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Tire recommendation for 2014 Prius - short list!

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by priusdonkey, Feb 20, 2014.

  1. priusdonkey

    priusdonkey Member

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    i was wanting to purchase a set of tires for my 2014 Prius. I currently have goodyear Fuel Max. They are okay in all respects, and that is about all i can say for the tire. Anyhow, i only have 600 miles on them and i want to purchase a different set of tires. I live in Los Angeles, so I might not see too much snow, perhaps on a drive to the mountains; and i drive like the little old (Hypermiller) lady from Pasadena, uber conservative. I will probably stick a trailer (hitch) on the nice person-end of the Prius so i can tow 1-2 dual sport motorcycles to the mountains in the summer or up to Seattle (ride the motorcycle Seattle -> Arctic Circle -> Anchorage -> Cruise ship back Seattle) . I have read all the reviews on TireRack and most if not all on PC. Everything is a trade off in life? And i think the Michelin (overpriced) and Conti are close to each other.

    Baseline tire is my OE Goodyear Assurance FuelMax.
    Goodyear Fuel Max - nice tire. nothing standout. quite comfortable, vague steering inputs with the front wheel drive, floaty and a disconnected, yet comfortable road feel. makes me want to fall asleep while driving @45mph North on the 5 freeway. Goodyear = tire is Good(for one)year?

    Here is the short list of tires and my initial impression after reading forums and various posts:

    Any comments, thought, Pro & Cons from people that have owned the tires:

    1. Michelin Energy Saver A/S: better MPG, scary in snow ice, short tread life. quality control issues?
    2. Continental PureContact ecoplus: good MPG, better traction and snow/ice, no free rotation at Costco, better tread life than Michelin energy saver, which offsets the extra (michelin) MPG savings?
    3. Bridgestone Serenity Plus - rated #4 in TireRack survey, seemed okay. appeared to be a good compromise for MPG-Steering- Road feel- Handling - Comfort? Kind of steering toward this tire (no pun intended)
    4. Bridgestone Ecopia 422 - ehh?
     
  2. matt b.

    matt b. Member

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    The energy savers are the best tires and best mileage.
    I tried the rest and settled for the best which are your number one out of 4 and you failed to mention the Yokohamas the Yokohamas weren't bad but for what I experienced a number one tire are the Michelin energy saver a task you're not going to get a terrific ride with any of them you know we got the cars be in the Prius for one thing mileage remember that so if I haven't said it before I'll say it now Michelin energy saver a/s tires are the way to go.
    I also live in the Los Angeles area and we have a hard time getting rain as you know we are in a drought so snow is I'm not even an option unless you go up to the mountains in which case you're going to need snow chains anyhow.
    that's my opinion good luck
     
  3. priusdonkey

    priusdonkey Member

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    So the Michelin Energy Saver with snow chains would be a safe bet and not scary? I grew up back East so i know how to drive (reckless and crash) in the snow*. None of the Tire Rack reviews mentioned tire chains... so this of course is a good workaround.

    So would the Michelin Energy Savers be a mere incremental upgrade or a justified " Gee-Whiz" upgrade. I am pulling off the Good-for-a-year Fuel Max and selling them for $250 cash on Craigslist and Costco has the Michelin Energy Savers on promotion for $488 for a set of four with the rebate... In the end the upgrade will cost me $240, so i know it is not a huge investment, just wanted to spend my money wisely - typical Prius reasoning.
     
  4. Bob G IA

    Bob G IA Member

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    I chose Pure Contact & would do it again. I have 42 PSI in the from & 40 PSI in the back. They grip well on wet pavement and corner well. Snow isn't a problem either. Running the higher pressure and the frost heaved roads does make the ride a little rougher than I care for at times. But if you were to see the roads around here you would understand why I don't blame the tires!
     
  5. eddiehaskell

    eddiehaskell Member

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    Does the $488 price include rebuilding the TPMS?

    These tires are available at Discount Tire for $471 out the door after the $70 rebate (6.75% tax).
     
  6. priusdonkey

    priusdonkey Member

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    not sure? my car is one week old, so i don't think it is necessary. It just depends on the state law and what they require? Tire Rack does have a service kit (to rebuild) for the TPMS for $3 per wheel.
     
  7. priusdonkey

    priusdonkey Member

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    if i ever have a problem I can go to the nearest Costco and they are everywhere, not sure how big Discount Tire is? and likewise for rotation and balancing i can just pop in at any Costco. They make it easy.
     
  8. eddiehaskell

    eddiehaskell Member

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    Seems like the same level of service, but Discount tire is more prevalent around here. However, I would make the drive to Costco if I can get a better deal.
     
  9. daddycooling

    daddycooling Junior Member

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    Why not mxv4 Michelin? I have those on my other cars and really like the quiet steady ride? Might kill mpg but the extra tread life might even costs out. Plus more live able car?


    iPhone ?
     
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  10. priusdonkey

    priusdonkey Member

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    the car is fine overall, there are some issues: I think that the MXV4 would worsen the miles using the goodyear Fuel Max as the baseline. I ordered the Michelin energy savers a/s so i am hoping they last at least 30,000 miles. I think they are rated for 65,000 miles so i just need to tell Costco that they are wearing out premature if wear becomes an issue. 2/32" is the minimum legal amount of tread depth.
     
  11. energyandair

    energyandair Active Member

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    I changed from OEM Ecopia to Michelin MXV4 after my 2nd tire killing puncture. A big upgrade in my opinion. Benefits I see are Ride, Handling , Quietness, Adhesion, Reliability and peace of mind. Probably some minor increase in fuel usage but not enough that I notice it.
     
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Keep in mind you'll need a membership to buy tires at Costco.
     
  13. djasonw

    djasonw Active Member

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    The Michelin MXV4 is a great tire. I put a set on my 2004 Prius and the mileage did drop a little bit. Handling is vastly improved and the tires are smooth and quiet. When my '13 Prius needs tires I'll probably get another set. Yes, they're that good.
     
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  14. priusdonkey

    priusdonkey Member

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    i have the Costco membership, which gives you free rotation and balancing. I am selling my used Fuel max for $240 so the upgrade is around $250. tire rotation is $16 if i didn't buy the tires from Costco so the OTD cost for the energy savers is probably closer to $200. Not sure if I will notice an overall improvement?
     
  15. lenjack

    lenjack Active Member

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    I'm partial to the Michelin X, available only at Costco amd Sams, I believe.
     
  16. Jim Clark

    Jim Clark Member

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    Mileage? Who cares? The Prius will get great mileage with any tires. "Safety" is what matters.
     
  17. Bob G IA

    Bob G IA Member

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    I agree, that safety does matter. That's one of the reason I went looking for something other than Goodyear Integrity tires. They were fine on dry pavement, but wet, oh my! I had several times on wet pavement that there was no reason for the Integritys to loose traction but they sure did. That was one of the major items I looked for in reviews to make sure I didn't end up with the same problem again.
    I must say, I don't remember a set of tires sticking to wet pavement as well as the Pure Contacts. I have gotten caught a couple of times where the situation required going from a dead stop to full throttle and a hard turn. The Pure Contact tires stuck and didn't even trigger the traction control or stability control. The Integrity tires would have forced me to back out of the throttle to avoid slamming into the curb on the other side of the street. I about ended up under a trailer of a semi-truck one day because the Integritys let loose in corner when there was no reason for them to do so.

    Oh and just as a side note, when it does finally get above 40 degF in Iowa (maybe June...) I fully expect to be getting 53 MPG again with Pure Contact tires. There was a short break a few weeks ago and my mileage popped back up into that range. But its back down to teen above zero and down to -10degF in the mornings so don't see 53 MPG on those days.
     
  18. priusdonkey

    priusdonkey Member

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    I didn't know that the pure contacts would get 53mpg driven at a steady speed. What speed does the car need to be driven at to get that sort of gas mileage -55? I would assume that if the Conti Pure Contacts got 53mpg then the michelin energy savers would get 58mpg.

    Right now i am getting around 53-56mpg driven around 55-65mph city/hwy on the Goodyear Fuel Max. So perhaps i will see a 3 mile hit with the Pure Contacts, but with better drivability? From What i read the Michelin Energy Saver is a better all around tire vs. the Goodyear Fuel Max in terms of mpg, handling and safety.

    i will probably use the energy savers to pull a small motorcycle trailer with the Prius so i am not sure how much i will give up safety/traction/handling with the Pure Contacts over the Michelin Energy Savers?
     
  19. Bob G IA

    Bob G IA Member

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    My commute is a mix of highway, small town and city driving. Here is what I do if I want good gas mileage on my commute.
    On the first 20 mile stretch I go through 2 small towns and drive 58 MPH between towns. I then enter a 4 lane divided highway for about 10 miles and drive about 68 MPH. The last leg is a mix of 58 MPH, stop lights and 40 MPH zones. However its been so cold I really haven't been able to get a good evaluation of the Pure Contact tires to see how close to my previous 53 MPG I will get.
    The few short stretches of above 35degF temps did indicate, with the HSI, that it shouldn't be a problem. But we haven't hardly had a stretch more than a few hours every few weeks that has been that warm...... ugh:confused:

    In regards to the Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires, not sure where y0u read they are a better tire when it comes to handling. The reviews I read about all the Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires seemed good at is Fuel Economy.

    Tire Test Results : When Round and Black Becomes Lean and Green

    From the review above:
    "And as you can see from the top-rated tire in each characteristic we evaluated, many of the tires' names essentially identify their intended strengths."

    Tire Test Results : Testing Grand Touring All-Season Tires

    My take away for the discussion the thread below is if you use Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires on a Prius you better plan to put a Rear Sway Bar to be able to drive it, let alone tow something.

    Instability and wandering on freeway solved FINALLY | Page 3 | PriusChat


    If you really want Michelin I would read up on Primacy MXV4 or Hydro Edge and see what kinds of professional and user reviews you can find.
     
  20. priusdonkey

    priusdonkey Member

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    I am leaning toward the ecopia 422 now. Spoke to a tire installer at Firestone while shopping at Home Depot. He thought the energy savers were overpriced. At around 4/32" they no longer have the LLR compounds and the mileage goes downhill. The energy savers are highway tires and the ecopias are city tires with better wet traction and all weather.

    So although I paid for the energy saver tire, I am not going to pick them up at costco. Probably will have the 422 on the tire after all