I need new fuel efficient tires that provide decent traction in ice, light, and deep snow for my Prius. I'm debating between Continental, Bridgestone, and Pirelli. Which one would you pick out of these? Here is a list of tires I am considering. [note: Tires will only be used for winter] Firestone Precision Touring Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology Continental TrueContact Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Bridgestone Turanza Serenity
Rich, did anyone get back to you? I've moved to Utah with a 2011 Prius, and I need to buy winter tires too.
Of those listed the PureContact is likely the best bet. Put the Micheline Premier A/S on your list too. Please keep in mind that all-season tires begin to lose pliability and this stopping traction once temps get below 45F regardless of any snow or moisture on the road surface. Winter tires are designed to remain pliable in low temperatures and so braking distance will be better with them. If you can afford to do so I would recommend two sets of wheels/tires. One for winter and one for the rest of the year. Expect to lose a couple of mpg with the PureContact and any other good performing tire.
That's what i started doing 3 years ago and only use the winters from Nov - Feb, unless it snows later in the year as it did this year here. I take a 5-8 mpg hit with my GY ultragrips, but the traction is something else in the snow. I'm alot more confident than with my GY summer tyres.
^ Further on separate snow tires, likely on extra rims: they are an extra investment up-front, and need storage. OTOH, they extend the tread life of your regular tires, afford an opportunity to detail their rims thoroughly and just keep them outa winter's worst.
Yes, initial hit on rims (i bought a cheap (€40/50) set of 4 Avensis rims, same as Corolla I think and sprayed them myself with a rattle can) and also had the 4 tyres from my Golf. The winters seems to have a very deep thread so will last a long time anyway as I've ran them 3 winters now and cannot see much wear at all. My tyre guy said to avoid the A/S as they are neither summer or winters and somewhere in between and that suited me. I have decent LRR Goodyear summers for 9 months of the year & decent branded winters for the other 3 or so months. It's a win win for me in my situation
I decided to go with Continental True Contact (standard touring a/s). So far my mpg is around 52mpg rather than 60mpg compared with the Bridgestone Ecopias I had on my 17" wheels. Overall, the Continentals perform well in dry pavement, quieter than my Ecopias (56,000miles on these tires), and I'm sure they will perform well in the snow since they have a similar design to the Pure Contacts. I highly recommend getting these, especially when they're $75 on tirerack.com and comes with 90,000 miles warranty.
I'm in the same boat. Looking to replace my Yokohamas. I am leaning towards Continental Pure Contact. Have read some reviews that they don't last and have road noise...but I think I am still leaning towards them. The Michelin Energy Saver A/S And Ecopias don't seem to have good wet, snow or ice performance. I had the Pirellis on my 2006 Prius and they were great in all conditions and lasted forever, but my MPG suffered. I wanted to look at the Nokian WR G2 as those were softer tire but doesn't look like those are available anymore. Although now after looking at that first video that F8L posted about temperature and tires I thinking about doing winter tires and summer tires!!! UGH! But I do some highway driving (holidays) in the winter and I do more "country" driving than city - so wont that just chew them up more?
I'm not sure if we have enough data on the longevity of the PureContact. A lot of reviewers confuse them with the ProContact which did have longevity issues. You could also consider the Michelin Premier A/S. It's pretty much better than the PureContact all around or at least close enough to it. You can drive winter tires on the highway. As long as the temps are not very high the wear shouldn't be an issue. It's definitely the safest option. If you are not completely strapped for cash this is the route I recommend. Sure people get by with A/S tires in snowy regions but lots of folks also have accidents too. Why gamble?
Don't have time to read everything, but I'm in the same boat. I've read here, and elsewhere, that Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 tires are a great fuel efficient dedicated winter tire. No experience with them. But I'm seriously considering giving them a try. I can't go another winter with A/S tires. They just don't cut it in Minnesota. I do way too much driving, at all times of the day and night, and need to be at my destinations on time, so I'm going with dedicated winter tires this year. Windows Phone ?
Update on my continental tires. I have 2,000 miles on my tires right now. Feeling bittersweet right now, since I was rear ended :/ but these tires are phenomenal. I like these more than my Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 A/S. I had great stopping power and took off with a breeze although handling is a little different (maybe it's because I'm use to driving with 17" wheels rather than 15"?) Driving on dry payment I rate a 9/10, rain 8.5/10, snow 9/10, and I did drive it on ice and my car was sliding but it wasn't as bad as other peoples. I saw a Impala spin out in front of me while I was going downhill and luckily the traction on my tires were good enough for me to avoid it. By the way, my average mpg with 30 degree weather is about 45-48mpg (I warm up my Prius 10-15 minutes before I drive so yeah...)
Update on my continental tires. I have 2,000 miles on my tires right now. Feeling bittersweet right now, since I was rear ended :/ but these tires are phenomenal. I like these more than my Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 A/S. I had great stopping power and took off with a breeze although handling is a little different (maybe it's because I'm use to driving with 17" wheels rather than 15"?) Driving on dry payment I rate a 9/10, rain 8.5/10, snow 9/10, and I did drive it on ice and my car was sliding but it wasn't as bad as other peoples. I saw a Impala spin out in front of me while I was going downhill and luckily the traction on my tires were good enough for me to avoid it. By the way, my average mpg with 30 degree weather is about 45-48mpg (I warm up my Prius 10-15 minutes before I drive so yeah...)
Update: I bought a set of these tires and went a full winter with them last winter AND kept them on all summer. Winter traction was great in almost all conditions, but not as good as previous non-LRR winter tires I've had in the past on different vehicles. But clearly more traction than an all season tire. The most impressive attribute to these particular winter tires in their incredible resistance to wear while driving the car in summer. Our temps in MN regularly reach into the 80s and 90s and we have stretches of 100 degrees here and there with oppressive humidity levels. These tires seem to be wearing as if they're all seasons. THAT sets them a part from all the other winter tires I've owned. Now, I realize you're probably thinking, "that's great, but I don't buy winter tires for use in the summer." True, but if the wear is this good while driving in the summer, they're going to wear even less while driving in the winter. That's my point. They're worth the money for that reason alone. Also, the fuel economy hasn't suffered as much as I expected. I still average 45 MPG, whether in the summer with the AC on, or the dead of winter in sub-freezing temperatures. The only thing that suffers MPG for me is running the car too long in the winter to warm it up before I get in. LG-H810 ?
