Best tires for the Prius?

Have you been rotating them?

 

No, I went with the "same money and less hassle to just wear them down and replace them" approach rather than rotating them.

 

quote

 

Yep, I rotate them off the car. BTW my experience with Gen 2 Touring tires was a nightmare. Traded it this year for a 2016 Four Touring. However , I had just replaced the awful Michelins with GY Assurance fuel max. So can't say how the wear would be on the GY but the MPG went up significantly. The Michelins looks like tractor tires when I got ride of them, very strange and the parallel tread groves were deep but no perpendicular tread pattern of any kind. Bad MPG and only 40K on the tires.

I have experience with buying hybrid tires for all the cars in my signature block. But I can't even remember what the OEM was on the 2009 Touring new but it wore ok and gave great MPG for a Touring (thought I could do better). I decided to special order Michelins from Tire rack and have them mounted since the car was a gift to my daughter (50K on the car and the OEM tires had safe tread). Thought I would give the Michelins another try as they were the LRR tires for that car. Purchased the recommended LRR tires in the pull down list for the 2009 is all I remember. My experience is my experience and does not reflect the views of this TV station. Its your money so spend it the way you want.

BTW had a terrible experience with a set of Michelins at SAMSCLUB on my Honda. MPG dropped 7MPG. In those days LRR was starting to get a little press but not much.

 

I can see that. And you did get pretty good life out of them. Mileage guarantees tend to be inflated too, I think. The tire companies push the distance claims, knowing most buyers won't bother to collect.

I had Harmony's one time that were at the wear bars at 60,000 kms, when they were guaranteed for 120,000 km. The tire shop presented the evidence to Michelin, I got my next set for half price.

Again, a lot of customers don't bother, and while it's not mandated, the easiest way to collect seems to be by buying more Michelins.

In my case they were regularly rotated, but I've pretty much always done my own rotations, in conjunction with snow tire swaps, so no expense, just sweat equity.

 

The Continental TrueContact tires I had installed on my 05 Prius and my 10 Nissan Versa last August have been outstanding. Can't see much wear on these tires after 10K miles on either car. Excellent handling but getting 2 MPG less on the Prius with them.

 

isn't it a shame, that after 12 years, 3 generations, and thousands of experiences, we don't have a sticky with a go to guide for tyres, depending on wants and needs.
it seems 100 people with the same car and tyres will have 100 different reports.

 

Heh. It is truly YMMV.

 

Kind of need a spread sheet that displays the exact tire, PSI, MPG, and wear miles with model numbers. Or do it like the reliability data base.
Or just buy tires and learn the hard way. The new MIJ/OEM EP-20s for the 2011 are doing great. They replaced the old MIJ/OEM GY Fuel max that had 60% tread left at 50K. Wife complained and then said she never complained about the GYs.

 

Yep, looks that way for the EP-20s which is a solid tire.

Your mozzarella may vary.

 

Some tires are a moving target though, very frustrating, makes me want to dismiss the brand at the outset. As an example: Bridgestone ecopia ep422, they're produced in two countries, with different wear index, and 195/65R15 (for one) size comes in either 3 (widely spaced) tread rows, or four, I believe again dependant on the country of origin.

 

12 pages, 231 posts, no meaningful conclusions.
We're not capturing critical data - or else we're not measuring the same variables the same way.
There's a site where people post the records they've kept re. fuel mileage - cross-tabbed for vehicle, year, model, etc.
It sure would be helpful to take scattered stories here & stuff them into some sort of chart so others may compare apples to apples.
Something like:
Manufacturer
Date & place of manufacture/series#
Date of purchase
Prius (Gen _ , Year, sub-model - if any)
Wear history
Driving patterns (city, highway, location)
Price
Source

WDYT?

David

 

i think it sounds like a lot of work, and then getting more than a handful to participate would be difficult. the problem is that it's such a long term project.
build it, and they will come doesn't usually work around here.

 

Meanwhile, I need 2 tires for our 2006 soon.
The two "good" tires that will stay on it are Sumitomo 195/65-15's, installed 6/9/16 (I wasn't involved in the choice - had a flat - I mounted the mini-spare and my wife took it to the garage while I was at work.)
Based on one post, I Searched for these and they look promising (price & warranty).
Any concerns re. putting these on a 2006?
Yokohama AVID Ascend 89T Tire P195/65R15
$83.78
Treadwear Warranty: 75,000 miles
Speed Rating: T
Load Index: 89

 

do they have an LRR rating?

 

I didn't notice that but did find a thread with a lot of observations & even some measurements - multiple vehicles, some but not all Prius's
Yokohama AVID Ascend Review | PriusChat
Overall the reports were excellent.
Just did a Search and according to this 2012 thread they are LRR
Yokohama AVID Ascent LRR tire now available for Prius v | PriusChat
We're making a 1200 mile, each leg, trip this Fall - so the tires will be broken in by then.
Pulling a light unloaded trailer up - heavier-loaded on the trip back.
I need to be sure the transmission fluid is fresh & filters are new!

 

Interested in MPG results for the Yokohama and Sumitomo as these appear to be good tires.

 

Minor price difference via Discount Tire - not sure which is a better match to our 2006 - also unclear how the warranty gets serviced.

Yokohama AVID Ascend
Tire Size 195 /65 R15 91H SL BSW
Mileage Warranty 75,000 Miles
UTQG 740AA
Load Range SL
Speed Rating H *
$77.31

Yokohama AVID Ascend
Tire Size P 195 /65 R15 89T SL BSW
Mileage Warranty 85,000 Miles
UTQG 800AB
Load Range SL
Speed Rating T *
$79.15

 

185??????????????????
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Be prepared for a possible MPG hit but maybe not. Found out on a Honda that if you have tires that have great mpg put those on the front and put your new ones on the back. But you new tires could be better for MPG/no way to tell unless someone has used the tires and can tell.. Luck of the draw in which I usually lost all my bets. Some folks get lucky.

Normally at LRR rating and fuel max label helps but not always.

If you don't care about MPG then look at the traction and temp ratings. A A is a good rating/maybe!

Both are 51 PSI tires.

But you should get the 185???????????????????????????????????

Yokohama AVID Ascend
Tire Size 195 /65 R15 91H SL BSW
Mileage Warranty 75,000 Miles
UTQG 740AA
Load Range SL
Speed Rating H *
$77.31

 

The garage put 195's on the back the last time, with 185's on the front - I only just noticed ... sigh. The clown that did that was recently fired. I only heard about it afterward - but he lied & told the boss I asked him to do that! Anyhow, 195's are fine with me, and now all 4 will be the same.
I also found a local dealer for Yokohama's - so unless they try to rip me on marked-up tire prices or absurd mounting/balancing charges - that's where I'll go.