4 New Ecopia EP422 P185/65R15 122732 Initial Report

Check your tire pressure. I'm sure the shop only put 30-32 psi in them. I run 48/46, front/rear in Ecopia's for better mpg.

 

I just bought the Ecopia 422s for my 08 Prius, and have several posts in another thread about it.
My wife also has them on her Honda Insight.
These are fabulous tires for the money. They are perfectly quiet up to 70 mph--not a sound. Very smooth, quiet ride--like the old Cadillacs and Buicks of the 50s--when GM was supreme.
I paid $370 at Tirerack including postage to local Sears. $44 for install plus $32 for lifetime rotation/balancing.
I will rotate every 5K or 6K miles, as the book says, to keep tires quiet.
With $70 rebate, these tires are cheaper than the Integrity OEs--an inferior tire. So far, it looks like gas mileage is a standoff--though after some wear maybe an improvement.

 

I'm using 38/36 as in the OE Integritys I had previously. Average 45-50 mpg, depending on season. They did set 38/36 at Sears--which they won't do at Toyota dealership, in my experience, even thought you ask them to.

 

What's your MPG like?

 

Not bad, more than likely once your tires are broken in you should get a little more out of it if you hyper mile. As I have said before, the Ecopia's were #2 on my list. I went with the more expensive Michelin Energy Saver A/S and am very pleased. If you are interested in the MPG on those, look at my fuelly stats. I have posted two of them showing the difference between the stock Integrity and the new Energy Saver's. Best of luck to you!

 

I just got new Ecopia's on my 2005 Prius this past Monday, at Costco. Original tires had almost 50k on them, and even though I was good about rotations, the fronts were very worn on the outer edges, so it was certainly time to replace them.

It was $440 out the door. (Chicago proper; $15/tire install, plus a state "disposal fee" per tire.) They pumped them to 35/33 with nitrogen, but today I'm going to have the alignment checked and done, and I'll see if I can get the local Midas to pump them up to 40/38 or at least 38/36 for me.

What's the dealio with nitrogen? Can they be topped off with just air? The boyfriend and family all tell me nitrogen filling is kinda smoke and mirrors; not bad, but not really special, either, so what's the point...

 

Agree. If it is not convenient for you to visit Costco, just use compressed air.

 

Did you get the $70 off discount? I've been waiting for the $70 off deal to switch back from Michelin to Bridgestone.

I believe the theory is that nitrogen will not leak out as quickly as normal air. Really it's a feature that Costco throws in at no extra cost to differentiate themselves from the other tire stores.

 

The Nitrogen is very nice feature of a COSTCO tire change... your tires will hold pressure better than air.
However, I would personally just refill with air after that. Your tire will remain Nitrogen enriched since the Oxygen permiates faster. You still have to check tire pressure and refill when necessary.

Nitrogen is not smoke and mirrors, it leaks much more slowly than oxygen. But the magnitude of the benefit, given air is already 79% Nitrogen, is not that great. If it was free and easy to get it would be the best thing. But don't pay big bucks, that's the hype. Also there are some other false claims made sometimes.

 

Yes, I got the $70 off. In Chicago, the sales taxes are high, as is the "tire recycling fee" or whatever they call it.
I have to look at the invoice again, but I got the impression the nitrogen wasn't free, but they also didn't ask me if I wanted it or not... Maybe it's easier to keep a canister of "nitrogen" than running a noisy compressor for air?

 

They say it has something to do with moisture in the tire and that they stay inflated longer.

Watch out for the Ecopia, Costco had to replace my first set after 10K, uneven tread wear. Only got 35K out of the second set and this was because of uneven tread wear. Never had this problem with Michelin who lasted a ling time but were extremely noisy. I have 256K on a 2006 and so far the best I have had was Toyo. Trying Kuhmo ECO now and am very happy so far only had them for a short time and they are very quiet and it gets better mileage than the Ecopia. The Kuhmo's are about $400 out the door at America's tire.

 

I replaced Goodyear Fuel Max with the 422's. The Bridgestones are so much quieter. So far we like them. I had to order them from Discount Tire but they came in fast and I should get some rebates.

 

Air is 78% nitrogen.

 

I also bought these Ecopias, and I was pleased with the traction in snow. This was my first winter with the Prius, but I was surprised that they gripped so well.

 

Replaced Tiger Paw tires last summer with Ecopias. WOW!! MPG went from 52 to 56, (I run them 44/42 psi), great traction in rain and snow, shorter stopping distance, and quiet.

I'm sold on ecopias. When my wife's Prius needs tires there is no doubt what is going on hers.

Don't think you can beat the price/performance ratio.