Low Rolling Resistance replacement tires: Current List

You really think the ES A/S will give THAT much better mpg than the Defender to make up lasting 2/3 as long? The cost is nearly identical up front.

I know tires degrade, but I will say this - I ran the HEs out to the treadwear indicators at about 80k miles (4-5 years) on my 06, and they were still working *extremely* well in anything but very heavy rain, and dry traction was still much better than the OE Integrities. On the 04, since my wife only uses it to commute, it would probably last near forever, IF she didn't kill a tire every 2-3 years ;-) One advantage of the deeper tread on the Defender is that if she kills one, the pro-rated replacement will be lower on it over the ES A/S. And I *will* be keeping the "newer" pair of HEs and getting some stock rims to mount them on later - they'll make great emergency tires.

Now my other choice is somewhat sketchy, but cheaper up front - just replacing the dead pair of HEs with Defenders or ES A/S. But I'd rather not have varying traction abilities per axle. And no rebates when only getting 2. But money is pretty tight right now.

Her car is about to pass 100k, we'll probably keep both until they rust away, unless Powerball intervenes ;-)

 

Dupe...

 

Hey Tom -Why on earth do you require a/s in Florida? H

 

The Goodyear EfficientGrip has just shown up on the UK/EU charts, but only in 185/65/15 and 205/55/16 sizes "no 195/55/16's" rated very well at (B) RR and (A) wet grip for both sizes. They are also listed as one of the quietest tyres at 68db

John (Britprius)

 

It does not list tread wear but the price fully fitted is listed for the 205/55/16 is £70 $112, or just delivered £57 $91. A very good price but I would expect to knock off at my local tyre dealer at leased £5 $8.

For comparison the (B) (A) rated Michelin comes in at fitted £84 $135
Delivered £71 $114

 

There's this stuff called RAIN that happens more than half the year. Summer tires wouldn't cut it. All-Season are easier to find than Summer+Fall tires.

This would be SO much easier if Michelin still made the HydroEdge, and made it in the right size. We love the HEs that are currently on both our Prii.

 

OK gotcha. HEs are great in rain. Had them on my CVR. H

 

I made a mistake a few years ago and bought Michelin X Radials from CostCo. They were great tires but our MPGs dropped from about 48 to 44. They wore well, were quiet, and cornered very well. They had a 90K warranty but we replaced them at 75K miles. Had I paid attention and had them rotated more often we would have easily gotten 90K out of them. All in all they were not a good buy when I computed the mileage loss.

This week we put a set of Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires on our 2008 Prius which has 109K miles on it. Here are my observations.

The Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires are quieter than the worn X Radials. I suppose that is normal for older tires to get noisier. However the Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires are harder and we feel every stinkin' bump in the road. We never noticed how many places the local roads have tar patch strips where the road was cracking. We notice every one now.

The Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires don't corner as well as the X Radials but they aren't as bad as I thought they'd be. The OP made me think they were going to be really bad. I suppose if you drive twisty country mountain roads you might be more concerned than I am, most of our driving is simply city streets and fairly straight and flat freeways.

I can't speak of the improved mileage yet.

 

I am going to replace the tyres on my 2010 Prius G3 soon. Just wondering if any of the UK/Irish people can recommend a tyre with good wet handling and low noise? Irish roads are wet and bumpy most of the time

 

What size tyres are on your Prius as there are different wheel, and tyre size options depending on model then I can help.

John (britprius)

 

We are all grateful of your valuable information on tyres non more than me. Unfortunately as we are discovering some tyre types and designations do not transfer well from US to UK.

Having to hand all the information on RR, wet grip and noise levels now this side of the pond makes our own choices somewhat simpler. Information flow either way will I hope still continue and be valued.

John (Britprius)

 

Any information I gather will be passed on. I am hoping that at some point tyre ware rates will become part of the information available. This is one feature that Michelin seem to have a strangle hold on.

John (Britprius)

 

That sounds a great idea. I will call it "Low Rolling Resistance Tyres (Europe)" with your permission. Will put something together and open a page shortly. I just do not want to be treading on your toes.

John (Britprius)

 

Discount Tire is currently offering $100 visa card rebate with 4 new tires, and the $70 Michelin rebate is also available now. I'm looking for replacements for my 2007 Prius base model, and living in wet Seattle have these priorities:

1. MPG
2. Wet traction
3. Softer ride
4. Quiet/comfort
5. Handling
6. Snow traction

The current tire are Yokohoma Avid TRZ, which dinged my MPG significantly (from 50-52 to 43-45 MPG after the break in period) and have been a stiff ride. I'm looking to improve my mileage back to the 50+ MPG range, and have a softer ride but still have good wet traction.

I was set to purchase the Bridgestone Ecopia EP422, but with the Michelin $70 discount, the DT rep thinks Michelin Destiny would be a better choice. What do you all think? Should I stick with the EP422 or go with the Destiny?

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