Within the last month I purchased the Michelin Defenders not knowing how much a tire can impact the overall MPG. Low and behold I have noticed no less than a 5 MPG decrease in comparison to the OEM Yok Avid Touring tire I had. Thus far on the defender I am getting just over 41 MPG and in the past with the OEM tire I would get 46-47 in the summer. I drive fairly hard and put a lot of miles on the car per year (30,000); therefore this low MPG will add up quick. So far I have 2k miles on the tires and am within the 30 day guarantee period. Defender pros- much better ride than the OEM tires, improved performance with traction, 90,000 mile warrenty, and guessing a better all season tire, though I have not had them in the snow yet. Cons- MPG is significantly lower even after 2,000 miles. I understand this may come up a little with wear, say 1-2 MPG in time. With 2k miles on the Defender tires I am still within the 30 day guarantee period to replace them should I find a tire that fits my needs. Is there another LRR tire with good all season performance I should consider to get my milage back to the 46-47 MPG? If I can also get a high milage tire that would be a bonus. Tire size= 195 65R 15 Thanks in advance for the help!
All I can say is the Michelin Energy Saver AS tire, in my opinion, is the most fuel efficient tire you can buy. When I changed them out for the factory equipped Yoko Avid tires I noticed a 2-3 mpg increase in mpg's, even though the Yoko Avid tires had about 11,000 miles and of course were well broken in. I am going back to Michelin Energy Saver AS tires as the current Ecopia EP422 do not compare to the Michelin's that I replaced with the Ecopia after they got down to the wear bars at 68,000 miles.
Thanks for the feedback. Outside the Energy Saver AS tire is there another out there that equals or surpasses the OEM Yoko Avid with better milage and all season weather wear? Anyone tried the Continental ContiProContact with EcoPlus and rated it against the OEM Yoko Avid? I like the higher milage Continental tire at 80k, but not sure about the mpg and snow/rain performance in relation to the OEM tire?
F8L? I suppose he already answered this question on your other thread: Michelin Defender vs ? | PriusChat
While this doesn't answer your question about better handling and such, my brand new Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires got slightly better (1-2%) than my very worn (2/32) Yokohama tires they replaced (I got 51,000 miles out of the Yoko's). 3 of my 4 best tanks where the HID read 69+ mpg for 600+ miles have been on these new Michelin's (which have less than 5,000 miles on them). I am eagerly awaiting next summer when these tires have 25,000 miles on them to see how much more the MPG's improve.
The ProContact with EcoPlus is a fantastic tire are a great price. It offers excellent traction, especially in the wet. Unfortunately it is about 2mpg behind the OE tires. The Ecopia EP422 gets similar fuel economy to the OE tires but I'm not sure how it does in snow. I'm guessing it is worse than the Energy Saver A/S. I'm sorry but I don't have a good recommendation for snow other than Nokian but they are so expensive you may as well just run the ProContact.
At the end of the day, gas is cheap compared to any accident. More grip means you will be able to stop sooner and better maneuver your way out of potential accidents. The few mpgs we stress over are silly and immature in the big picture, and I am guilty of it myself.
I agree with The Critic. Thankfully most of these LRR actually have good traction for stopping with a few exceptions. The bigger issue is what tire will do best in the snow too. Once temps drop below 40F all-season tires lose pliability and traction (braking distance) begins to decline. That's why winter tires are recommended for cold climates even when there is no snow or ice.
After searching for Michelin ESAS tires for over a year and finding none avalible, I gave up and bought what was avalible locally. I found Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max, about the #3-4 chioce and installed them to replace the worn out Yoko Avid S33's. First thing I noticed was the much better ride and much less interior road noise, but also about a 4 mpg loss. I pumped the Goodyears to the full rated 44 psi instead of the 40 I ran in the Yoko's. It still is so much quieter and better riding than the old tires. Now with 5,000 miles on them, my mpg's are back withing 1-2 mpg of the worn out Yoko's A good trade in my opinion. I was a bit supprised to see that the Goodyear Assurance Fuel max tires are marked "Made in Japan" on the sidewall ??
Just a note, I found the Fuel Max really only wanted about 38 pounds per square inch or the wore out in the center first.
Jimbo, was that the OE version of the Fuel Max or the aftermarket version? One was T rated and the other was H rated. They had different tread life warranties too.
Hum, I put the Michelin A/S on my 2010 Prius, and I did see a 2 to 3 MPG jump even before they were broken in over OEM Yokohama AVIDs, but I have not been 100 percent happy with the handling. At first, I thought they compared to the traction and braking of the OEM Goodyear Integrities on my 2007 Prius, but now that I think of it, I guess they have improved as they have broken in. Both cars 2007 and 2010 are coming due for new tires, so I was seriously considering the Michelin Defenders until I read the OP. But, I also agree with The Critic, that my safety is more important than a few MPGs. Now, I don't know what to buy. Does anyone know if the Michelin A/S have been improved any over the past few years?
Sorry for the late reply, I never received a notification about this thread. I was running the Primacy MXV4 but am currently on the Energy Saver A/S for mpg reasons. iPhone ?
