Low Rolling Resistance replacement tires: Current List

Anyone with recommendations for a 215/45/17 tire?

I picked up a used set of lightweight OZ Ultraleggeras at 17.2lbd each.

Right now they have used Michelin Primacy MXM4s 215/45/17. Tread seems to be uneven on all 4 tires and looking to maybe replace them.

Any good recs regarding MPG and value?

Right now I have these in mind:
Michelin Primacy MXM4
Bridgestone Ecopia EP422
Yokohama YK580

Thanks in advance!
Ram

 

All,

I read the first post as well as others and I am still confused plus I would like to hear from experience.

I picked up a set of 17" CT200 wheels for our 2014 PIP. I live in SoCal so we only get rain, no snow. I would like to know what would be the best tire to: maintain the best fuel economy AND will be the exact same diameter as the OEM 15" Yoko S33 (i believe they are exactly 25")

Thanks.

 

The wider tread will cause a bit of a FE hit. How much I cannot say for sure. H

 

Tire Rack recommends 215-45/17 but most of the tires are 24.7 outside diameter. When you go to a size of 225-45/17 then the OD is right at 25" so it appears that I want a 225-45/17 tire but I would like to hear from some folks on not only the size recommendations but also the tire brand recs.

 

Thanks! I was actually thinking of 225's, the 215's currently on the 8 inch wide rim look to be a pinch stretched as well.

 

No experience from anyone on the 17" tire reccendations?

 

If you're trying to match 195/65R15 OD, 205/50R17 has been mentioned here. And used I believe.

Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 is one decent LRR option in that size.

 

So I did about as much research as I could possibly do before pulling the rest of my hair out.

17x8 TSW Interlagos with Yoko Envigor in 205/50/17.

I will report back but initial drive is awesome. Way more stable and the car wanders a lot less. No idea what it will do to the MPG's. Bad pics and the silver center caps are ugly so I will fix both ASAP

 

So I am in the same boat^.....I read through a thread where it was mentioned that 205/50/17 was the best size for 17" wheels and I bought a set of pure contacts. Wish I would have paid a little more attention to which vehicle it was recommended for as I have a 2013. First I have to say holy chit have I been missing out! I have been rolling on a set of Yokohama's only because I got an incredible deal but managed to puncture them a couple times from screws which caused me to be in the position I am in now! The Yok's were SO LOUD that I truly had no idea how much better the ride could be! Noise levels are great so far and the tires seem really sure footed on dry pavement but I still need more time to assess properly obviously. I just hope the size will be ok because the wife will not let me spend another penny! Also I should point out that right now discount tire direct is doing a promotion through ebay. The best deal I could make, including the repeat customer discount was $497 shipped for these tires. But add the replacement certificates and the price went much higher. I managed to get all four with certificates shipped to my door for $516! Also...apparently the retail stores and disc. tire direct will finally be merging. I wonder how that will work with tire prices now. Also...these are the best pics I have for now

 

Need new tires, should I go with the 17" wheel (shown on front) or the standard 15" (shown on back)?

 

Any longer term follow up on these? I just got them installed and looks like 8% hit on MPG over worn out OEM ecopias. They are also somewhat noisy at 30-40 mph on smooth asphalt. In retrospect, the OEM ecopias were darn good and quiet to the end. I found a great deal on those purecontacts ($300 installed), but looks like I'll give away the savings in gas.

So much for the ecoplus label, LOL.

Edit: Pumped to 51 PSI, some improvement, but not back to the ecopia levels. The purecontact has a very aggressive tread pattern, I'm sure it's great for snow. What were I thinking!

 

Fl8216. Both look good! If fe means anything to you stick with the stock set-up. H

 

I put Michelin Premiers on my original 15" wheels from Costco, then went for some test driving on freeways with a little street traffic. The first trip was with the stock 35/33 pressures as set by the installers (which turned out to be closer to 36 all around!), then the same route with 40/38 psi. I let the tires cool off while eating lunch before raising the tire pressures. Temperature was 70-72 deg., sunny with a slight wind. Roads were dry. About half the route was run on the same freeway south then back north. Each trip covered 41.1 to 41.3 miles. The first trip started with s full gas tank. Cruise control was set at 61 mph.

MFD read 54.7 mpg with installer pressures, 54.6 mpg with 40/38.

I'd say the Premiers did fine for mileage brand-new, and I see no reason to run the higher tire pressures. I picked the Premiers over the Energy Saver A/S based on multiple sources stating the Premiers had better handling characteristics.

 

Another good report on the ''Premier'' tires, I put the 16'' aftermarket wheels and 215-55-16'' on my 2014 level 4 after being dis-satisfied with the ''wandering'' of the stock Yokohama Avid 33S factory tires, due to some insight from some members here. They absolutely helped in that, and my initial suspicion was proved out as they have proved to be rated high as ''Tire Rack'' has some feedback on a new player. My mpg are now the same as the factory offering, after a few 1,000 miles, and they are ''quieter'', as well as improved ''handling'. Methinks these will prove out to be a winner, and really popular, as the tread evolution is especially appealing, which was my l deciding factor. YMMV....

 

I definitely took a hit with the purecontacts. I really wanted 45+ mpg consistently but I have to work at it and honestly it takes a lot of effort. If the tires weren't MUCH better than what I was used to they would be gone. The car no longer feels like a tin can rather a stable and substantial vehicle now. Of course you also should know that I do a lot of highway driving at 70+ mph near and in the foothills of the rockies and my altitude doesn't help much either so take what I say with a grain of salt!

 

Please remove the Continental PureContact tire from this list in this sticky!
I bought them in part based on this recommendation and in part based on glowing tirerack reviews.
I lost no 8% like I stated in my post above by error. Now, after 1000 miles on the tires, the loss is 5-8MPG, whooping 10-15%. If someone told me that before, I would not have believed it, but it happened. The same commute I did netting 60MPG before, I'm getting 52MPG right now. This is all city. This is the best time of year for MPG for me (no AC, no heating).

The tires are not true LRR. When I touch the tires after driving, the sidewalls are warm, but the treads are hot. Must be lots of friction in the treads.

Besides, the traction is not that great either. I had a sudden braking event today on dry asphalt, the tires squealed and there was no ABS action. The OEM Ecopia tires would brake so hard, it would activate ABS in similar braking without tires squealing.

PS, after thinking some more on the braking and ABS issue, I could have it backwards though.

 

Yeah I too bought them for the same exact reasons!

 

Just installed a set of 205-60-16'''Premier's'' on G/F's 2012 ''v'' at 53,750 miles. The Bridgestone ''Turanza 400'' on it were actually still good but she wanted to give them to her GD. I put 38 f, 36 r and filled up at the local Shell [ reset trip A] and then made a 89 mile trip with 40 miles of good 2-lane ''country'' road traveling between 52-56 mph and 49 miles of I-20 with CC set on 60mph ---------55.9 mpg indicated on dash ''cons'. So, the new Premier's are getting every bit as good mpg as the worn ''Turanza's'', and will improve after a few 1,000' as mine did on my HB. I also was going to try the ''Pure Contacts'' but changed my mind when offered a $70 rebate and free shipping--- $534 delivered.

 

Just re-read this----- ''Friendly Jack'' if you paid $300 for the Pure Contacts installed, and I paid $534 for the tires delivered plus $60 to mount and balance--------- you can buy a boatload of gas for the [ not-so-little ] difference. You absolutely made a better buy than me, as the tires are closely rated for wet/dry handling. Now you are making me jealous that I did not get such a great deal......just saying....