I went to the Defenders due to all the short trips I make with almost no highway so if I get 25,000 out of a set of tires I'm happy. The OEM Yokos lasted maybe 20K and the Michelin Energy Savers slightly more. My Defenders will have to be replaced next year and I'll have maybe 25K on them by then. I run dedicated snows in the winter. My 97 Volvo 960 which I use exclusively as a highway car I ended up getting rid of a perfectly good set of Michelin MXV4's due to the age of the tire. Sorry I'm not driving on the interstate for a long trip on tires that were coming up on eleven years of age. Tread looked like it was maybe 66% of new after 40K miles. Michelin says they recommend not running their tires over ten years of age. I replaced them with Defenders since I'll be getting rid of the car long before the tires wear out.
I am on my 2nd set of these and I avg 50 mpg . I am happy with that and the persona is rolling on 17 inch wheels Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Forget an MPG or two. Get something that is as grippy as possible with great water performance. MPG wont help when you slide out in a bad situation or hydroplane. Look at Continental Extreme Contact Sport for a summer rated tire or the DWS for winter.
Yeah... I've never noticed a huge difference between the standard passenger car tires in the same size. Even with like a nice little difference it actual tread width. Kinda sad. Now that I know the 90k michelins are awesome. I even use them on my boat trailer lol (tiny boat).
You're not kidding. The added safety of a tire that actually grips is massive. I couldn't wait to get the LRR tires off of my Prius. Confidence in cornering went WAY up, and hydroplaning is never an issue anymore. Being able to stop on a dime and swerve to miss something in the road if need be are much more important than a number on the dashboard.
My Gen 1 Honda Insight was very sensitive to the LRR tires; when I switched (temporarily) to "normal" tires, the handling vastly improved, but the mileage dropped between 5-8 miles/gal. The car's normal MPG was about 58mpg. The LRRs, OEM tires on this car, I considered unsafe in braking and at speeds over 65mph. With these OEM tires, the car had the stopping distance of a 1971 Ford Galaxy; just surprisingly terrible! The non-LRR Michelin tires on my Prime have had no apparent impact on the fuel economy. They do handle better than the OEM Toyos, and the claimed mileage life of these tires, 85,000 miles, is sensational. This coupled with the approximately $300 sale price I paid for these tires, make them a home run! I do keep the fronts at 42 PSI and the rears at 40 PSI, and rotated and balanced for free every 5,000 miles by America's Tire. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app. AChoiredTaste.com
I'm ok with a tire that's a balance between traction and rolling resistance. I also abide by speed limits, go slower in the rain, much slower in snow, and keep a very generous following distance. Strangely, I can't remember the last time I needed to make a do-or-die maneuver.
WHAT??? You mean to say you're not driving 116 MPH like those nut jobs in the other thread? Those guys are insane! There is no justifiable reason to be going that fast in a Prius... or any car! I should have bought the Michelin Defender, like Henri in Anaheim got. My Premiers suck! The tire noise (constant hum) has finally made me insane. And it gets louder as the ambient temp goes up.
Hey Starship 16, one good reason to drive "116 mph, in a Prius or any car" here in Socal, is to avoid getting run over!! I swear there are frequent drivers/motorcycle riders doing well over 120mph, while average speeds are 70-85 mph on the freeways when traffic permits. And I watch Giant Lumberwagons, Stupid Useless Vehicles, pick up trucks, and other sleds sucking up huge quantities of gasoline at these ridiculous speeds, many averaging 10-15mpg at those speeds. While a few fools like me are getting 60-200 mpg. If you want to drive fast, at least do it in a fuel efficient car like our Primes. Sadly most of the people around me have no clue whatsoever that cars like mine are for real, and are AFFORDABLE. If they even read auto enthusiast magazine, they continue being misled by sinister forces bent on bad-mouthing electric vehicles. Note the recent write ups on the Prime, and its "terrible acceleration". I would gladly take on these loser liar writers who either don't know anything about cars, have never driven the cars, or are simply just liars. With obstacles like these, coupled with lack of promotion, and underlying hostility to electrics by manufacturers, distributors, dealers, managers, and salespeople, it will be a long time for the conversion from gasoline to electricity. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app. AChoiredTaste.com
I bet it gets better than that (unless you've got an engine hidden in it!) Posted via the PriusChat mobile app. AChoiredTaste.com
Glad you've never had to swerve to avoid a deer, road debris, a bad driver or had to slam on your brakes due to someone else acting dumb. We should all aspire to be as brilliant as you.
Is the Defender dead, replaced by Defender T+H? It's puzzling though: I think it's tread pattern is identical. The badging (obviously) is different, AND, instead of saying "GreenX" it says "Total Performance". The latter, reading between the lines of the Michelin descriptions, maybe gives up a bit of LRR in favour of traction. @TheChip might approve.
How about Urban Insult (to my intelligence) Vehicle!? They are simply Giant Land Turds!! Posted via the PriusChat mobile app. AChoiredTaste.com
I'm sorry, but I come from a place where smaller is better, hard ride is absolutely not a problem as long as it's coupled with terrific handling, but I do really appreciate a quiet vehicle a lot more than I used to, unless it's an Italian full throttle exhaust, then quiet be damned! I guess modern drivers are no longer going to enjoy the thrills I got driving my little GTV, Spider Veloce, or even my Milano Verde 3.0. My Integra Type R is no more. What a shame! Posted via the PriusChat mobile app. AChoiredTaste.com