2007 Prius - Falken Sincera SN250 A/S tires

Looks like a good deal, but not sure about the warranty. Never done that many miles on any set of tires yet. Not sure how you would claim on it, and what the conditions are. I'm currently running a set of Michelins on the front & Yokohamas on the rear. They seem to be doing the job.

 

How important is fuel economy to you and do you know anything about that tire's rolling resistance? Good treadwear isn't the only factor in making a tire economical.

Some people have noticed declines of up to about 5 MPG with some non LRR tires. Say one set of tires gives 46 MPG and another only 41 MPG, that's about $300 fuel saving over 45,000 miles - even at low $2.50/gal fuel prices.

 

Beyond the $ impact with higher rolling resistance, the mpg reduction is emotionally draining to anyone driving a Prius.

 

Ok just be aware that if they're not LRR then you might lose a few MPG, and at some point it's just not worth it as extra fuel will cost you more than any savings you can make on the tires.

The exact point at were a non-LRR tire becomes uneconomical depends on what fuel prices are doing. At the moment fuel prices are super low, but there's no guaranty that they'll stay that way over the life of the tires. For me an increase of 0.4L/100km (drop of about 4 to 5 mpg) would make a set of tires uneconomical even if they were giving them away and the tread lasted forever.

There are some lists of known good LRR tires (tested and proven by either independent testing or by forum member reports) on some of the threads here if you want to have a look around. Unfortunately you can't always go by what manufacturer's advertising blurb says (re LRR) as it's not really a quantitative claim, so a bit like "high quality" it's a pretty vague term.

 

You could save the entire cost of these tires in gas mileage. They may also last longer, the Uniform Tire Quality Grading System Treadwear rating is 800 versus 720 for the Falkens

Yokohama AVID Ascend (T-Speed Rated)

 

Yeah tire mileage warranties are a lot more common in the US than they are in Aus/NZ. They often require you to bring the car back for regular rotations and tire inspections. They're also nearly always "prorata", so if for example you only get 70% of the warrantied mileage (and you've gone through all the hoops to keep the warranty valid) then they'd give you 30% off your next set - if you buy again from the same place. Actually, I think that having the tires come up a bit short of warranty is probably a good thing for the vendor, as it gets return customers back for more.

 

EPA Mileage tests are very complex, so your competitors do not typically run the test for your car and whistleblow on cheaters. Tire tests however are much simpler, so third parties can and do call out cheaters. Amusingly to me what is found is that manufactures may seriously under state how long their performance tires may last as 'sticky' tires have the reputation of having low treadlife. (Users are confusing cause and effect, users who want performance tires are the same users who will make any have short treadlife. For a similar reason, Prius owner often get great tire life since that are not doing burnouts and panic braking)

The Europeans have much better LRR tests on their tires than the US.

 

Hello,

2010 Prius here.

So I purchased the Falken Sincera's about three months ago at America's Tire (I got an amazing deal) , and here is what I have to report.

1. Value - Falken is a known brand - not the best, but certainly not the worst. They are considered "Better" in America's Tire tiers of quality of "Good, Better, Best"

2. Ride Quality - These tires certainly feel "grippier" and I certainly noticed a difference going around corners. Here in Nor Cal we don't get too much rain, but the one or two times I drove in the rain, they seemed just fine.

3. MPG - I did notice a DROP in MPG in and around town. I normally average around 48 and now I'm hitting around 45.0 or even 44.8, however I can not directly attribute all this to the tires. I have a teenager on a learners permit, and you know how merges/accelerations can go with new drivers.

4. Bottom line - these tires a great for the money, I mean you get about three to four years worth of tires for under $300.00 - you really cant beat that.