Hi there. I got my Prius with winter tires only a few months back, and it is time to go tire shopping. From what I gather, the Michelin Energy Saver A/S seems to be the way to go. Thing is that , for my mileage (about 6000 miles a year), the price I can get around here (around $700 for 4, installed and balanced) can be hard to justify compared to what I used to get for the used cars of my youth (around $250-300 for 4 tires w/ rims, which at my mileage last a good 4-5 years). Any good compromise tire out there?
Take a look at the Bridgestone Ecopia 422 A lot cheaper than the great Michelin Energy Saver A/S but comparable in comfort, ride, traction and LRR capability. Also it has been said that the Energy Saver A/S doesn't do very well in snow. Poor traction when the snow flies. Folks seem to approve of the Ecopia to a certain extent though in the snow. Depending on how much snow you deal with, you may need to have both summer and winter tires and or a good set of chains. Best of luck to you and "Welcome to Prius Chat"! EDIT: According to another poster here on PC the Ecopia 422 is basically a summer tire. Use your own discretion. Ron (dorunron)
The energy saver A/S doesn't like being used below 50F /10C anyway so unless you were going to use them as summer tires and use two sets of tires (summer/winter) they aren't a good fit for use up north. How much snow driving do you plan to do? Are you willing to use an A/S style tire in the winter or do you just plan to avoid driving when the weather is bad?
Hmmm. Now that is interesting. I was under the impression it did fairly well in the snow, but not as well as a true snow tire would. Don't have snow here so I can only go by reviews and write ups. I am a former snow bunny, but that was years ago. Thanks for the heads up. Ron
I would go to a different tire store like discount tires I got 4 Michelin energy as: tires for 500 out the door and remember you need LRR tires so you can't just get any old tire and put it on the car. Ecopias will get u more tread life but less mpg.. isn't that why we bought the car in the first place ?? Good Luck
I was under the impression that the EP422 was the a/s replacement for the summer only EP100. I loved the EP100s that I put on my Civic hybrid. Those tires were amazing in even the harshest rain and I saw my mpgs go up a solid 4 mpgs over the OEM Firestone tires.
continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology (Grand Touring All-Season) has higher snow/ice reviews on tirerack than the ecopia 422 Ecopia 422 is bascially a 6 on the reviews for winter driving PureContact with EcoPlus is basically a 8 on the reviews for winter driving Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology Bridgestone Ecopia EP422
It is indeed to be used as summer tires. All-season tires are illegal in winter here as they just don't work Yes and no. I was looking for a hatchback or SUV, and in the end it was the Prius or a Honda CRV. Both would fit my bicycle, so, at a similar price, the took the ecofriendly and less costly on gas option. With my low mileage, a difference of 3 MPG would save me roughly $90 over 5 years, which is not the most impressive figure. Thank you for the suggestions.
a cheaper tire some recommend is the Hankook Optimo H727 but really if you are only going to do 6,000 miles a year on them and then switch to proper winter tires you can get any cheap tire you want and pump them up to sidewall max PSI on the front and max - 2 or 3 psi in the rear.
The stock tires on my 2013 were Ecopia 20. They are very good and cheaper than most. Gas mileage is good. Why did you get a prius if you only drive 6000 miles a year anyway?
^ +1 for Bridgestone Ecopia EP20. They only come in 195/65R15, are good for rolling resistance, decent lasting. Both Honda and Toyota are using them for OEM.
you don't HAVE to put LRR tires on the car, you can put any tire that fits on the car. if you don't put LRR tires on the car it could affect your mileage. LRR tires are a tradeoff. traction for longevity... my 2010 used prius iv came with sumitomo htra 's it has been a good tire. nice in snow, great on dry or wet... so far with the warmer weather I'm seeing 50 mpg indicated... now its not advertised as a LRR tire.
They're all-season. When brand new they're ok in light snow. When about 1/2 worn down and onward: you'll need some snow tires...
I have continental purecontacts on my other car, and they are by far the best all season tires i've ever owned. I drive about 25k a year, so i've had just about every brand of tire. I'll be sticking with these tires for all my cars from now on, they really are quality like michelin tires, but at a way lower price. For my other car, i bought them at tirerack, they are $85 per tire for the prius, and had them drop shipped to pep boys for $40. All i had to do is call them, and set up an appointment. Pep boys charged me $12.50 per tire to mount and balance +$5 per tire for the TPMS rebuild kit. So in total it was all about $460 installed taxes and everything. On the plus side, they are the best all seasons i've had in snow, but even without that, they are quiet and are supposed to have a long tread life.
I got my Uniroyal Tiger Paw AS65 summer tires from Canadian Tire . Certainly not the highest mileage tires available however my best tank of fuel was 4.0 litres per 100 km which is 58.81 US mpg, which is nothing to sneeze at. They are currently listed at $108 each.
