Tire Replacement Time: Cheap Sumitomo/Nexens to Integrity or FuelMax or EnergySaver

Update: Tires are installed. The price for install was $93.08. (Labor:$60, Parts:$20, Enviro/Suply:$5, Sales Tax:$8.08). That brings the entire total to $401.64. This was a lot cheaper than the last times I got tires (which I got from the dealer) for $770 total.

The ride is a little bumpier than I expected and better-gripping. I have to adjust from being used to semi-bald tires!

 

OMG seriously that big a difference? I am so confused and a bit po'd as I had no clue that tires could make such a difference. I have a 2005 with 126,000 miles on her. She was still regularly getting 40-44 mpg up until we had her into the dealership for her 125,000 mi maint. and they cleaned the fuel injectors. Suddenly she is getting 26-32 but the thing is just onder 2 months ago I had a flat while out of town. I had to go miles out of my way on the temp-a-spare to a Walmart tire store to have them honor the $10 per tire warranty. It was the 30th of the month so I was flat broke and Walmart told me the tread was 3.2 so they'd call it 4 (whatever that means) and that they would only give me 1/2 off a new tire and would keep the old one. I blew up from the stress and insisted they let me keep my flat tire as I wanted other folks' eyes on it. They allowed me to keep it (why wouldn't they and what right would they have not to?) I had to call someone who had to call his pastor and ask for a loan and a ride to the bank on my behalf. Thank God for that kindness at closing time or I could not have gotten home and would have had to sleep in the car or a shelter! Sheesh! Anyway I finally got her in and asked the dealership for advice as I thought it was maybe not so good to drive with 1 new and 3 old tires anyway. They recommended $1200 worth of: 4 new tires (Goodyear higher end but I forget what type exactly) an alignment, the fuel injectors cleaned, lube, oil, filter, cabin filter, and the 125,000 mi check. Uh, I only have less than $900 a month to live on so that was not going to be possible. In the end I got the basic check-up for the mileage and the fuel injectors cleaned. I've since shopped all over for tire deals and found a local merchant who will meet or beat anyone's advertised price and who has an agreement with an alignment shop next door for discounts on alignments. The alignment guy said that he would check her over at no charge and he suspects the dealership was wanting to do the alignment just for $$ sake as his belief is that she might be a little off for the past 2 months with 1 new tire but not really need an all out alignment once the tires are all balanced (makes sense as she doesn't seem to drive out of align to me)...But the drop in gas mileage is astronomical and I am way too poor and have to drive way too many miles to be able to afford this huge change! So I called the dealership to complain (had some other issues too related to body work) and they said that either my engine is running warm and in that case the engine light should be on (it isn't) or it is because I don't have proper tires for a Toyota Prius. That was when they launched into a story about how Prius' are very sensitive to tires and I really should never have bought tires that were not recommended by Toyota. I bought the car used w only 14,000 miles and have bought new tires 2x, both times from el cheapo tire places and the el cheapoest tires and I have NEVER noticed a difference in my mpg before except one terribly cold ice storm month in WA when we got only 36 mpg and some guy at Toyota said that was because the Prius gas tank is really a bladder and contracts and expands w the heat and cold!??? What kind of garbage is being told to me by Toyota? Or is it all true and they neglected to tell me that when I bought it?---Summary: Could driving on 3 old and 1 new tire for 2 months while seeing NO difference in mpg suddenly change because of the tires? Alignment? Do I need to buy a certain kind of tire to keep my Prius getting good gas mileage? Could cleaning the fuel injectors have harmed my gas mileage and they are just pulling the wool over my eyes because I am ignorant? Please someone educate me before I go broke(er)! Thank you.

 

2006 Prius 133,000 Fuel Max tires average 44-46mpg running the air full blast in the summer here in Los Angeles. Ride is smooth.

 

I wanted to save some money, installed 4 new tires (Trazano), 254$ including all tax fees etc. So far 10k miles. Cant tell the difference between new ones and Hankook. It all depends on the driving style I guess. Highway ~48mpg @ 72-75mph, ~52mpg @ 60-65mph. City seems to vary since my wife makes for 50% of the driving and she doesnt know what she is doing : ) Obviously wait until temp drop below 45F, the best would be to average the full season, I installed mine by the end of March 2014. Not sure if any of the LRR will last beyond 25-30k mark, especially on a Prius. Numbers (mpgs) posted here by other users (not only this thread) were not very enticing to spend additional 250-300$ upfront (in my case, I would have to wait >1week to get any decent tires for a buck, eg tirerack, shipped. I really overlooked the condition of the tires over the winter season, and had to get them ASAP! big no-no!).
ps
I use 40/38, F/R

 

Time for me to replace my tires again also. Had such great performance from the last set (Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring) I'll be installing the same again. All highway miles, which certainly helped with getting maximum wear. Currently at 79,220 miles/52 months and tires are down to 4/32". Maybe not the best for LRR, but I can't complain about consistent 47+ MPG. Major selling point for me is how quiet these tires are on our lousy Arizona roads. And they maintain the silence right up to the end. I ran pressures of 42/40 and checked every other week. Rotated and balanced every 6K.

 

I saw the drop in tank MPG after a dealership visit too, but I am pretty sure the reason was the mechanic running the car's AC in their hot garage for a couple of hours.