Choosing the "right" tires (again)

I wish I could help. I'm looking for info on tires also. FWIW, My wife's Prius 3 has Goodyear Comfortred Touring. They were on the car when we bought it at 55k miles. The car now has over 110k miles. I've assumed they were probably close to new when we bought the car, but they didn't look brand new. The wear pattern looks good, and no issues with them losing air or anything.
I had Yokohama tires on a Volvo that I really liked, but they didn't last as long as advertised. Did you decide on anything yet?

 

There is no perfect tire. It depends on what YOU want.
I prefer higher mileage. I have Continental True Contact.
They were on sale at walfart. I think it was $380 with free mounting and balancing.
I always get the lifetime balance/rotation and road hazzard. I believe it was $15 per tire.
I have over 50,000 miles on them and they are just starting to show wear.
They are noisy, but not near s bad as some so called better tires I've had.
The noise went down when I replace the front wheel bearings.
Plus, they handle great. Even in the rain. I'm very happy with them, and will
get them the next time I need tires.

 

There was- Defender Green X, wear rating 820. I still have them on my car but it's discontinued. All the new green X are now 480, priced the same as 820. It wears twice as fast, forcing me buy new tires quicker = higher company profit.

 

Maybe not such a big drop in tread life; they just got more honest?

 

To paraphrase ASRDogman, companies raise prices to survive. Cutting back on manufacturing to shortern life tread is another tactic.

Each tire company have their treadwear rating numbers, half tread wear number means half life within each companies treadwear. Paying full price to get half tread life isn't that bad after all? You gotta be kidding.

 

Paraphrase me???? "Cutting back on manufacturing to shortern life tread is another tactic." I KNOW I never said that!

 

YOu just proved my point. There is no perfect tire.

 

My wife's 2008 (which we bought used) came with OEM tires that were just awful in wet weather. We replaced them with Goodyear Assurance All-Season, and she has stated that she never knew that she could fall in love with a set of tires. They're really sticky and quiet, but the bad news is that they cost us nearly 5 MPG. She thinks the tradeoff is worth it. My own 2012 Prius V has the Yokohama OEM's. They're better in wet weather than the old 2008's OEM's, but not as sticky as the Goodyears. The front ones were new when I bought the car, so I've kept them, and I've been getting about 41-42 MPG in the summer, and 38 or so in the winter here in southwestern Ohio. I've never tried the Michelins, but lots of folks like them here on the forum.

 

The current defender (T+H) is 820 (80,000 warranty) while the energy Saver A/S is 480 (65,000 Warranty). Was the previous Defender Green X while the current one is not?

 

Anybody got experience with the Hankook Kinergy PT. Looks like it would be a good long life tire (860 A A), but wonder about MPG's.

 

Totally agree. Tire selection is always something of compromise. I have tried several name brand LRR in last 5-6 sets on my cars. Most performed well enough, but there are always some deficient areas. Plus none of them lasted for rated tread wear. I need a new set of summer tires on my PRIME by next year, and I am tempted to try very, very cheap ones to see how different they feel compared to name brand LRRs I had before. Ohtsu FP7000, Riken Raptor HR, Waterfall Eco Dynamic are on my short list currently.

 

Posted this comment before, will again:

I take a somewhat different approach than most posters here about Prius tire choice. Most feel you buy a Prius to maximize your gas mileage, so it's logical to choose your tires only from the subcategory of Low Rolling Resistance tires engineered with some performance compromises to further the goal of maximum gas mileage.

I take the opposite view: The whole car is engineered with such a focus on gas mileage, it compromises other worthwhile goals like handling, braking and interior quietness that can all be helped through tire choice, while ensuring great MPG whetehr the tires contribute to it or not. So I chose General Altimax tires for our 2010 Prius 5 (17" wheel – obviously most Prii have 15" wheels, hence different tire choices). They're not top-rated for either longest life or best gas mileage, although not disastrous in either regard. They ARE well priced yet highly rated for quietness and rain/snow performance, where I felt the car needed the help and which is quite relevant given your Iowa address. So far I'm delighted with the Generals' performance in those regards -- I like the idea of my wife not getting killed in winte driving -- and I think 46 miles a gallon is pretty acceptable fuel economy under the circumstances. I'll put up with it somehow.

 

I would have just bought another type of vehicle w/better handling that yields high 40s mmpgs And avoid paying premium price for a FE vehicle

 

I just rotated my Michelin Ice X tires again (every 5 K, religiously) bought after reading a tire thread here. I live on a mountain near a ski area, nuff said! I remember someone here said they got 40 K out of the X's, and left them on year round, and I have done the same. The next rotation will be at 40 K, and I will probably buy another set, as i feel I will have gotten my money's worth out of them. Their winter performance is excellent, real nice on 12% grades and glare ice, I remain satisfied with them year round. My summertime tank MPG is mid to high 50's, consistently, without any special effort.

 

2012 needs tires. The Doral's are worn and have gotten noisy with wear. I'm less concerned about maxed mileage and more about safe handling and quiet. Are the Goodyear Assurance All-Season Radial Tire - 205/70R15 96T a good choice or another to be preferred, please? Can't spend big bucks but don't want to go cheap and get junk tires either. Commute is typically 20 miles each way on rural roads, mostly 55MPH, in sunny SE-GA.

 

This one looks good to me Goodyear Assurance Comfortred Touring Radial - P205/60R15 90H $68. each.
WDYT?

 

TireRack.com suggests

Michelin CrossClimate+
Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady
Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack

 

Reviews are good but this seems a very new product ...
Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack
Grand Touring All-Season
Size: 205/65R15
Serv. Desc: 94H
UTQG: 800 A A
Qty: Per Tire: $122.99
Availability: In Stock
Free Shipping
Set of 4:
Price After Mail-In Rebate: $421.96