new tires.... please make it simple!

We like the Continental PureContact. Stiffer sidewalls, better cornering, ecoPlus, LRR and 70K rated miles.

PureContact - 225/50R17 98V Tire | Continental

 

The Michelin ES/AS is the only thing that will stand out for MPG. Compared to the OE tires they will also meet your other stated wishes. $813 is a very good price for them. I'd get them without hesitation.

 

Beats me.

 

I'm surprised that Costco didn't suggest Michelin X Tour A/S. They are excellent tires. They are identical to the Michelin Defenders but with a different name to sell at warehouse clubs for $10 less per tire. Costco periodically has a $70 off deal for a set of 4 Michelin tires. When I bought mine they also had free installation. That got me out the door for about $380 total.

Michelin Energy Savers cost more and have a shorter tread life. As far as I can tell, that cancels out the fuel savings.

I agree, however, that the PureContacts seem interesting. Something is strange about the pricing. $76 at Discount Tire, $102 at Tirerack?

Defenders are rated at 80,000 miles, Pure Contact 70,000, Michelin E/S 65,000

 

We use defenders on our Honda Odyssey. I don’t think they are low rolling resistance, so you will probably give up some fuel efficiency to make excellent gains in pretty much all other areas.

Incidentally, we had continental true contact on the van before that. They weren’t as quiet or smooth as the defenders have been, but they did get better mpg, especially on the road. For the van it was probably 2-3 mpg difference, it would probably be double that on the Prius. I would not say that they are bad tires though, in fact the Michelins are almost overkill on the quiet and smoothness, but might as well enjoy it right?

We haven’t changed the Prius tires from whatever the dealer had on them (Toyo?) when we bought it used.

I’ve never had the energy savers, though many here like them and they do give excellent mpg. According to threads here, some feel the handling is a bit disconnected on them, especially on the freeway.

 

Michelin Premier A/S.

 

When you ask for 4 different characteristics (quieter, more fuel efficient and stable when cornering and cheaper) in a tire, it can't be simple.

Tire building and designing is a trade-off based endeavor. No one tire has ever had a best in all those characteristics and cost too. Build too much wet handling and you get noise, build too much summer handling and you get danger under 40F. etc.

And car owners can affect things too, too much tire pressure and you get harsh riding, too little and you get mushy handling. Poor alignment and you get wear and noise.

I'd suggest wandering over to tirerack.com or a similar big tire site that has comparisons of new tires of one brand/design versus new tires of another brand (don't trust my comparison of my old tires versus my new ones) with your top priority in mind. And even then their comparisons are liable to be of a different size tire on a different car than yours.

 

+1 for it’s hard to make this one simple. If you know what parameters you’re wanting to achieve it’s hard to get them all...the only way I think it could really be simple is if someone was like I need 4 tires to keep the car off the ground.

That’s why there are so many tire threads here...plus many of the posters here, myself included, are drawn to analyzing the crap out of everything. I hope you are able to find some satisfactory tires! For what it’s worth, I don’t really think any of the choices you list will make you unhappy - they all seem pretty decent.

 

Very interesting. My Michelin Premiers (supposedly) have a special tread that "widens" as the tire ages, which helps the wet traction & handling. Maybe that's why they are so loud? Treadware rating is 40,000 miles, but some owners report only getting 25,000. (Tire Rack reviews, and other tire sites.)

Seems to be a good handling tire, but definitely noisy, especially after the first rotarion. I think I will get the Defender when they wear out. Or maybe the Energy Saver.

 

I'm a fan of the General Altimax RT43. They are not going to get the best MPG score, but they are wonderfully quiet and even-tempered, suitable for a highway cruiser. Not expensive, commonly available in small sizes.

 

My previous tires were Michelin Harmonys, the predecessor of the Defender. I replace tires before getting to the wear bars and was very happy to go 65,000 before replacing them with the X-Tour. I simply have no complaints about the ride, handling and noise. My gas mileage may be down a little, about 45 mpg average calculated (48 on the display). I'm not knocking any other option, just happy with these.

 

Yes, the $70 off plus 1 cent installation charge makes any of the Michelins an excellent deal. Great service from that guy. I still think the Michelin X-Tours (Michelin's warehouse version of the Defender) are worth considering but good luck with whatever you choose.

 

I might go for that. The Defenders have the Green-X badge, give up a little mpg comparing to the Energy Saver A/S. They are the kind of tire that doesn't give you any troubles, and should be long lasting.

Be careful: the OEM Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 are made in Japan. There are two more itterations, a US and Mexican version of this tire. It'll very likely be either the US or Mex version they try to sell you, may be ok, but do be aware that they are different. They all three have somewhat different tread tread patterns, wear indexes and so on. This has scared me off this option, too much of a moving target.

 

Great service from Costco...I would just go with everything the guy said in that conversation. He made it simple.

 

The Michelin website says the Premiers have a 60,000 mile tread warranty.

 

simple