Check your tire pressure before you leave and at the inflation station. If your pressure goes up x psi, inflate your tires to your desired cold pressure plus x.

The pressure rating on the tires are cold ratings, what is acceptable for the morning before you start driving so don't worry about them heating up. As a bonus, the higher the cold pressure, the less the tires will heat up during driving and heat is a bigger enemy to tires than a few psi extra pressure.

 

Is there a point of diminishing returns for mpg relating to psi? In other words, would mpg not improve beyond a certain tire pressure? Because if higher psi means better mpg, why not always inflate to the max sidewall rating, providing the tires are sound? In the case of my tires, the max is 51 psi.

Could some of the arguments be that driving with max psi reduces traction and comfort, and/or increases the risk of a blowout, or possible loss of control in the event of sudden, evasive maneuvers? And if so, would those risks be worth the few extra "mpt? (miles per *tank*)

 

There is some max theoretical pressure where mpg would peak but it's well over the sidewall pressure and probably higher than the burst pressure of the tire.

There are diminishing returns as you increase the pressure. Increasing from 35 to 40 psi will get you more of an improvement than increasing from 40 to 45 psi. It seems like most people on PC that have experimented with tire pressure have settled on around 42-40 psi as a good compromise between comfort and fuel economy.

 

The max sidewall pressure is at rest, cold, not driven recently, it is OK if it goes over sidewall max during driving. Worry about how it feels and driving safely more than the exact number on the sidewall.

1. Inflate your tires higher than you think you need (say 55 PSI if you want 50 or 50 PSI if you want 45) at the end of a day or some time when you can let the car sit overnight or some period longer than 4 hours minimum.

2. Check the tire pressure after the car has been sitting still (preferably in shade like a garage or before sunrise). Avoid checking tire pressure when only two tires are in the sun (passenger side facing setting or rising sun or some other situation where heat could build unevenly). Let out air until you have the desired pressure. Ideally you want a tire gauge that has a maximum reading considerably higher than your desired pressure. So for 40s/50s PSI use a 100 PSI tire gauge. For 30s use a 60 PSI tire gauge.

Put anther way that is:

Air pressure gauges are most accurate at 40 to 60% of the max reading (and still reasonably accurate out to the 25%/75% marks) so if you fill your tire to 24 to 36 psi a 60 psi gauge is appropriate. If you inflate to 38 psi or higher you'll want the 100 psi gauge (as the split between the two is the average of 36 and 40.).

Less importantly compact spare tires have a higher pressure requirement than a typical car tire (some as high as 80 psi) so it doesn't hurt to be able to accurately measure the spare.

Another factor is a tire pressurized to above the limit on your gauge can damage the gauge but an under inflated tire will give overly inaccurate readings on very high pressure gauges. Given those caveats it might be better to set targets for gauges like this:

A 60 psi tire gauge is good for 15 to 45 psi
A 100 psi tire gauge is good for 35 to 75 psi

If you are an OCD type you'd carry multiple gauges around with you. I don't carry any. I check when I'm at home.

 

+1 to what xs650 said and then add this quote from tirerack

Just remember when you get near/above sidewall max pressure you are more likely to get a puncture if you drive over a nail (the flex of a lower PSI tire might sweep the nail instead of jamming it straight in). If you drive high PSI avoid road hazards more so than you would at stock PSI.

I've been driving high PSI for years now and haven't had a flat due to a road hazard but some people just don't watch where they drive or just have bad luck.

 

I have to say that I am considering lowering my tire pressure. I currently run 42/40 but the roads in my area are deteriorating with each passing year and there is less money each year to maintain them. One particular 40 MPH stretch I drive every day has 6-8 ridges where the pavement has buckled upward and it is very jarring in the Prius and hardly noticeable in our Odyssey, even though I also run 42/40 in the Odyssey. The fact that the Prius tires are beginning to approach the end of their life probably doesn't help. I have to wonder what effect on the car the continued driving over these ridges has as it feels like it is shaking the car apart. Could it lead to earlier than usual rattles or other problems? If there is no one behind me, I drop to 30-35 going over them.

 

Has anyone tried these tires in an R17? I'll be in need of a new set for my 2010 before winter arrives.

 

How are those tires holding up? How many miles do you have on them? How, if any, did your MPG's change compared to OEM tires?

I've been scratching my head to the point of stressing out what to mount on my Prius. I have no actual issues with the Integrity tires and so far still has life after 45k miles of driving. I don't want to mount tires that will decrease the MPG's and I wouldn't mind a tire that's just a wee quieter. I'm on a tight budget, but I don't want to mount cheap tires that will only cause the MPG's do decrease, causing me to visit the pump more often. I should have bought a set of Integrity tires when Walmart had them at $65 during black friday.

 

Go with the Continental ContiProContact with EcoPlus. They are rated better than the Fuel Max tires, cost less and last longer.

 

I got a set of the walmart Viva's for our used honda civic coupe to replace the horrible rikken raptors (silly name) the PO installed. BIG reduction in tire noise and +1mpg. I have the OEM Bridgestone Ecopia's on the Prius and they are louder traveling on the same local roads. Yes, apples to oranges comparison since two different cars.

Walmart.com carries the Continental EcoPlus models on-line and ship to store. Reviews I've found say they are quieter than the Viva's. Time and work constraints made me go with the in-stock Viva's or I would have tried the EcoPlus.

Edit: just saw your signature line; nice! I had an 05 RC51 and, back in the day, a 91 F2. Good times.

 

I don't think so F8L! What have you been smoken<grin>Hal

 

I got Fuel Max couple of months ago (last 2000 miles or so). I don't see much of a difference between them and the OEM tires (as in, they both work well). Since the temperature is dropping I cannot really compare the MPG, but I don't see much of a change from earlier numbers. I got them from Discount Tire and I get free rotations, so the actual cost for 60k miles will be about $250.

 

The only thing I don't like about the Fuel-Max tires on my Prius is that they seem to be fairly noisy now that they've got some miles on them. Especially compared to the Ecopia EP422 tires on my LEAF. I had to have one replaced when new as it was out-of-round - still feels like I may have another that is slightly out-of-round but not bad enough to toss it.

Tire wear seems to be OK as well as grip, but I was satisfied by the stock tires in that regard.