Time for new tires

I am on the same boat. My 2017 PRIME with OEM Dunlop Enasave needs to be replaced if I don't trade it in before the spring tire change. I'm interested in Yokohama Avid Ascend LX too, but additional tires I am also considering are below. They are all LLR and have good tread life.

Continental TrueContact Tour
Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring
Yokohama Avid Ascend GT
Michelin Defender T + H
Bridgestone ecopia ep422 plus

 

There are Many Many good choices...

Here are two good choices:

1) General AltiMAX RT 43 (Owned by Continental Tire) 195/65-15, T Rated, Very Light at 17.3 lbs, $81 each. This choice gets a slight nod towards comfort. 45 day test/trial, 75K Warranty.
www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=AltiMAX+RT43+%28T-Speed+Rated%29&partnum=965TR5AMRT43&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

2) Yokohama AVID Ascend GT, 195/65-15, H Rated, 20.5 lbs, $90 each. This choice gets a slight nod towards handling.
30 day test/trial, 65K Warranty.
www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+Ascend+GT&partnum=965HR5ASCGT&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

Both are good in the rain.

More fun info:
Better Handling On A Budget ! | PriusChat


Rob43

 

If they weren't the General AltiMAX RT43, then you can't compare.

Sounds like you've made up your mind anyway for Continental's, certainly a reasonable choice.


Rob43

 

I’d try the non ev sporty Michelin’s they are extremely comfortable and yet still somehow can corner it’s literally the best of both worlds...


iPhone ?

 

For the Prime that would probably be the Premier A/S. But they appear to be a bad value compared to the longer lasting Defender, unless they are really that much quieter.

 

There is no industry standard to define low rolling resistance, and no common standard to test for that.

Here is some info from a tire engineer: Barry's Tire Tech

"Most rolling resistance is caused by internal friction of the rubber as the rubber moves through the footprint area. You can measure this in the form of heat generation, but that is difficult to accurately quantify this.


"Since rolling resistance is caused mostly by internal friction of the tire, then there are a number of things that can be concluded:
1) The more the tire deflects, the more the rolling resistance. This is more or less a "load vs inflation pressure" kind of thing.
2) The more the material in a tire - especially in the tread area - the more the rolling resistance.
This means that new tires are going to have more rolling resistance than otherwise identical, but worn out, tires. So when you buy a new set of tires, you should expect a loss in fuel economy.
3) The tread compound - and the amount of internal resistance it has to movement - is going to have an effect on rolling resistance.

There are three properties that can be traded off with one another - Tread wear, Traction, and Rolling Resistance. You can maximize one of these properties, but it has to come at the sacrifice of at least one of the others.

This means that tires with good traction compounds have either sacrificed treadwear or rolling resistance (or both). This also means that tires with high UTQG treadwear ratings have sacrificed traction or rolling resistance."
(Emphasis mine)

The excellent Michelin Defender is optimized for long tread life. The excellent Michelin Premier is optimized for high traction. The choice is yours.

My choice of tires for our Prime is the Bridgestone DriveGuard Run-Flat tires. Not the quietest, not the best traction, not the lowest rolling resistance. Said to be able to run 50 miles at 50 mph without air (then the tire is junk). Again, the choice is yours.

 

Instead of buying a new set of tires for my 2017 PRIME, I traded it in for 2020 PRIME. The new car came with OEM Bridgestone Ecopia 422 Plus. Not the tires I would have bought for my PRIME if I had a choice, but they should give me at least 40K miles of very good mpg.

 

I opted for a set of Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady tires. Might not be the most quiet, but I wasn't enjoying the rain handling of OEM. With a goodyear credit card they came out to $357

 

I have around 16,000 miles now on my Yokohama Avid Ascend GTs. Still 9/32" of tread. They started with 12/32. Reasonably quiet. Spectacular rain performance. I didn't have the OEM Toyo Nanos for long (used car) but it seems like I was getting considerable better miles per kWh back then. But gas mileage when in HV mode is terrific, so maybe that's my imagination.

 

Just bought a set of the Yokahama GTs. I only have a few short drives on the tires (mainly highway). Call me crazy, but I like the Dunlop Enasaves that I had in the car before better. They seemed quieter, had a better road feel, and the mileage was better.

 

The Enasaves are surprisingly good for OEM tires. Not super long lasting, but efficient, quiet, and have adequate grip. Not that I've used anything else on this car besides snow tires.

New tires will tend to be a little worse than worn tires for efficiency, cornering feel, and maybe dry grip, because they have taller tread blocks.

 

I had OE Dunlop SPs a decade & half ago. Ran quiet, smooth, good traction dry or wet. With the anti-skid brakes, they really dug into snow, even softer ice. Lasted 53,000 miles & still had tread above the bars. Very pleased with those OE tires.

 

I ran Dunlops on my last motorcycle. I liked how they handled and wore. I'm not a racer, so they were fine for me. The Yokohma Avid GTs I've had on my Prime since May have been great, especially in the rain. I can't compare to the Dunlops you had, but compared to my oem Toyo Nanos, they were a big upgrade. You might get your mileage back once they break in as @m8547 mentioned. My Yokohamas, over about 18,000 miles have worn down from 12/32" to 9/32".

 

I think the Dunflops start at 8/32, but it looks like there are a couple versions out there there.

 

I was referring to the Yokohamas with the tread depth. Thanks for mentioning that in time for me to go back and edit it for clarity.

My Toyos were down to 5/32" after 24,803 miles and we were headed out for a 6,000 mile trip that would take us over the Colorado Rockies in May, so I didn't think it was very smart to trust them that far.

 

Right. My point was the yokohamas come with a lot more tread to start with, compared to the Dunflops. So that could explain some of the difference. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

 

Report back after you have driven roughly 1000 miles on various roads & different environments, especially multiple rain events.


Rob43