Toyoto keep putting them on the new cars. It seems this is a major complaint about the car. It would seem that many a sale would be lost for a poor test drive with these tires, with no chance of getting past this, losing the customer at the start. It would seem, for not much more money, they could use a better tire, sell more cars, and have one less hurdle to jump to sell a Prius.
Most people doing a test drive do not test in rain, snow, or making hard maneuvers. They're evaluating many more things than the tires. The Goodyear Integrity tires are OK, but nothing special. They're not unsafe. They no doubt cost Toyota less than others, and they're available in Japan for the assembly plant to install.
I'm coming to the conclusion that the -main- reason they are on the car is cost, seconded by good fuel efficiency with them. It seems the better the tires (stickier), the lower the fuel economy. A trade-off we really don't want to make. At any rate, they give good fuel economy, they cost Toyota less than the alternatives, they add "domestic content" (being American tires), and they don't seem to fail catastrophically. Hence they are on the car.
I am on my second set of Goodyear Integreties and have had no problems with them. The first set lasted 30,000 miles and I have 20,000 on the second set. True, they may not be the best but are certainly acequate for OEM tires.
The Goodyears are made in Japan. Toyota is conservative, and they may have a contract in place with Goodyear Japan. Even the oil filter is Japanese. IMO the US needs to have more of this protectionist attitude. The tires seem OK to me. I would replace with 205/60 or so and run softer.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ May 18 2007, 10:48 AM) [snapback]445013[/snapback]</div> True. Rolling resistance is the term you are looking for. When I replaced the stock Integrity tires with Goodyear Triple-Treads I could feel the additional drag quite distinctly (at standard Integrity tire pressures). My fuel economy dropped by at least 5mpg. Since then I've increased the tire pressure to 40/38 which yields only a 2-3mpg drop in FE while still retaining most of the advantages of the better tire. The trade-off is very much one many of us choose to make. Toyota on the other hand has an interest in maximizing the FE rating of the vehicle for marketing purposes. So better tires are not a good trade-off for them. And the Integrity is adequate. Cost is important, as you note, but I suspect FE is equally weighted.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(seasalsa @ May 18 2007, 11:30 AM) [snapback]445057[/snapback]</div> Same here. I don't know what all the complaining is about. I have 34,000 on my OEMs, and they still have lots of tread. I admit I am in sunny, mostly dry California, but so far, the Goodyears are causing me no grief. Most cars OEMs are not the best, but when you build millions of cars, each dollar (or yen) saved, adds up. Curiously, I met a salesman who just got a new Camry Hybrid, and his tires were Michelin "Energy" tires. On my Subaru the Bridgestone Potenza RE-92s, were off the car in 10,000 miles, replaced by Goodyear Eagles, which lasted over 75,000 miles. Your mileage may vary...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ May 18 2007, 10:29 AM) [snapback]444981[/snapback]</div> Agreed. In spite of them not being the "best" tires around, I wasn't about to dump them until their useful life was about over. I'll probably to that just before my next trip to CA. I almost have 48k on the car now, but about 15k of that was on my winter tires. Dave M.
The stock tires are perfectly adequate for my needs. The first set of tires lasted 35,000 miles and I substituted them for same size Goodyear Viva2s; these tires provide similar performance but are noisier and I lost 2 mpgs. My car has now 62,000 miles and at 70,000 I'm getting a new set of Integrities.
Check their Tirerack ratings. Integrity ($52) http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...Model=Integrity Kumho Solus ($49) http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...5HR5KH16#Survey MUCH MUCH BETTER TIRE (or tyre)
Because they're cheap. Toyota has a deal with Goodyear to provide these tires. They're not terrible as in dangerous, they're just crappy tires. Most car manufacturers run crappy tires OEM because they're cheap.
We live in Oregon. That means lots of rain, normally. The original tires we dangerous in wet weather and we could not get up our driveway when it was wet. I installed Nokian tires..and put the pressure up to 40-38, all is well now.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ May 18 2007, 10:48 AM) [snapback]445013[/snapback]</div> I believe these are the reasons. The OEM tires are the ones the EPA will have on the cars it tests in its silly routine. Thus they give better EPA numbers. And they are cheap. I traded mine off still nearly new because for me safety is the absolute number one issue. (Except for my Xebra, which is not particularly safe, but I seldom get it over 35 mph, and it was the only way to get an EV right now. It goes as soon as something better comes along.)
What's wrong with the OEM tires? I'm driving all over Phoenix all the time and they seem perfectly fine to me. It's not like I'm going to be doing a slalom in my Prius! LOL
I thought about getting the Goodyear Comfort Treads because of the reduced noise, but I did not like the idea of the lower mileage. I have driven about 28k miles on them so far in snow and rain without a problem. If you drive the speed limit or slow down in inclimate conditions they handle just fine.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusBoyAZ @ May 19 2007, 12:41 PM) [snapback]445772[/snapback]</div> Poor traction and noise, for starters. If you are not accustomed to better tires and live in a mild climate, it will probably not bother you. Different strokes for different folks. You know, some folks like hamburgers while others prefer New York Strip steaks. Then the are those who find Two Bucks Chuck perfectly acceptable while others hold out for Opus One or Mondavi Reserve.
