Low Rolling Resistance replacement tires: Current List

A little too soon to tell, Harold?? Or did you mean 20,000 km's?

I found they do get noisy, once they're down to around 5/32". That said, they are decent tire and very good for RR. I've bought them twice now for our previous Civic Hybrid.

 

Looks like everything has changed just in time for me to need new tires. I live in New England and I put snow tires on in the winter so regular LRR tires is all I need. Energy Savers are no longer made or available. Now they have the Defender or Premier.

There is a HUGE difference in prices. Right now I can get:

Yoko Avid Touring-S - $56 ea Walmart
Kumho Solus - $65 (Walmart)
Ecopia Plus $92 ea Walmart, $94 TireRack (with shipping)
Michelin Defender - $124 (T/R)
Michelin Premier - $146 (T/R)

Why would I not want the Yoko's? Sounds like they were pretty good when OEM.

I have an '06 Prius 185-85R15.

 

Yokohama Avid Touring-S is not a LRR tire. The tire you are thinking of is the Avid Ascend (much more expensive).

 

Be sure it is MIJ and OEM. And yes, my preference is OEM, or ECP 20 MIJ (not available), and last Goodyear assurance. Another bad experience with Michelin on my 2009. Lower MPG and wore out too quick. Also 42 is the answer to everything in life.
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max

 

OEM EP20 lasted 38200+ miles, time to replace with Ecopia 422+ (195/65R15 91h 640aa) for my 2010 Prius, $445 otd @ Costco.

This forum has been helpful.

 

Mine have 62K+ and look like they will go another 40k. How do you folks manage to wear these out?

 

I'm following up on an older post here - I replaced my OEM Bridgestone Ecopia EP20s on a 2014 PiP a few weeks ago with Michelin Defenders, after my first choice, the Michelin Energy Saver A/S was backordered. The mileage hit is about 3 MPG compared to broken in EP20s, but after my first hard el nino rain in California, I'm so glad I bought the Michelin Defenders. My car always felt skittish with the EP20s, moreso in the rain.

The Defenders handled an 80 mile drive over a 1700 foot mountain pass in a torrential downpour last night and passed with flying colors. Given that I do 23-24K miles a year, I'd gladly trade the longer life and better traction on the defenders for a couple of MPG.

 

Sounds like a good tire. How many miles do you have on these new Defenders now? They will usually take from 500 to 1000 miles to really break in before you see what kind of MPGs they will produce. My Pirellis took over 1000 miles before they settled in to their best MPG numbers... actually closer to 2000 miles. Keep em inflated to recommended pressures.

 

As far as noise and comfort go, which is best? I need to replace my Ecopia 422's. Thought about the 422 plus since the 422's were good. I tried searching for a good comparison, but can't find one. Any thoughts? MPG can take a hit as i am not super worrried about that. LRR tire preferred, might look at regular tire for comfort if it also adds value else where, such as handling over the LRR tire.

 

I'm very happy with the Michelin Defender -- It's relatively quiet, I don't notice any tire noise at speed. Grip is great compared to the EP20, and MPG hit is at most 2 mpg or so, but it feels like a "real" car now. On my EP20s, it felt skittish, especially in wet weather. We've had a series of storms in California recently and I'm sooooo glad I got rid of the EP20s, even though they had 5000 miles or so left on them.

 

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.

 

EP 20s MIJ OEM at 42PSI rock. 64K and most of the tread left. But I drive like an old man 120 years old.

 

hi! I'm looking for an efficient LRR. I run snow tires in the winter, so not too concerned about winter traction. I'll likely do Bridgestones at costco since the price looks right (through 4/6/16). Can anyone advise me on the differences between the ep20 and ep422+?
thanks!!

 

EP422+ comes in a wide gamut of sizes, is more of a "retail" product. The tread pattern varies from EP20, which only comes in 195/65R15. I'm not experienced with the EP422+, except to say it's a likely candidate for us when it comes to replace our 215/45R17's.

In 15", especially considering you've got snow tires for winter, I would go for EP20. What you see is what you get, as opposed to the EP422+ (in 195/65R15) where buyers report seeing two different tread styles, one guy even got two of each when buying a set.

The EP20 are good for rolling resistance, no question about it: I can recall getting new, and mpg did not skip a beat. They're a decent tire on the highway, feel stable, and when brand new have decent grip in light snow. The downsides: once they're worn they're terrible in snow (not a factor with your snows) and get moderately noisy.

 

I am also looking for new tires. Compared tires onTire Rack Webb site and EP20 and EP422's don't get high marks for hydroplaning or noise. My Yokohama Avids are 1/2 wore out and scary in the rain at high way speeds. Also getting noisy. Im looking for a good quiet tire with better hydroplaining resistance . I don't care if its LRR or not. At 45 MPG I don,t care if I lose some MPG Im still way ahead. Looking for Quiet, safe, and comfortable ride. Haven't had good luck with Michelin tires. Way over priced for what you get.

 

I shared some thoughts between EP422+ (make sure you get the one with "+") and Defender, and Energy Saver here:
Feedback of Ecopia EP422 plus? | Page 3 | PriusChat

IMHO, EP422+ performs better in terms of handling and comfort compared to ES A/S

 

I was looking at a 2016 with 17", it had the EP422+. They "look" pretty good, and nice rim protector. Sim to our current Michelin Pilots and supposedly good RR.

Just have a good feeling about them. In 15" there's more options I guess.

 

I went from the Goodyear Fuel Max to Michelin Defenders to Continental ControlContact Tour AS. Of the three, I liked the Goodyear the least and a toss up between the Michelin and the Continental. The 90K mile Michelins only got 60K miles and down to 3/32 when replaced with the Continentals which has the same 90K rating. The Continentals get slightly better fuel mileage than the Michelins, but the Defenders handled better. The Continentals are more sensitive to rain groves and sidewind although not as bad as the Goodyears. If the Continentals wear out at the same 60K miles then I'll go back to the Defenders because of the handling.

 

Just as a FYI, allow me to give a partial report on a set of the Premiers. I put a set of 215-55-16'' and wheels on my Prius at 2,000 miles, it got hit yesterday while parked-- and totaled. The car had 37, 800 miles on it and the tires looked brand new. Michelin advertises these as a 60K mile tire, Consumers Report says they are a 80K tire-- mine looked great with plenty of tread still. They were very good during two ''monsoon'' seasons here with great traction wet and dry. They are also advertised as having an ''evolving'' tread pattern and mine did, as they still looked new, without any wear showing at all. I kept 38#s in the front, 36#s in the rear, possibly helping with wear. I liked the Premiers so well, I put a set on my Lincoln, hope to get more mileage than I did with the Prius.

 

Sorry to hear their driving lift was cut short. Glad you weren't in the car!