Which Michelin would you buy?

I have the hydroedges on one of my '02 pris - they handle great but there is a mileage penalty - but safety is more important that a few pennies for gas.

 

Just bought a set of MVV4+; 205/60R15.

So far they're great. Car rides quieter, handles better. Looks more stable.

Even my wife noticed the difference in appearance (I'm so proud).
She said the original tires looked like "those skinny spare tires", and these look much better.

Can't tell about mileage yet. Got 57 mpg going to work this morning, but it was cool and also pretty slow most of the way. Then got about 45 on the way home, 60-65 mph, 95 deg outside. Pretty much what I was getting before.

Also installed the mud flaps today. Car looks a lot more like a sports car now.

 

I've got the Hydroedges and they're great handling tires when new, but they are noisy compared to many other tires, and they do not last anywhere near the 90k rating when used on a Prius, even with increased pressure (edges of the tread nearly worn out at about 50k, even though there's plenty of centre tread left), plus their wet performance degrades significantly when the tire is worn..

I really did like the tires when they were new, but given that they don't last any better than any other tire, and the primary reason for their purchase: wet performance, is no longer being fulfilled, I'm thinking of trying something else for the next set.. Some of the new Nokian models have grabbed my interest...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(c4 @ Sep 13 2006, 07:19 AM) [snapback]318896[/snapback]</div>

What pressures do you run and how often do you check it? I haven't heard anyone else mention edge wear on these tires.

 

I should also mention that I'm driving a Classic with 14" wheels, and due to the weigh of the car, am pushing load limits on pretty much any conventional tire (original tires were XL-rated).. I normally run 44/42 on my tires and check them regularly (in fact, I can tell instantly when the pressure goes down as it is reflected in the MFD instantaneous mileage).. But I have tried 47/45 and even higher- no change in wear patterns over about 5000 km, but the sidewalls bulge noticably at these pressures.. Alignment was also checked and is good on all 4 wheels.

I'm considering Nokian because I can get a Nokian tire in the OEM 175/65R14 size with 90XL load rating and a number in the plus-zero 185/65R14 size, also with the 90XL rating, all of which have sidewall ratings of 51 psi..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(c4 @ Sep 13 2006, 12:38 PM) [snapback]319081[/snapback]</div>

Ah...no wonder you have an unusual wear pattern. Since you have a Classic, then you're definitely right (as you know) to keep the pressure up to the maximum. However, since the tires under discussion are for the Gen2 Prius, I assumed that you had this poor wear on a hatchback model. I don't know if this means that the Hydroedges have somewhat soft shoulders, but I shudder to think what the piece-o'-crap Integrity tires would look like on a Classic!!!!! I think you are right to switch back to XL-rated tires for the Classic. I'm glad they changed the Gen2 to 15-inch wheels!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a @ Sep 10 2006, 08:08 PM) [snapback]317544[/snapback]</div>

John:

I tried a set of Hydroedges, which are still on the car, but I'm about to exercise Michelin's 30 day no-questions-asked take back policy. Between 25-40 mph, I have the most annoying "wawawawawawawa" whine from the tires. I really don't want to live with this for the next ~60-70k miles. Is the noise you describe similar? I don't know if this noise is inherent to the Prius-Hydroedge combo, or if perhaps I've got one slightly defective tire. If I had time to play tire detective, I might work with them, but I don't, so unless I have a radical change of heart in the next day or two, the Hydroedges are gone.

 

That's exactly the noise- it's especially noticeable going around curves and the pitch goes up and the first few times I heard it, I thought it was a fast police siren and looked around until I realized that it was my tires..

That high pitched siren noise does go away when the tires wear in, and just becomes a low pitched roar at pretty much all speeds.. Certainly better than a set of Canadian Tire things that I tried on one of my previous cars that made a "whirrrrr" sound...

 

just installed HydroEdge's on the wifes car, 195's, and I always considered that the car handled not bad and just back from a 3000Km holiday trip and didn't have any handling problems at all. They are a bit noiser on concrete roads surfaces but when I got on the hiway the first think that came to mind is Wow does this thing track! So much better than the Integ's. As I get wholesale on them and my dealer didn't have the MX's went with the Hydro's. Wet handling and traction is vastly improved as well. Even tried the Trak checker dip wet and full of sand and it spun a bit but didn't fall flat on it's face "get you killed" dead. Just my subjective impression.

 

For snow tires the Michelin X-Ice. For the rest of the year, Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S. Wait for the $60 off sales/coupons for an unbeatable deal. Buy the X-Ice and the Pilot Exalto A/S at Costco and get free seasonal swaps and rebalances for free.


(Remounting and rebalancing twice a year can otherwise be expensive, but less expensive than other ways to get the TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) to work year round with snow and summer tires on a 2006 or later Prius.)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eak354 @ Sep 12 2006, 06:42 PM) [snapback]318711[/snapback]</div>

I fitted the Goodyear Assurance Comfortreds in stock size, finally had the alignment properly sorted out yesterday. Today I had a longish run of about 75 miles round trip for an opening reception. The ride quality is much improved, the tire noise is far less than the Integrities, and they stick better on cornering too.

I'll reserve judgement on economy for a couple of tanks of fuel, but the MFD consumption display isn't showing much difference so far.

Godfrey

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eak354 @ Sep 16 2006, 11:01 PM) [snapback]320697[/snapback]</div>

Which hill do you live on? I also live on a steep hill (Tantalus) and was wondering about the wet handling of those tires. Did you get them at Costco? Mahalo.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tomdeimos @ Sep 10 2006, 06:14 PM) [snapback]317468[/snapback]</div>

Tom -

What MXV4+ tire size did you buy?


Stevejm

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stevejm @ Oct 14 2006, 12:07 AM) [snapback]332633[/snapback]</div>

I don't know about Tom, but I'm about a week into a set of stock-size (185/65-15) Energy MXV4 Pluses. All I can say is "Wow!" As noted above (and in some other threads), I had tried a set of stock-size Hydroedges for a month, but jettisoned them under Michelin's 30 day "no questions asked" money-back warranty. Hydroedges are fine tires (they were great on a Camry I had), but IMO, they're not an especially good match to the Prius. They were too loud, and killed my mileage. Although the noise and mpg issues seemed to be gradually improving, as I approached 30 days (and just over 3000 miles), they were still substantially short of acceptable. I asked Michelin for another 30 days to see if they'd settle down, but they refused. With that, they were gone! On the other hand, to their credit, when I announced my intention to invoke the wty, Michelin shipped a brand new set of MXV4 Pluses to my tire store within days, and swapped them out with no money changing hands.

Again, this is my opinion, but the MXV4s are a far better choice for the Prius than the Hydroedge (or any version of the OEM GYs). They are much, much quieter than either the Integs or the Hydroedges. They handle far better than the Integs, and somewhat better than the HEs. Same for ride quality. Time will tell how well they last, though it's worth noting that the UTG rating on the MXs is 400 whereas it's 800 for the HEs, so presumably the HEs will last longer.

There's one other peculiar thing to note about this comparison. If you go to the Michelin-USA website and run through their tire selector applet, the MXs will NOT appear as a choice for the Gen-II Prius. I questioned Michelin about this, via email, and they told me that despite its specific LRR design, the MX is not listed for the Prius because it has a different speed rating than the OEM tires. This is absurd, however as the stock tires are T rated (safe up to 118 mph) and the MXs have a superior H rating (safe up to 130 mph). All of this is totally moot, of course, since the Prius is ECU limited to 105 mph anyway. But that was their story, and they were sticking to it. It is nice to know that if I find a way to coax my Prius to 130 mph, I'll be safe...

I love the MXs on this car and would recommend them with enthusiasm to any friend or family member.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ekpolk @ Oct 14 2006, 08:51 AM) [snapback]332677[/snapback]</div>

Since I replaced the GY Integrity tires on my 2004 Prius at 45,000 miles with Michelin MXV4+ (185/65R15) tires and am now at 70,000 miles, I can give you the results of my experience. I also am quite pleased with the performance of the MXV4s.

1. The MPG is slightly better than the OEMs.
2. They are wearing well and should last more than 50,000 miles (some other tires would last longer)
3. The handling and traction are significantly better than the OEMs (only reasonable in snow)

One of my reasons to own a Prius is the MPG (I'm also a Techie). Why would I put on tires that reduce the MPG by 5% or more? I run the air pressure at 42/40 as I did the OEMs to get the results stated above at the cost of a somewhat harsher ride.

JeffD

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eak354 @ Sep 10 2006, 06:00 AM) [snapback]317277[/snapback]</div>

I had a set of MXV4's on my previous car, excellent tires. I thought the X's were more of a "basic" tire, less expensive, and it probably depends on how much wet weather etc. you face as to consideration of the Hydroedge.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ekpolk @ Oct 14 2006, 08:51 AM) [snapback]332677[/snapback]</div>

Thanks, EKPolk and all those who replied. Curious as to where you purchased your MXV4+'s.
Is this tire available at Costco? I'd rather buy through a local retailer than go the Internet+installer route.