Best tires for Gen III Prius from Discount Tire?

I be more worry about road condition then mpg in the winter. If you can't afford or don't want a dedicated winter set, get the Wrg3. You and everyone else that's ont he fence should watch this video. This has happen to me plenty of time even when the road looked ok in the winter time. I have set of winter tires because the risk is not worth it.

I've been lucky a few time when I had a set on my 2004 Mazda 6. It saved my butt a few times when I was trying to stop and thanks to the snow tires I stopped in time before I hit someone. Snow tires make a huge difference in the winter time.

 

I've not owned the WRG2's as you have, but my car did come with EP20's which I've often seen you promote for some reason.

I can assure you that the WRG3's get better mileage than those EP20's.

They are real snow tires, and I've also no doubt that they will outperform my now sole Michelin X-Ice 2's in winter conditions, such as they are around these parts.

Roland

 

I have the Defenders for my 3 season tire, got them this spring and they seem to be getting about the same overall MPG as I got before. I'm hoping got get a long life out of them. Grip is good, VERY good in the rain in particular.

 

I think that you meant 4-4.2 L/100km.
4-4.2 km/L would not be good.

 

Thanks!

Right you are.... I am enjoying very good consumption ratings with these tires. Better in fact than the oem Ecopia EP20's... as well as the way better handling and far quieter ride.

Roland

 

harry r,
I know it's only been a month, and they are not broken in, but have you any mpg info on your purchase of the Michelin Defender yet? I'm a long time Costco member with a 2012 PIP that has achieved an average 70 mpge over 35K miles with 60% highway driving on OEM Bridgestone Avid 33S a LRR tire. I've done the math, and even if mpge dropped 10 mpge, the mileage loss cost of the 90K mile Defenders (not LLR) over 5 years would only be $500. It seems to me if they perform better and quieter, and last twice the life of the Energy Saver A/S, the mpge drop isn't a factor. Costco only offers The Michelin Energy Saver A/S here via online purchase, versus the Defender is always in stock. (I would not anticipate a 10 mpge drop anyway), but would appreciate your input.
Thanks in advance,
Pasakent

 

^ Take a look at this page:

2010 Toyota Prius Base Tires | Michelin Tires

on the Michelin (Canada) site. They have a rudimentary, scale of 1 to 10, bar graph of RR for their tire. Michelin Energy Saver A/S rates 10, the Premier A/S (and Primacy on another page) rates 9, and the Defender rates 8.

Obviously a rough summation, but that's what Michelin's saying about their tires.

(FWIW, the Pilot MXM4 215/45R17 we have rate 7. )

 

Thanks Mendel, I had already looked at the Michelin page. What I'm interested in is real world results from a Prius owner.

 

I still have the stock tires on my 2012 prius v that I bought in June 2014 with. 45000 miles on it. Now it has 80000 miles on it. Yes 80000 miles not a type O .

 

I have the defenders on both of my Prius's. Plus they are on my son's VW Golf. The MPG's went down by 2.5 but the ride is much better and they wear like iron.
I

 

Two questions:

In my area, we see snow maybe twice a year (1-2 inches max) every other year or so, and it is usually pretty easy to avoid (Stay at home). Would the Nokian WRG3 still be a good choice for me? (i.e. is it good as a general purpose, summer, rain tire as opposed to snow only).

I've generally heard good things elsewhere about the Cooper CS (CS5, CS4, CS3) -
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company - Passenger
- Any thoughts on these tires good or bad?

 

I find it to be excellent in all weather conditions.

Best rain tire I've experienced, and no questions about the summer or winter use. I'm sorry to be only speaking to the WRG3's... no experience personally with the Cooper products.

Roland

 

I have Michelin Harmony tires, which the Defender replaced, on my 2010 Prius. To date, they have traveled 47, 007 miles since they were installed in December 2010. The original tread depth was 11/32". Current tread depth is approximately 7/32". At that rate of tread wear, if I run these tires down to 3/32" they will last about 94,000 miles. They are wearing evenly, run smooth, are quiet and have excellent handling and traction in dry, wet, snow and ice conditions. Depending on weather, terrain and how fast and far I drive, I average annually about 48 MPG which is good enough for me as I value safety and traction more than a couple more MPG. The Michelin Defender should perform as well or better than the Harmony and would be an excellent choice for Michigan. Other brands of tires have been disappointing, but I have never regretted buying a Michelin.

Edit: My Avalon Hybrid Limited came with 17", V-rated, Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires. They are quiet, handle great, ride well and have good wet traction. I have not used them in snow.

 

So many choices. Shopping now for snow tires for my 2011 III that I bought this summer. Thinking about keeping the ecopias for summer and buying snows on steel wheels.

I think I need a true snow tire for northern NY where we have snow on the ground from Thanksgiving to the end of March. Considering blizzaks, Yokohama ice guard iG52c (new tire, not many reviews, but a very good deal right now), Extreme Winter Contacts....

Anyone have any advice? Thanks

 

I agree, snows, studded
Nokian
Hakkapeliitta 8

Quiet, excellent, it's not getting going that matters, it's stopping

 

Thanks for the recommendation, I've heard of the Hakkapeliitta's. Is it too much? Is it possible to have too much? Probably not haha.

I'm coming from years of Audi Quattro with stick, which I've always been able to zip around snow with good all seasons. So getting going has never been a problem... Until probably now with the switch to Prius. So here I am...

 

For steel rims these work:

Corolla steel rim, part no: 42611-02471 (2008+ model year?)
steel rim lug nuts: 90942-01007 (plain, open-ended, galvanized)

 

Same experience with the fuel max tires on a Prius over three winters in Minnesota. Excellent in moderate snow conditions for an all season tire - an opinion informed by 45 years of driving in snowy areas of the country - plus they have very low rolling resistance. That being said, the WRG3 will be even better in winter, due to the winter traction rating.


iPad ?

 

As far as LRR all-season tires go the Fuel Max and Ecopia EP422 both did quite well compared to the ProContact and Yoko AVID TRZ. For those requiring a LRR tire for max fuel economy and snow traction these are your best bet. If you don't mind sacrificing some fuel economy then there are better all round choices.

Tire Test Results : Eco-Focused All-Season Tires: Do They Deliver on the Promise?