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Best Warm/Dry Replacement Tires, Nokian i3s?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by miscrms, Oct 21, 2008.

  1. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    Oh no, another tire thread :eek:

    Forgive me. I have been following this issue for a long time, and read most of the tire threads. There is however a lot of emphasis on rain, snow, handling, issues that don't really apply to me in Phoenix. My primary concerns are mileage, cost & noise and then handling and wear. My used Prius came with newish P3000s on the front, and the original Integrities on the rear. At 35k miles the oems on the rear are balding on the outside, and one has a slow leak so its about time for new tires. I have no complaints about the current handling for my driving style/conditions. I work pretty hard for mpgs, and really don't want to give any up.

    Based on discussions my front runners are Nokian i3, OEM Goodyear Intergrity and Michelin X-radial probably in that order. I'm leaning toward the Nokians, but have a little residual fear from having test driven an '05 with Nokians that sounded like it had mudders on. Wish I knew what model they were. Until recently I had been planning to buy OEMs, had thought Nokian only made snow tires.

    Any thoughts?

    Rob
     
    #1 miscrms, Oct 21, 2008
  2. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    I have Nokian i3s run them at 47/45 PSI. 47 is max on the side wall.

    With i3s, I can tell it use less energy during acceleration. I monitor my ICE RPM with my dyno-scan so it is not just the "gut feeling". The main reason is probably due to lighter weight than the OEM tire. I believe the tire weight is very important because it is located at the outer most part of the wheel.

    Rolling resistance of i3 @47/45 PSI is about the same as Integrity @44/42PSI, from gliding.

    i3s create more noise than Integrity. It may be at different frequency but it bothers me more. However, I have not experiment with lower PSI.

    I got my i3s at lower price than if I were to buy the Integrities again. i3s have higher thread wear and longer warranty too.

    On dry and wet surface, i3s are notably stick better than the Integrity. I believe it is because the i3s have silica compound.
     
    #2 usbseawolf2000, Oct 21, 2008
  3. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    Thanks very much for your thoughts! Would you be willing to share what you paid, or where you bought them? Having a little trouble find a Nokian dealer in AZ :) Best I had seen from a quick internet search was badboy at $77, but shipping to AZ puts it right at $100 each before install.

    Rob
     
    #3 miscrms, Oct 21, 2008
  4. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    Many of us use the Nokian WR (or WRg2) tires which are built for bad weather. They have silica in the tread compound and have better MPG than the Integrity tires - especially in the winter. They are noisy however due to the aggressive tread design (The WRg2 is a little quieter). The I3 should also do well on MPG, be reasonably quiet, and have better tread wear as it has a touring tread. I bought my WRs from:

    Nokian Tires - Winter Tires, Snow Tires and much more from the Tire Factory

    and got a good deal.

    JeffD
     
    #4 jdenenberg, Oct 21, 2008
  5. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    One more question:

    The i3s in the Prius size seem to come in up to three flavors, with different speed/load rating and warranty:

    i3-T = 80,000 miles
    i3-H = 60,000 miles
    i3-V = 50,000 miles

    Badboy lists both an 88T version, and an 84H version. Any thoughts on which is likely to roll better?

    <EDIT> Looks like a typo on badboys site. The Nokian catalog only lists the 88T in 185/65/15, the 84H looks like the 185/60/15. Tiresbyweb only lists the 88T as well.

    Rob
     
    #5 miscrms, Oct 21, 2008
  6. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    tirefactories online wing seems to be tiresbyweb. They list $102 w/ free shipping so very similar. Thanks!

    Rob
     
    #6 miscrms, Oct 21, 2008
  7. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    I got four i3s 88T for $248.98 shipped to NY from badboytires.com. I guess they raised the price.

    More info posted here: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-main-forum/48660-how-i-notice-nokian-i3s-lrr.html

    T, H, and V are speed rating. The faster the tire need to rotate, the stronger it needs to be -- therefore heavier. OEM Integrity is rated S. Info from tirerack:

    S 112 mph 180 km/h Family Sedans & Vans
    T 118 mph 190 km/h Family Sedans & Vans
    U 124 mph 200 km/h
    H 130 mph 210 km/h Sport Sedans & Coupes
    V 149 mph 240 km/h Sport Sedans, Coupes & Sports Cars
     
    #7 usbseawolf2000, Oct 21, 2008
  8. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    If "badboyfriend" coupon code still works, you can get 5% off.
     
    #8 usbseawolf2000, Oct 21, 2008
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I'll buck the trend and actually recommend the crappy stock Integritys. They're cheap, hard wearing (if you inflate them higher) and have pretty good mileage. They're decently quiet. Not the quietest tyre I've had (that goes to the Michelin Enery MXV4 Plus). Most of us pump it up over the 35/33 recommendation on the Integritys. I had mine at 38/36, others have had it up to 42/40.
     
    #9 Tideland Prius, Oct 22, 2008
  10. furblog

    furblog New Member

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    I also give lot of attention when it comes to my car's mpg. Buying some OEM parts is still questionable part for me :)
     
    #10 furblog, Oct 22, 2008
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