Tire Upgrade

Comfort Treads were great until about 20,000 miles in when I had them on my Intrepid. At about 50% wear, they were like driving on slicks when it rained and worse in the snow. Goodyear told me I was crazy and would not replace them under warranty as 'they still had tread'. Needless to say, I ditched them and won't be buying more Goodyear.

 

New to the forum and wanted to see if anyone had any opinion on the Nokian WR G2 vs. the Goodyear TT. I'm at 40k now and the tread on my OEMs is pretty much gone. I live where it snows maybe 2-3 times a year and am not that particular about tire noise. I would like to preserve as much MPG as possible and would like to get good tread wear. Any thoughts on these two tires vs. each other or perhaps an even better tire for what I'm looking for? Thanks.

 

Someone asked & I have th Kumho Solus KR21 tires. 195-60-15. I have always preferred Michelin tires & planned on putting them on my 2008 Prius. I have a Kumho store near me & they swear by the KR21 tires, so I tried a set.

Ride-Outstanding & I use a higher psi than stock
Handling-Outstanding wet, dry, VG snow/ice
Quiet-Outstanding
Responsiveness- outstanding

I have been super impressed with these tires so far. I did drop mpg on the first tank. The first initial 150 miles was in a stiff crosswind & significantly hilly country & slightly under 40mpg, but the full tank averaged in the 40's.

After a few thousand miles, I averaged 50 mpg all through the "winter". I have averaged 50 mpg over the last 5-6 tanks of gas & a combo of 30% city & 70% highway.

It is warming up here, but offset by miserable wind & last couple tanks are 51mpg plus.

I'd say the mileage is fine, but the handling makes a different vehicle out of it. I recommend the tire size & the tire itself. I do not regret a single thing about these tires at this time. Hope that helps.

 

I can't directly discuss the GY TT as I have never used them, but if you want good MPG, get a tire that has a known Low Rolling Resistance (LRR). My Nokian WR tires (now get the WRg2) have improved my MPG by 4% (about 2 MPG) averaged over 12 months (29k miles) vs the OE Goodyear Integrity tires that came with my 2004 Prius. They also track well (no highway instability), have great traction in ALL weather conditions, and have a 51 psi MAX pressure rating (185/65HR15). The only drawbacks are expense (>$100 per tire - 50,000 mile treadwear - sorry, but you need a soft rubber compound to get good traction) and a little road noise (the WRg2 should be quieter).

JeffD

 

Thanks for the opinions. After reading some more I think I'm going to go with the Nokian WR G2. At the very least, I'm sure they'll be a significant improvement over the Integrity.

 

Great stuff guys/gals. My Prius is about ready for new shoes, but I have 2 questions regarding this thread. 1) I live in Salt Lake City with a very steep driveway, and no tire will get my car up the hill, so the all season tires aren't an option- I use a 4wheel drive. What tires would you guys recommend for wet/dry/no-snow conditions. 2) I see 42/40 tire pressures referred to as standard, but my '06 calls for 33/32.

 

First, your 06 calls for 35/33 on the OE tires and that is too soft for stability in highway driving. Since the tires are safe to 44 PSI many of us do run 42/40.
Second, I have Nokian WR tires on my Prius and they have great traction in dry/wet/snow/ice. The Nokian WRg2 tires now sold should be just as good in most conditions (a little less traction in snow due to a less agressive tread design), Note that the Nokians are safe up to 51 PSI.

JeffD

 

Hi Frank.Thanks for a great in depth & scientific article!
My wife's Prius 2006 with 30,009 miles has about 2->3/32" left on the original OEM tires. I just started looking for replacement and your informative article, beside providing big help, also confirmed my personal observation. Some time ago I bought Goodyear's TT tires for my Oldsmobile 2000 Intrigue. I have logged close to 15,000 miles here in South Florida, with no apparent wear out(!) yet. These tires have great grip of the road both at hot weather and super wet drenched road. Our local road formulation is different by way of using local elements for the formulation of the paving material, like adding crushed sea shell (I'm told) to it. I did my own analysis on the speedometer/Odometer variation and I concur with you. I am going to buy my wife a new set of GY TT 195/60R/15 tires. As to tire pressure. The "Low Pressure" dashboard indicator seems to be very sensitive and triggers almost to 1 psi loss. I was told not to pay too much attention to it. What's your opinion on this?
Thanks again,
Moshe

 

Just had the new LRR Bridgestone Ecopia EP100s (OEM tire for the 2010) installed on my '06 Tuesday. Although my initial impressions are somewhat suspect since I switched from squishy winter rubber on steel wheels, they seem much more stable on the highway than the Integritys. The tires are very quiet and ride feels much stiffer with solid handling. Mileage is way up from the Winter set, but it's too early to generate any real data.

Downsides so far are the lack of any mileage warranty, and the fact that this is a Summer only tire. I'll post an update once I have them broken in a bit more. -J

 

Hi Salt,

Looking forward to your future reports on the Ecopia EP100.

-- Do we know if it is the same tire as the Ecopia EP20 that was on the 2010 Prius models at the various auto shows and Prius Connection events? (It does sound like it's the same.)

-- What size did you get and how much did you pay?

Regarding the warranty, this report said 3 years:

2009 Chicago Auto Show: Bridgestone Brand Ecopia EP100 Debuts at Chicago Auto Show-VIDEO ENHANCED

 

[

"Bottom line: The US OEM tire is poor quality and not the right size for the Prius. Putting good 195/60R15 or 205/60R15 tires on the car is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to greatly improve the performance and safety of the Prius, with little or no mpg loss. The car looks a lot better with the 195/60 TT too. The 195/60 is .4” wider than the 185/65. This is noticeable. It makes the car look more stable and solid. This is the way the car was designed to look.[/quote]"

I have GY TT on my '01 Sienna and they're great...a might noisier than the previous Comfort Treads...but the wet road grip& cornering is worth it...As to Prius 195/60 vs 195/65..your decision (60's) was based on potential underread and not other factors? appreciate clarification....thnks,Harrybet

 

Hi Tom,

I think the EP100 and EP20 are the same...just a way to distinguish OEM from aftermarket.

I went with the stock size at $84 ea., so out-the-door was a little over $400.

As far as warranty, the 3 years covers manufacturing defects, but there is no minimum mileage rating. They do offer a 30-day return policy, but so far I'm happy. Cheers, -Jay

 

Thanks Jay. Useful to know that the OEM Ecopias are moderately priced.

 

My local tire dealer said the EP100 won't be available for another month. Just curious - what tire dealer did you use? Also, any more early impressions about these tires?

Anyone out there running the Yokohama Avid TRZ? My local dealer (Hogan Tire in MA) has a buy 3 get one free sale on pretty much any tire they sell through 3/23/09 so these would be pretty well priced compared to Michelin.

Also seems like many here like the Michelin Radial-X, but would have to spend $50 to join Costco. Not sure it would be worth it in the end compared to the Yokohama tires.

 

Consumer Reports likes the Yokohama Avid TRZ a lot among passenger all season tires (see attached chart):

Consumer Reports Ratings Passenger All Season Tires.doc

 

I'd like to hear how many people have tried the Yokohama TRZ and their findings.

 

Regarding the Yokohama TRZ, noise is not the best I must say but they are excellent in the rain. A far cry above the stock tires.

__________________
audi oem parts

 

I just ordered a set of stock sized Avid TRZs, from TireRack, for my 2006 Prius. Hopefully will have them installed on Friday or Saturday. I will report on mileage impact and other issues/thoughts.

 

I would tell your tire installer:

(1) to watch out for and be careful not to damage the TPMS, and

(2) to make sure wheel balancing weights are not put on the outside of your wheels, see: http://priuschat.com/forums/care-ma...27-wheel-weights-outside-after-balancing.html