Buy new tires at 35k? Which is best?

Hmmm.. as a world class procrastinator having nursed leaking tires off and on over the years instead of getting them fixed, I can tell you it frequently lead to a flat tire. To borrow a phrase from medicine: All bleeding stops eventually. I know this is maybe outside the realm of normal for some people... but why not consider getting the tires looked at and repaired?

 

agree^^^

 

+2

Anything above 4/32 of an inch is considered to be adequate tread depth...YMMV.

I always replace my tires 4 at a time. If I have one tire that had to be replaced early due to a road hazard I'll usually save it for the spare rim and buy 4 new ones anyway.
I usually put Michelin Defenders on my CFO's car, and we've had very good luck with them.
Of course....we regularly keep the air topped off and rotate and balance the tires every 5-6k (free at the big-box stores.)

The TPMS, or Tire Pressure Monitoring system isn't really supposed to take the place of a tire gauge.
The newer units (in some makes, not sure about Yota) can tell tell you when your tires are down just a few PSI, but you can detect 1-2 psi changes more easily with more frequent, manual checks.
I'm not THAT anal about it but every time I check the oil, I grab the gauge and do the tires as well.....usually every 2-3 fillups.
This means that when my TPMS light comes on, I can immediately presume that something is physically wrong with whichever tire it's telling me is low and start making plans for a visit to the local tire shop.

Repeated TPMS alerts might mean that there's something much more seriously wrong with a tire than a slow leak.....like a slow leak caused by a nail or screw in your tire and this bears investigation......unless you want the tire to rapidly spit out the rest of the air at an unfortunate time, like when you're late for a very important appointment.....at night.....in a sketch neighborhood.....in the rain.

Good Luck!

 

+3

Why not fix the leak? It would cost $10 if it is a just slow leak on valve or maybe a tiny nail.

 

Costco just fixed a recurring leak in one of my tires. Third time I showed up, I told the guy that if it was a specific tire that was low (again, based off of the archaic TPMS not telling me pressures in each tire), that it would need checked and repaired.

I usually ask what they found and fixed, but they were so busy - and only charged me $11.73 or something under $12, that I didn't care. Thanks!

The thing about OEM tires is that the compound is usually a cheaper, less resilient compound than other models sold by each manufacturer. I've found that when OEM tires are half-worn they just flat so much easier than good (mode, but worn) tires from even the same tire manufacturer. Sometimes it's just worth getting rid of OEM tires early.

 

Yeah, my money is on getting the leak fixed unless the treads have worn down to the wear indicators. At that point you should just use the money towards new tires. If you do get the leak fixed, rotate the tires with the most tread up front where its more critical.

And If I were to get new tires, I would opt for Bridgestone Ecopias or Michelin Energy Savers.

 

Well deciding on getting new tires is a hard one, and it seems that most of my new cars needed tires by 40k regardless of make. While the tires you list are good or great tires, you should be looking only for LRR low rolling resistant tires if you care to maintain your fuel economy. Picking a regular non-LLR tire can cause your mileage to drop in excess of 10%. Some people hate the tires they have on their cars and say also LRR tires are junk. Certainly all tires have different qualities and strengths, and there are some LRR tires that are better than others. I have had personal experience with the Michelin Energy tires, and they were very good and probably provided the best mpg of any tire I had on my 09 Prius in 225,000 miles. The Michelin A/S is a very good tire too, but does not roll as easy as the Energy if you compare the two on the Michelin website. The other tires you listed are not eco friendly tires. A great resource is Tirerack.com and search for your vehicle and check then “eco-friendly” box on the filters to see what tires fit your car. I really like the customer ratings and test reviews to help select the best tires for my cars. Certainly Costco may be able to order in tires if they are a brand they carry. See if this link works for the Tire Rack search (with eco-tires selected) https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?tireIndex=0&autoMake=Toyota&autoYear=2017&autoModel=Prius&autoModClar=Three&width=195%2F&ratio=65&diameter=15&sortCode=38050&skipOver=true&minSpeedRating=S&minLoadRating=S

 

I thought that the general consensus was that many Prius owners don't want the eco-friendly tires, and instead want normal tires since they roll quieter.

 

There again, in a heavy-rain, or tropical-rain, state, half worn is the limit of tires I run. I want deep sipes to prevent hydroplaning, and new to half-worn is all I normally go for tires before I replace them.

 

Seems waaay premature to replace the tires. I replaced all 4 of my tires at 70k. Save your money and get the leaking tire(s) patched - you probably picked up a nail or screw.

Also, replacing the tires doesn't mean you won't have problems. After I replaced my tires, I had 3 punctures patched within 6 months, from different incidents of picking up nails or screws on the road.

 

Actually, the opposite is true. Firestone, and others (I believe Costco) always put the deeper tread on the rear. Too much grip in the front and too little in the rear can cause the rear to slide around.

I've gotten used to the Ecopias on both our Prius', and on our 2015 LeafS, as well.

I liked the Michelin Energy Savers on the Fusion Energi we had for a year. They were quiet, rolled easily, BUT...I did NOT like their wet traction...at 34k miles...too slippery for me!

 

Absolutely - every tyre company would agree - best tyres at the rear. Many sports cars have larger wheels at the rear - for instance PORSCHE Panamera (front engine) Tyres front 275/40; Tyres rear 315/35.

DUNLOP told me:

 

The TPMS that comes with the Prius is reporting the tire pressure, the Toyota GUI just doesn't display this information. I purchased an aftermarket stereo to get a touch screen Carplay/AndroidAuto and with that stereo, I can see the tire pressure and temperature of each tire in the Pioneer GUI.

 

Or this.....

 

The only time I've hydroplaned and banged-up the front of a car was from hydroplaning the rear tires, so I agree. The nice person-end came around on me. Good times.

 

I was reading this and got lost when Allan wrote Alan advising that Allan was no longer with the company.

 

I have no clue how 'nice person' as opposed to 'swear-word rear-end' got in my post, lol.