Tires

I think a Taxi would have unique needs and maybe a bigger tire may be more appropriate.

Tranny oil change results are awesome.

 

I tend to agree. I'm just not sure 195 vs 205 is noticeable, but maybe it is. I changed from 15" to 16" wheels on the van when I went to Michelin, but I don't remember what specific size tires I bought other than 16" and I no longer have the records.

As far as the tranny goes, I've never heard of such a mpg increase simply from changing the fluid, but then I never really thought about it, though I've never noticed an increase after having it changed in my other vehicles. I plan on changing mine with the next scheduled service and that will be at 58,000 miles.

 

Well, I don't know if the OP ever got new tires, but mine are getting put on Wednesday, so I guess I'll have to live with my decision after that. I'm pretty sure it was the 90k Defenders I put on our van several years ago and they were great, but I opted for the 60k Premier A/S this time. I spoke to another technician who also didn't recommend the Defenders for the Prius, but that was based mostly on warrantied miles and mileage. He did recommend the Energy Saver A/S, if he could get them, but hasn't been able to and I'm not willing to play the waiting game or hunt around. I want to thank everyone for their advice.

 

The Premiers are on. The technician I talked to seemed to know quite a bit about the Prius and tires. We talked about air pressure and he said I could go to 44, but added that 38 seems to be the best compromise between ride and longevity, so I settled on the 40 I've been using since I found PriusChat. I've only driven the 2.5 miles so far and will do about 30 or so tomorrow, but I can already say these are night and day compared to the Goodyear Assurance tires they replaced. I can also say that I got the normal 62.5 mpg for this short trip, but it was a different route than I usually take this route uses EV mode about half the time as the other route.

 

Just installed Uniroyal Tigerpaw Touring, great tires. Don't know really how my mpg's are doing because I drive around 150 miles a day so I fill up every 2 days around 285 miles of driving. But good to know about that transmission service increasing gas mileage.

 

Quick update. Was finally able to take a short highway trip with the new Michelin Premier A/S tires. We drove up to Grand Junction CO today. In Aug 2014, with around 1,000 miles on the Goodyear Assurance tires that came with the car, we got 39.8 mpg over 216 miles to Tuba City AZ at 62 mph. Today, with just 250 miles on the Premiers, we drove 75 miles further to Kayenta AZ at 64 mph and got 39.5 miles. Everything else was pretty much the same; weight, A/C on, psi, etc. The only differences were the lower temps this time of year and more hills into Kayenta, almost another 1,000 ft climb. I know this is not scientific, but it seems to say we haven't lost any mileage with the new tires. I hope to fill up in the morning because we filled up here in 2014 and then I'll have a composite mileage for the whole distance. Last time we continue on to Yellowstone, but this time we're in town to watch our oldest grandson play in the JUCO World Series. Go Cavaliers!

EDIT: Unfortunately, the speed limit increased from 70 mph to 80 mph on I-70, so that lowered the overall mileage, at least in part, for this trip. Mileage in Aug 2014 was 44.7 and yesterday it was 41.2, a 3.5 mpg loss. I guess I should have done a controlled test run with the old tires and repeated the test with the new tires. Oh well, maybe I'll be able to see more the further we drive. We head to Nova Scotia the middle of July, so I'll have plenty of data from that trip. I can state that the Premier ride so much better the vehicle tracks so much better than the Goodyears.

 

I researched Tire Rack,s 22 tires suitable for my 2012 Two. And ordered 195/65R-15 Continental TrueContact SL as they were the highest rated in every category measured by Tire Rack. A few posters said it would hurt mpg by 2-3 mpg. But on recent trip to Phoenix, 205 miles at cruise set at 83 mph (trues out to 80mph) I got 52 mpg. Yesterday I set cruise to 58 mph for trip to Douglas, AZ and for 147 miles got 55.8mpg. I'm 69yrs old have owned lots of cars and these are the BEST tires ever on any vehicle I have owned. Quiet, grips like glue, sensitive but does not hunt on grooved roads. My wife said she thought my raves about these tires were just "Guy Talk" but after two road trips with her girlfriends 2200 miles and 3500 miles she now raves about them too. Tires had 11/32 new and after 10K have 9/32 left. Cost= Order Total: $381.56 plus $40 at my local tire guy's. BTW got my 1st Drivers license in 1962 and paid 25 cents a gallon for gas. Today that is =$2.03 gallon.I run my tires at 40 psi front and 37 psi rear.

Last year late May wife and I did 4700 mile holiday trip up to eastern Utah to Western Colorado to Rock Springs, WY to Yellowstone then east to Devils Tower then thru Black Hills then thru west half of Nebraska and east half of Kansas to southern Colorado going over 5- 10500 ft to 12000 ft mountain passes to Durango then home on I-25-I-10. 50.2 mpg!

 

I thought I remembered 25 cent a gallon gas, way back when, as a kid. It was still gallons up here, too, albeit maybe imperial Gallons?

 

Spent 15 yrs in Australia and yes Imperial gallons are 20% more than US gallons.

 

life in the fast lane....

 

To be fair, there is a little difference between setting cruise to 83 mph and actually being able to use cruise all the way to Phoenix. I can't imagine Tucson traffic not slowing him down and I'd be surprised if traffic in other places didn't slow him down too. A more useful number might be the average speed shown on the display. Still, the MPG is impressive. I've never filled up in Wilcox, but the best I've done from the south-side Costco in Tucson to the Costco in Peoria is 55.0 mpg with cruise set to 78 (77 gps, only 1 mph diff on our 2014 Four) and the display ending at 50 mph. I considered those tires and may regret not buying them. The jury is still out on the mileage I'm getting with the Premiers.

Now, I don't know what mpg I got, but I once drove from Phoenix to Denver in 1970 and actually averaged 83 mph, including a stop for a steak dinner in Santa Fe. Yes, we (my '70 GTO and a '70 Charger) consistently ran 95-100+ (buried the 140 mph needle on a new stretch of I-25 south of Santa Fe for a bit). At 69 also, I no longer do that sort of thing, but the good old days sure were a lot of fun, crazy fun maybe, but fun nonetherless.

 

that was in my 2005 GTO on the way to Roswell....

 

Awesome! We didn't have a Garmin back in the day. How did you like that version of the GTO? I wanted to like it so bad, but was disappointed by the size and style compared to the muscle car era versions, though the motor had to be something else.

 

I still have it/
the car is pretty much build around the engine/
I drive it like a couple hundred miles a year, so it's standing there probably better than new/
it was comfortable, until I upgraded to a pedders suspension - now it's absolutely no fun nemore to drive where the streets are not perfectly smooth/
regarding your speed, when I was dating my wife, one time I drove from santa fe to cedar crest on 14 (51 miles) in 28 minutes/
I for sure wouldn't do that nemore; the older I get, the slower I drive....

 

Did you use a tilt/shift lens for that? Or some sorta treatment?

 

photoshop/

 

And she lived to marry you?
I drive slower for 2 reasons; no longer in much of a hurry and there are just too many cars on the road to make driving that fast safe. I did do some passing at ~100 mph Monday on Hwy 191 in Eastern Utah and Hwy 160 in Northern Arizona, but just long enough to pass when the road was clear in front.

 

Of course I slowed for Tucson and traffic and IIRC my average was 70 mph. On way home average was 77 mph and mpg was only 44mpg.

Fastest I have gone was 145 mph on my Honda .ST1100 on my way to a rally in Durango, Colorado in 2000.. Made 1st 400 miles in 4 hours but up through the mountains via Safford, Three Way near Clifton then into NM to Reserve and up inside western NM to Gallup. From thereon to Durango I rode slower cause at the time I had my CDL.

 

I'm still amazed at how the Prius reacts to various factors. I've always computed my mileage when I fill up and none of my vehicles have varied so much.

The fastest I've gone legally was a sustained 135 mph between Frankfurt and Venice on the autobahn. I wish I had thought to compute gas mileage for that trip just as a point of interest now. I also wish I could have afforded to rent a Mercedes or something faster than a Ford Fiesta. It was amazing to how slow that felt after awhile.

 

My EP20's (15") are close to the wear bars. I've got just over 40K miles on them. Maybe I can get another 5-10K out of them. Good tires but not long tread life. I'm thinking of the EP422 plus's to replace them.