Need help deciding on a new brand of tires!

I bought a 2012 level three about a year ago. The dealer put a new set of genetic tires on it but I traded them in at Discount tire for a new set of Michelin Energy Saver AS tires. My mileage jumped 5 miles per gallon over the sorry tires I took off. I just traded my three off for a 2012 level five but I had put 25000 miles on those tires and they performed wonderfully. The are absolutely the best tires out there for mpg. The ride is so smooth and the wear was minimal. I live in the south where snow is not an issue. The experience I had with mine made me a believer. I would never buy anything else.I hope this helps.

 

Love my Michelin Energy Saver AS tires too! Actually ride and feel better as time goes on.

 

I would get Michelin Defenders. You are already getting fantastic gasoline mileage. It won't hurt to get a little less for the comfort and handling you will get with the Defenders.

 

Very happy with the Defenders I had installed 5k miles ago. Mileage started -5 but are now at the same point as the Avids. Very cushy ride, quiet and great handling. Love the 90k warranty. Running at 40/38 psi. Highly recommend.

 

I just came to a decision on a new set of tires for my Prius, and I couldn't be more pleased.

I poured over all the reviews that I could access, and like yourself, was very close to going with the continental purecontact ecoplus, especially as it rates well on just about everything and I hoped to do away with the added cost of seasonal change overs from all season to winter tires.

If it snows where I live, it usually doesn't last too long, but it often gets icy, rains a ton and we have lots of hills. Think of Seattle in winter and you have a pretty good picture of things in Vancouver.

I went for the Nokian WRG3's for the ultra low rolling resistance, stability and quiet. They beat out many of the top rated snow tires and are basically UHP tires, with an H speed rating, as well as 95xl with them running cool even with the car at load limits plus. They have a very light crisp feeling and travel the highway like an arrow on a mission... don't seem bothered by pavement irregularities. With a 100,000km treadlife rating they suit me where I typically do around 20k each year. This would mean looking at new tires close to 6 years which is the longest amount of time that I'd go with any set on the car.

They are beautiful tires that are good in any weather situation, even have the severe winter service mountain snowflake.

Not the cheapest tire around, the know they have a great product and don't do OEM stuff or big box it seems, they can get their margins on them. So unfortunately you cannot get reviews on Tirerack.com as an example. If you think you might drive all year on your Defenders or Conti PureContacts... have a look at these tires, they are going to be much better when it gets colder or slushy... if it rains where you live many owners have commented that they do better in rain than most other tires.

You may find more information on the web by looking for Nokian WR A3's... as basically that is the same tire just relabelled for North America as WRG3.

I know you will love them if you try them out.... in any and all weather.

Roland

 

I had WRG2 on a previous hybrid, employed as snow tires. I wouldn't call them ultra low rolling resistance, by any stretch of imagination. They weren't terrible, but about 10% drop in mpg comparing to Bridgestone Ecopia EP20.

Could be WRG3 have changed, but I'm sceptical.

 

They seem to be as good or better than the Ecopia EP20's that came as OEM on mine in terms of fuel consumption. Right now I'd say much better but that would be looking at them only from the fuel saving stand point. The other points of the tire exceed what you could ever hope to get with the Bridgestones. These ride better, drive better last longer and are all weather where as the Ecopias are not. Excellent fit with the climate conditions here. Nokia say the G3's improve upon the G2's in all aspects.

The Ecopia tires didn't last long enough, needed to be replaced with winter tires to keep traction control from leaving me stranded in a few spots and after nearly 40 years of driving, I had 3 flats with those things. Sure I know, a screw through the tread can happen and will to any tire, but I had more than my share with the Ecopia's... if not I would have bought them again and saved the added expense of the Michelin snow/ice tires and costs to change over twice every year.

When the Ecopias died, I replaced them with a heavier tire that was not rated as low rolling, but was a top pick with several review sites... Goodyear Assurance Tripletreads... so I know about what low rolling resistance tires can do to alter fuel economy with a Prius. sure I could nurse trips out of them seeing 3.8 to 4.4 l/100km, but I did long term average run close to 5.8.

My results with the EP20's over 30,000 plus km was closer to 4.9 with averages running a little higher in winter and slightly lower in summer.

I'm seeing 4.9 with the Nokian WRG3's now through what you know has been an exceptionally hot spell of late in these parts... so my a/c usage is heavy these days to keep my passengers cool and safe, with it set at 20 with outside temps of 34. When I am alone driving the car, I will often do the open sunroof thing but it doesn't always work that way.

The tires are at Toyota pressures, air only, lol; 35 front and 33 rear. Seem to match my Ecopias exactly at this time, but I've honestly only run them for just under 800kms thus far, and I expect the averages to improve with more use with varying temperatures and usage patterns. Just today as an example the car sat running for 20-30 minutes out in the sun with passengers not interested in going into the store... so my mileage of course reflects this.... so I am only at Ecopia levels so far not ahead.

But with fuel costs back where they should be, and a reasonable belief that will not have to buy and insall winter tires again while running these Nokians, I should be ahead a lot with any luck, besides enjoying a transformed Prius... it really is a joy on the highway to drive and the tires are so quiet compared to the Goodyears that could drive you to distraction on certain surfaces.

Roland

 

I need new tires too for my Gen2...thinking about trying the new Continental TrueContacts.

Nokian sounds good, but I have the impression they are sold more in northern climates, I'd have to go north to Pittsburgh to get some.

Seems to me in warmer climates the high MPG tires, Mich EnergySaver A/S and Bridgestone Ecopias, are good options, but they are not as good for winter snow etc.

So if you want an all-season tire excellent in snow, then you gotta sacrifice some MPG and you're talking Defender, or Nokian, hopefully the TrueContacts, on the Goodyear's the GY Assurance ComforTred which we still have on the rear after almost 100k miles.

 

I have a 2014. And use ecopia ep20 for summer and Nokian Wr g2's for winter. Ep20 average 4.3 ltr per 100. Nokian 4.8 average. Not in the ball park with the ep 20. H

 

Yeah, if I lived in SoCal and never took a trip up north to ski or something I'd never look at an All Weather tire like the Nokians. I think many manufacturers will slowly head that way offering tires that stand up to summer heat but offer better rain and cold weather performance as they have made great improvements in the chemical make up of tires today so much more is possible. I see the WRG3 tires I've just installed as being perfect tires for my Pacific North West Coast experience and in place like New England where guys like Tom Mulcher (sp?) of Consumers Reports runs Nokian WR's on his personal ride.
I used to live in Toronto Canada and if they had the WR tires back then, I'd likely have used them as much of the winter the roads were not very bad in the city and the road crews tended to be very aggressive about clearing and using tons and tons of salt to eat away at my Volvo's Mercedes and BMW's of youth.
We get a lot of rain up here for almost 10 months of the year sometimes believe it or not, so you want something good at evacuating water to avoid hydro planning if you are driving at speed. I think most drivers up here like to overdrive conditions, maybe just my point of view though altered with age experience and learning to drive and coming from a high enforcement part of the country compared to the Vancouver lower mainland.
The Goodyear Comfort Tread and new at the time Defender from Michelin were high on my lists of replacement choices when the Bridgestone Ecopias reached EOL. I went with the GY Tripletreads because of the great reviews, especially in the rain. Michelin discontinued their Hydroedge tires at the time that I was also considering and I did not wish to buy old stock and run into a replacement problem should a tire became damaged before the entire set was worn down. I found the Michelin X-Ice tires to be pretty good in terms of noise, comfort and fuel efficiency. But they were not the greatest snow tires... but those were version 2 and X-Ice3 tires have better ratings. I really believe that most of my decrease in winter fuel mileage had more to due with the ICE running more to get to operating temperature, and to provide cabin heat. My electric seat heaters don't help out folks in the back seat. Think the Michelins are low rolling, at least the X-Ice tires, and I know the Nokians are.
I look at it this way, if the Nokians can last as long as 2-3 sets of Ecopias, giving similar fuel cost saving, maybe better, save me the purchase of 1-2 sets of winter tires with the twice yearly changeover costs.... I am way out ahead in the game.
I just had to share my thoughts about the Nokians as I am so pleased with them, and know that a lot of Prius owners want ultra low rolling tires that save fuel, but also see not only winter weather, and temperatures low enough to make all season tires get hard enough to lose traction and braking effect, but also see enough snow to need to switch over to good winter tires for part of the year. If the tires sucked, believe me I'd have said something as well to warn others, but as it was I am not taking them up on the 30 day satisfaction thing, they will see me again in 5 to 6 years. I was able to get good money for my Good Year and Michelins to reduce the cost to the point that I know I will pay for these tires in the money I save on gas with them over their life.
The other reason I have taken the time to write about these tires is that they seem to be virtually invisible with people looking at other brands. I'd heard about Hakkapelittas I think many years ago as the ultimate winter tire, but aside from seeing a few Subaru types with early WR's I never reasearched or knew about how good the tires were.

Roland

 

Understood, but I wonder if you used the WR2's at the same time of year would the numbers be closer?

That is what I have mentioned in another post..... My Ecopia numbers for the year were higher than yours... but the cold weather did that...

I couldn't run the Michelin's in summer as the heat would quickly use them up, but while they are good low rolling resistance tires, the cold causes an increase in consumption. Your numbers for the G2's in winter are a function of both the tires and tempertures afaik. The Ecopias are okay when new in light snow... but I needed to eventually get the winter tires here. A point 5 l/100 seasonal difference is not bad.

I can attest to nearly a full litre reduction in summer time between the Nokians and the Good Years... although there has been unusually hot weather here of late causing me to really hammer the a/c use.

Roland

 

Roland, My WRG2 were some sort of of "extra load" rated. I believe there were two varieties, the other being regular load. That might have been a factor. And, the WRG3 is a new tire, maybe new rubber formulation, better RR? It's good to know you're getting good mpg from these. Thanks for the extensive responses!

 

Don't get me wrong. I like the Nokian alot. I have them on my wife's 06 gen 2. I was going to leave the Nokian tires on my 2014 but decided to install the ep 20, and man did my fe climb. I am running 38-36 lbs in the ep 20 and love the ride. I ran higher pressures with the Nokian. I am not sure how long the 20,s will last as they came with the car last December and only have about 4 thousand kilometers on them, we will see. H

 

I think one of the things they corrected over the G2 was highway stability.... and they did that by reducing the amount of movement that the tread can make? In my mind this is part and parcel of low rolling resitance as deformation of the tire wastes energy? I know there is more to it than that, but if interested you can view the Nokian people do a rolling resistance test using a Prius on You Tube.

My thoughts are that buying two sets of tires to deal with weather conditions, or local regulations adds to the cost per mile that one encounters. I chose to use my stock alloy wheels and TPMS when I did change over, consequently I would have paid a little more for that service than somebody who bought another set of wheels and possibly sensors and had to reprogram each time. I ran the GoodYears from early 2011 until a short time ago, and aside from mounting the Michelin X-Ice tires the first winter, I kept them one year round the next 2 years. This was because I really wanted to wear them out and get my money out of them as I wasn't thrilled about the fuel economy and noise. Damn things ran would never go away though, looked new when sold after more than 65,000 on them. The X-Ice tires were quieter and you could detect the improvement in fuel, but that would erode as temperatures went down. They didn't have great lateral stability and were sometimes worse than the Tripletreads sometimes in terms of starts and stops on the almost constant early morning black ice covered roads. Using a well rated All Weather tire should address this issue better than the Tripletreads, also something of an All Weather tire did for me. I would have kept the GY's and put up with the poor, relative, fuel economy as the added security of dry and wet weather traction is worth something. They were not bad in snow, still had at least 7/32 on them but the noise was an ever present irritant.

As I watch things like fuel use, I know already the Nokians are doing better. But, until I have a full year on them and can see what going through 4 seasons does in terms of gasoline consumption I will wait to report a year from now. Everything I've read tells me they will do really well in the rain, and should do better in slushy snowy and icy conditions, but until I can personally see, have to wait. Right now, I can attest to the improvements in handling ride comfort and noise over what I had before on this car. They have much in common with the Ecopias as I recall how light the steering was with them and I believe they are a little quieter than they were but very close.

Still think the Nokian should be on the list as a logical replacement tire for the Prius, given the ultra low rolling resistance, great handling and likely reduced cost of seasonal changeovers for those who have temperatures in winter below 7 Celsius, where the all seasons start to really lose it, or where people see snow and ice.

Roland

 

Oh maybe I misunderstood you Harold. I thought you were only using the Nokians as a winter tire and taking them off in summer time.

Aside from the flat tires and super short life of the Ecopias I loved them too. Found they were great in rain and I like the ride, fuel economy and didn't find them too noisy. Mostly it is part of the way the car is designed to reduce weight and increase efficiency over all that tire noises become more important in this car to me than in most other vehicles I've owned.

Likely I would see a measureable increase in fuel savings if I added a little more air, but I like to run at factory specs. The car has never needed an alignment in my 5 years with it. All tires on it have worn dead even with no cupping or uneven levels. Guess that is why I've never had to have any tire rebalanced on it also. This contributes to my opinion that the Prius is bulletproof. Not only a car with great fuel economy, but also exceedingly low maintenance costs.

Hope you get a longer service life from your Ecopias.... buy them 2 or 3 times and you will more than pay for a set of Nokians.

Roland

 

Thanks for all of the posts on the WRG3. I live in Minneapolis and had difficulty in the snow last year with my 2011 Prius. Part of the problem was that the factory tires were worn. I was considering purchasing dedicated snow tires, but am balking at the price. I'm going to give the WRG3s a try.

 

Hope you like them as well as I do mine.

With the cold weather covering huge parts of the continent these days, it makes areas that previously could get by with only all season tires, more appropriate for the all weather tires like the Nokians.

They are a better fit for more parts of the country now.

Roland

 

Don't buy purecontacts with the "ecoplus". Huge loss of MPG. Search for my posts on it.

 

Saw those posts of yours F_J.... that was my number 2 choice for a replacement tire based on the reviews on Tirerack.com and 2 friends who have other Continental models on a Matrix and a Versa hatch.

Buying the Nokians requires you to take more of a leap of faith with less in terms of those big review sites, but the tires are amazing. They make so much more sense than having 2 sets around too.

I've only now started to see the cold weather mileage drop because you have to sit warming up the car to get the interior fog off the glass while you use the ice scraper outside, and the heater and seat heaters are on to fight the cold. Luckily, locally here we get out of some of the artic cold for some time and get back to warmer wetter pacific conditions that will help. The Nokians are wickedly good in the rain.

Roland