Is Michelin energy savers still the top tires?

In that part of Massachusetts I would say pick your battles wisely You have a near 20-year-old car I don't think you need the latest 100,000 mile we're out warranty tires. Usually I don't get but about 65,000 out of those and at that $65,000 the tires are gray and ugly and look so bad it's ridiculous I just cut back to $45,000 mi tires so that they stay black their whole life and all of that nothing better looking than a set of Michelin defenders with 70,000 mi on them that look like they're turning white looks like the colored tire commercials from the '80s remember the yellow pirellis and all that that didn't go on cars they were in advertisement I wouldn't overthink my tires too much the cheaper the better on the Prius I buy $49 tires from a couple of manufacturers as I have four cars and it works out really well $250 for a set of tires is a far cry from 5 or 600 just for the tires then you have in your state $40 a wheel to mountain balance and throw the old ones out or more now you have $1,200 of tires on your car look at that as a $1,200 set of new shoes on your feet yeah pretty ridiculous unless of course.

 

They are very good, but can be hard to come by.
Nothing wrong with 205’s, but it’s a personal decision.
There are plenty of threads here with tyre reviews and advice.
Sounds like you’re getting a lot of conflicting advice, which is par for the course in automotive maintenance unfortunately

 

I would go with the Michelin Cross Climates or Nokian WRg5 tires. That way you will have traction when bad weather hits. Both are Low Rolling Resistance tires and will perform well.

 

just get the cheapest tires from Walmart (which I did), Michelins are way overrated for a Prius, I however have Michelins on my trucks/SUVs and they're worth it.

 

Michelins are not overrated at all. I have about 40k on my Energy Saver A/S and they are about 1/2 tread left still. They aren't the most silent tire but aren't bad. Highly recommend for MPG.

 

I just got these on my car:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Armstrong-Blu-Trac-PC-205-65R15-99H-XL-A-S-All-Season-Tire-Fits-2006-07-Honda-Accord-LX-2005-Honda-Accord-EX/604858441?classType=REGULAR&from=/search
The OEM tires are 195/65R15, your getting another 0.5 inch ride height with those oversized tires. That's probably good since your in snow country. The tire above is equivalent to the Michelins, on paper according to the specifications. It's also thicker and can handle more weight and abuse. My 2021 Prime doesn't have a spare and I've already had a few nails in the old OEM tires. Speaking about spare, you need to check the condition of yours and if you have all your tools to replace it. Sometimes people will remove them before trading in the car - and if no-one checks - you end up stranded.
Regarding the noise: find better mechanics!!!! A wheel bearing issue is easy to check, just by lifting the questionable wheel off the ground. the half-shafts (axles) are also easy to test and do a visual inspection - no guessing involved. Tire bubbles and abnormal wear is mostly a visual inspection - there's a bunch of YouTube videos, if your interested.

Good Luck...

I think mine was around $310 all-in for all 4.

 

This sounds like it is mostly the "let's take this female to the cleaners because she cannot possibly know what we are talking about" routine. It is unfortunately still very common, which is why the "take a guy with you to the mechanics" is not bad advice for women, unless you have long experience with the mechanic and know they don't do this.

What did they even mean by "bubbling"? Is that MA region speak for bulges? Bulges usually result from a tire hitting a hard edge at speed, normally a pothole or curb, which causes internal damage allowing the outer rubber to separate, air gets in between, and the unsupported rubber inflates outward like an aneurysm. Tires that show that sort of damage should be replaced. Shocks strong enough to damage a tire can also throw the alignment off too, so always have the alignment checked when replacing tires in that situation. Maybe I shouldn't even qualify that, just have the alignment checked when replacing a set of tires. (Not usually necessary if one tire was wrecked by something like a big screw through the sidewall.)

205 instead of 195 (stock) is usually fine, although it affects the speedometer and odometer readings slightly.

Palo Alto Speedometer: Speedometer Calculator

On some models of car it might cause the tire to rub on the fender or the fender liner, especially when turning. That would make noise and would eventually screw up the tires (more so for a metal fender than for a plastic fender liner).

 

I'm putting 215 65 15 tires on my 1.7-in lifted Prius tomorrow morning those are 26-in OD assemblies You're 205s are only 25.4 so that should be a no problem fit at all I would think but with a warrant suspension some rubbing could occur with new shocks and struts probably not especially if you go with the single rate springs that you can get now on a lot of the struts for this model

 

Well that's wonderful I'm riding on tires that cost about $49 a pop and get changed every 45,000 mi and rarely rotated oh well.

 

Well you're driving like I used to 25 years ago I used to put 50,000 miles on a car and oh about 5 months and somewhere in Western Massachusetts I don't know where millis is but what are you running your boat back and forth to misquamicut Don't know but I never see anywhere near 60 or 80,000 mi out of the michelins and if I get close to that they're down to the treadwear indicators and they are gray not black.

 

Falken I hope it's spelled. With an I would be fakes or such. This company been around since the late 80,s I believe

 

Regardless I'm imagining this is a sailboat so your trailer and sailboat 16 ft whatever it is Weigh what

 

That must be a gruesome drive Florida generation 2 with a 16-ft something being towed behind it All mine with a plastic aluminum 8 ft trailer with a small zero turn in it would be as bad to me I can't imagine eight more feet of length but I guess it's all and whatever how I can't imagine I wouldn't have the patience for that today and certainly when I was younger definitely not.