In need of tires. Michelin x tour ?

Seems brand new? There's been Michelin Defenders, for quite some time now. And recently Defender T+H, which seems to be replacement. And the Michelin site is saying the X Tour lasts longer than Defender, again inferring it's some sort of Defender replacement. Confusing times.

 

Not sure but I'll be getting a set of Costco michelins this week (screenshotting web page a d bringing to Belle Tire for price match due to convenience).

Anyone know if 195s (instead of 185/65/R15s) are better on gas...seen a couple threads on prius chat saying this...???

 

If u bump up to 195/65/R15 (someone please comment on this!!!) then Costco has energy saver and energy saver A/S.

Which is best? Thoughts on 195/65/R15?

 

185/65r15 vs 195/65r15 mileage/comfort | PriusChat

 

In 195/65/R15 Cosco has:

1) Energy Savers for $573.96 might be a little too pricey for me.

2) Energy Saver A/S for $473.96.

 

In 185/65/R15 Costco has:

1) X Touring for $389.96

2) Premiers for $453.96

 

Based on pricing, if that is a reflection of the best tire, then the 195/65/R15 Michelin Energy Savers wins @ highest price of $573.96.

Discount Tire has them on special order for $698.14 installed....For that price must be a hell of a tire??? Or a big rip-off LOL

 

Last time I got Defenders when CostCo had a special... First I called PepBoys and they said "no, problem, just bring a screenshot, we'll match price"....But they had to order from warehouse...Belle Tire said exact same thing and had in stock and so about 1 year ago on a different Prius I used CostCo screenshot method...But I went with stock size. Not sure their policy on 10 higher than what factory calls for. Will find out tomorrow. Chances are they are a special order tire and may take a few days to receive?

 

Going from (stock 2nd gen) 185 to 195 seems kinda radical to me.

 

After much research/reflection...dealing with special orders and searching reviews where you always see complaints I have decided on the Bridgestone Ecopia 422 Plus. Discount Tire has them for $435 installed...out of stock of course. Firestone has them in and will price match. Nothing but great reviews.

 

Here are some reviews on the Ecopias:

4 New Ecopia EP422 P185/65R15 122732 Initial Report | PriusChat

Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 | PriusChat

Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Plus - MPG hit? | PriusChat

Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 tires | PriusChat

 

There are three iterations of the Ecopia EP422 Plus. One is made in Mexico, has four row mostly orthogonal, tightly spaced tread pattern, a particular wear index. Another is made in the 'States, has three row mostly orthogonal, more widely spaced (larger gaps) tread pattern, and a different wear index. A third is made in Japan, is four row more diagonoanal, tightly spaced tread pattern, and yet another wear index.

The Mex and US versions are both readily available in the 'States, some buyers have even been given two of each. New 2016+ cars off the boat are coming with the Jap version, and if there's a problem requiring replacement of one, they are available, but usually some delay, need to be shipped over I guess.

 

Just a reminder for Costco shoppers....there is always a tire on sale. Usually, you'll have a choice of Michelin or Bridgestone, and one of them will be one sale this month. And the other one will be on sale next month. The employees are very open about when the tires will be on sale in the future, so it pays to wait if you have that luxury.

 

Just put a new set of Ecopia EP422 Plus' on our '05 last week. So far so good. These were bought for mileage optimization as we run separate dedicated snows in the winter. So far no mileage drop and even a small mileage improvement from the now obsolete Michelin Energy Saver. And for extra saving buy them when one or the other is also running a rebate if you can get all your stars to align.

 

I've had defenders (major mpg drop) and continental true contacts (nice) and this time trying the EP422 Plus ($435 out the door current price at Discount Tire). Have heard nothing but good things about them and have yet to see a bad review. Will be picking up prius from shop in a couple hours.

 

Got them put on for $435 @ Firestone (matching Discount Tire).

My car seemed to like them on the way home. I purchased the car yesterday so don't have history on the mpg but dash read 45.6mpg.....On the 8 mile ride home it reads 54.6mpg but I have a feeling it's a fluke! By hand I've never owned a Prius getting over 42mpg. It came on 3/4 tank so will be a while before I even fill it up.





They really feel like they grip the road which I suppose is a plus....I was paying extra attention to "tire noise / road noise" and to me they seem a little noisy, but if my mpg improves that is fine with me. Nothing AC/Heat and low volume radio don't block out.

As an added bonus Firestone has a deal with Bridgestone where from August 10th to October 8th you get a $70 pre-paid visa and can fill out rebate online in 5 minutes...This brings my out the door price down from $435 (already about $100 savings from competitors) down to $365....other stores were in the drop-down list:






My only complaint is the way they put this wheel cover on:

 

Holy Shite!

Did you not ask Firestone why they added a clip on wheel weight? The OEM wheel left the factory with adhesive tape on wheel weights, that get mounted to the inside of the wheel. Yours is the first modern wheel I have seen, where someone applied clip on wheel weight(s), when previously there were none.

I would take the car back and have Firestone rebalance any wheels that have the clip on wheel weight, and make them use the tape on wheel weight. It miht be possible the balancing machine said they had to add a weight to the lip?

Are you sure Firestone was the cheapest? When I had to buy tires, very few places would attempt to match Costco's price. When I calculated the complete price (tire, disposal, mount, road hazzard warranty, TPMS), for an equal comparison, Costco was always the cheapest. Costco's install fee includes road hazzard warranty; tire shops had everything a-la-cart, which made the final price expensive.