Replacement tire recommendations for a Gen II (2007) Prius?

ACKKK, My Cooper GFE are about to go. I did not like them much and posted a review earlier this year (it might be under my other "handle" CyberpriusII, which I lost because I forgot the password).

At any rate, I was planning on Goodyear TripleTred because so many people I know use them and SWEAR by them. So, I am totally not happy that the Prius does not "fit."

However, VIVA appears to be a WalMart only Goodyear brand....anyone know what it compares to....

 

Supposedly the Viva 2 is identical to the Assurance comfort tred, but gy badges it viva so that other shops dont have to compete for pricing.

 

I have an '08 Prius, and have just purchased a set of Bridgestone Ecopia EP422s from Tirerack. My wife has had a set on her Honda Insight for 8 months, and she is well satisfied. Mileage is up a bit (42+ mpg) from the OE Dunlops.

I decided the $70 rebate was too much to pass up--putting the price of the tire at about $62--well below the price of the OE Integrity, Michelin Energysaver , and Goodyear comfortread. The Michelin at $115 or so looks a bit overpriced.
The performance specs of the Ecopia are more in line with the pricier Michelin and Goodyear--much better than the Integrity, so I figure it qualifies as a "best buy", in the words of Consumer Reports. I'm expecting about the same mileage as my OE Integritys, with better wet and lt snow performance.

 

Immediate reaction on driving home after installing the Bridgestone Ecopia 422s was very positive. Absolutely quiet ride--quieter than the Integrities. Smooth. No noticeable change in handling or stopping on dry roads. Probably an improvement, since my Integrities hadn't been balanced for about 14K miles and were noisy. You really do have to balance every 5K miles as Toyota says, or tire noise is noticeable. Maybe an improvement in gas mileage, since the mpg ticked upwards. I bought these tires mainly for improved performance on wet and icy roads this winter, and expect to see that.

A word about the installer for Tirerack--local Sears. Cheap and excellent. $11. per tire for install plus $8 added per tire for lifetime balance/rotation. Good deal. I expect to rotate these babies every 5K miles like the book says, to keep the ride quiet. They even threw in an alignment check, which turned out to be OK--after 5 years. What a car. Best I've ever owned--Porsches, BMWs and the lot.

 

On the subject of tires, I just wanted to add, after doing tire cord related research for many years, that the best companies for tires are Michelin, Goodyear and Bridgestone. These are the biggest companies that spend the most on tire research--sticking the cord to the rubber, rubber traction compositions, tread design, etc. They have the most reliable tires. I wish the Michelins weren't so pricey.

 

FWIW, the Ecopia's were choice #2 in my book. I went with the more expensive Michelin Energy Saver A/S and am very pleased so far. But the Ecopia's were the tire I would have bought if I could not have got the one's I did.

Good choice imo and highly recommended here on PC.

 

Thanks. With the $70 rebate, it was almost a no brainer for me. That put the Ecopias cheaper than new Integrities.
In addition, I was looking for some enhanced safety in case I get caught on icey roads or snow this winter. It can happen in my area. The Ecopias are rated pretty close to the Michelins in off-roads. Plus I was looking for about the same gas mileage as the OEs, since I don't drive that much. Driving again today, I can confirm the Ecopias are noiseless on my car, and handle very well in normal driving. Better than I expected.

 

I have about two years on Ecopia EP-100s and have been very happy with them. I never liked the stock Integrities, so I consider these to be a significant improvement. I have found the wet performance to be better as well. Just don't let them get anywhere near snow, where they perform as poorly as one would expect for a non all season tire. I have always run snows in the winter, so it's not a problem for me except when I was a little slow on the changeover. That's how I know first hand how bad they are in snow. After years of my non-winter mileage slowly creeping down, it has now gone up slightly with these tires. To be fair, I also changed my spark plugs around the same time, so it's possible that has had some impact as well.

I can't say as to whether these would be better than your other options, only that I have been quite pleased with them. I do wish that MXV4's were available in my size as they would be my choice hands down. In my experience (I believe three sets on three different cars over the years), they've always been reliably great. And reliably expensive, of course.

 

I have a 2007 touring prius and need to get tires. I want to make sure I order the right size off tire rack because most threads I've read are in regards to the base prius. Does a 205/60R16 make sense for a touring prius 2007 ? I'm confused by the middle number 60 or the aspect ratio I've seen people choose 55, 60 and 65. My rim is a 16 since its touring and I currently have 195 Firestones on and would like to go to the wider 205. Not sure on the aspect ratio though any help? I read older threads about the toyo extensasbut are those still good or is the bridgestone and Michelin at the stop now? Thanks in advance

 

You should go to 205/55/16 as this size is the closest in circumference to the OEM 195/55/16 tyres. In real terms it is actually about 2.5% larger. The next size would be 205/60/16 and these would be larger still.
The correct size to go for would be 205/50/16, but the tyre range in this size is very limited in choice (fewer manufacturers make this size) RR is higher as is the prices by quite a margin.

John (Britprius)

 

In post #11 by Patrick Wong, he states that the Touring OEM size tire is 195/55 R16.

According tire-size-conversion.com's tyre-size-calculator, there are 2 choices of acceptable size in the 205 width:

• 205/50 R16 --> diameter is 1.2% smaller and has a circumference 1.6% smaller compared to the OEM
• 205/55 R16 --> diameter is 2% larger and has a circumference 1.7% larger compared to the OEM

I believe the tolerance is +/- 3%, so these are both acceptable. I guess it's up to you as to which way you want to go.

 

As "dolj" says above both are acceptable sizes, but the sensible size to go for is the 205/55/16's for a number of reasons:-
(1) The price of the tyres.
(2) The greater choice of tyres.
(3) The speedo becomes more accurate not less with the 55's
(4) The ride is better with the higher side wall.
(5) The mpg figures are better as the RR of the 55's is lower.
The middle number is a percentage figure of the width of the tyre (the first figure) for the side wall height. So 205/55 is
55% of 205 mm = 112.75 mm for the height of the side wall. Hope that makes sense.
The OEM size would be 55% of 195 mm = 107.25 mm side wall height so smaller by 112.75 - 107.25 = 5.5 mm or 0.21 inch.

John (Britprius)

 

Ok I'm going with the 250/55/16 would you recommend a brand of tire for me? I did a lot of reading but all the posts were from a few years ago. I would like good handling, low road noise, good in wet and dry conditions, not as worried about mpg.

 

This is something I cannot help you with as much because our tyres in the UK are different from US tyres. The tyres of choice seems to be in the US affected by if you use them in snow or not. For occasional snow use most seem to go for the "Goodyear EP422".
For none snow use the tyre seems to be the "Michelin energy saver AS", but no doubt others will chime in here.

John (Britprius)

 

That helps though because I was debating between those and I think I will go with the Michelin since I'm in Texas and not dealing which much snow. May be moving to CO so the goodyear may need to be considered.

Thanks

 

...correct except its not Goodyear its Bridgestone Ecopia EP422. The EP20 comes fairly highly recommended but I am not sure what sizes that comes in ...very limited. The EP422 and the Michelin A/S are indeed popular but for highest MPG. If the OP is interested in other things, then that brings into play a lot of other tires such as Michelin Defender etc. I would say Goodyear Assurance Comfortred but they have discontinued that one. I decided to try the Continental True Contacts, but they've only been on our car for 1-hr so too early to review!!

 

What made you go with that tire? Please let me know how they handle and how loud they are. Did you order online or go into a shop? What size did you go with? Thanks I'm itching to purchase soon.

 

Sorry a slight brain storm there, but I did say at the beginning I would not be of much help. I was even worse than I thought.

John (Britprius)

 

Last 6 years or so I mostly go with TireRack.com.
I was looking for A/S season handling in a milder winter zone. Smooth quite ride. Good wet/dry handling.
The TrueContacts are a new offereing, so my need for new tires came before I could wait to see as many reviews as I would normally like to.
But the early reviews by TireRack were execellent.
In a TX case I'd probably go with the Mich A/S or EP422 for MPG. CO case I do not know.