Tire Upgrade

Nokian WR or a set of snow tires for winter and Nokian i3 or Goodyear FuelMax for summer would be where I would start.

 

If I still lived there I would want a set of dedicated snows mounted on their own rims for winter. Over the long haul it's about the same money and you get more bite than 4-season tires. But we did get to test the Goodyear Tripletreads during our annual pilgrimmage and they did the job just fine. Maybe not as tenacious as the Blizzaks but good enough for the heavy snow that we encountered.

 

That is 2psi over the door jam, sorry

 

+1

I live in New York City which doesn't get as much snowfall as other areas in the Northeast.

But I can say that with TripleTreds on my cars for the past 14 years, I never felt a strong need to get dedicated snows. During the worst of this past winter's storms (the week before Christmas) in terms of bad driving conditions, my Prius with TripleTreds performed fine over the unplowed and hilly roads of Westchester and Rockland Counties.

 

Any feedback on the new tires you installed? I live in Southern New Hampshire and had 41K on the integs.

I want to upgrade to 195/60R15 OR 195/65R15's as per resident experts on the forum but stay away from directionals due to issues mentioned. I am looking for all-season tires.

Please share any good recent experiences. It snowed an awful lot this year in NH/Massachusetts where I drive most. Many Thanks.

 

Are you happy with these now that it has been over 2 months+? What size did you pick 185/65 OR 195/60? I am leaning towards these due to consumer reports but also considering Michelin X-Radials.

I would really appreciate any insight as I need to make a decision soon. The dealer/BJs/other big stores will not install non-OE sizes. I will head to an approved installer if I install other than OE size.

Senior Members, Please advise as I can see that you have tremendous experience and knowledge.

 

The original tires worked fine in snow if the snow was dry. Yes we get dry snow the mountains of NC. If the snow was wet, the roads are steep (up to 14 percent grade) in many places and the original tires did a lousy job. I have not had the hydroedge tires in snow or on ice yet because it got them in late March and no winter precipitation since then. I mainly hope they do better but I carry snow cables for the unexpected winter weather. If much winter precipitation is called for I drive a 1993 rag top jeep that will handle the weather plus I have cables for it also (the storage box for the cables look rough after 15 years but the cables have never been used).

I read that the hydroedge does good in snow and I hope they are right. I got the hydroedge mostly for the long wear and rain. NC DOT now builds roads to retain the rain water, or that least it seams like that.

 

Hello all. I have read through a lot of the tire threads but still feel confused and am wondering about updated information as many of the posts are from 2006 or before.
My current situation is one tire unrepairable, the other 3 have 38,000 miles on the OEM GY Integrity. I am on my third flat in the year I have had my Pri, Mockba is what we named her. I feel the current OEM are ok, maybe a little bit of what others have complained of. I am considering replacement of all 4 or seeing if I can get a used one to last out the miles on the other 3. I did this with my first flat and I had no problems. I will be driving 90% in IL, KY or TX and the rest driving between IL or KY and TX. So winter is really not of any consideration, other than an occational drive to Denver in the winter, but I have chains for desparate situations. Can anyone recomend which tires I should look into that are still in production and what sizes 185 195 205?? Thanks for the help!

 

A few people here have their favorites which remain the same after these last couple years.

I still like the Nokian i3s but I may try the Goodyear Fuel Max tires just for the hell of it since they are brand new. I prefer the Nokians because they perform well and the company tends to be a bit greener than most other tire companies. I stuck with the stock size for the best gas mileage.

 

Thank you for the reply. The Fuel Max look good! I can not find the Nokian at any of the local places I looked at online and the nearest listed on the Nokian site is at least 3 hours south.

Can anyone tell me the estimated life of the OEM Goodyear Integrities? I see listed 60,000 for new ones but did they get a cheaper version or something for the OEM? I see a lot of postings with replacing way too early and at the same mileage as I have, around 38,000.

Thanks!

 

I ordered my Nokians from Badboytires.com. They were very nice on the phone and the service was prompt but I didn't expect the harsh shipping charges.

 

I believe new Integrities are warrantied for 50,000 miles.

People's tread life experiences with the OEM Integrities vary A LOT. I think it's hard to generalize.

New Fuel Maxes are warrantied for 65,000 miles.

If I were getting new all season tires, I would get the wider tread size of 195/60R15 -- mainly for better handling and braking (the Standard Prius' braking distances are poor -- only in the 11th percentile of the over 100 current model sedans tested by Consumer Reports), and tires with better traction in all conditions -- which would also improve the handling and braking.

I love my TripleTreds, but I would consider getting the Michelin X Radial tire (a club tire available at Costco and other clubs) which performs almost as well as the TripleTreds, but it has better (lower) rolling resistance for better gas mileage.

But the Fuel Max also sounds like a good and cheaper choice. However, its performance in snow is supposed to be as mediocre as the Integrities. But I understand that snow performance is not an issue for you.

 

It's never too early to get rid of those.

 

I am glad I saw your note before buying because I need all 4 replaced. I am now convinced and bolied down to get either Michelin X-Radials OR Hydroedge.

Btw, Is there a difference between Michelin X-R and Hydroedge because I dont get X-R's at BJ's only Costco where I am a non-member.

Thank you.

 

Hey Boston 71. What type of tires did you end up with. Im in NH/MA. Work in Woburn. I am going to upgrade this fall.

 

The Michelin X-Radial and HydroEdge are different tires, although both seem to be held in high regard. For instance, Consumer Reports rates the rolling resistance of the Michelin X Radial as "Excellent" -- its highest rating, while it rates the HydroEdge's rolling resistance as "Very Good" -- its second highest rating.

With so many tires out there, it's almost impossible to find apples to apples road test comparisons. But one of my favorites is Consumer Reports November 2005 tests of some popular "passenger all season tires", including the Michelin X-Radial and HydroEdge and the Goodyear TripleTred and ComforTred -- check out the CR Ratings Chart:

Consumer Reports Ratings Passenger All Season Tires.doc

Good luck.

 

That's very informative, Boo. I'm surprised at the huge difference between the TripleTred and the ComforTred. And the fact that the X doesn't look so good for snow.

 

Havent quite taken the plunge yet - Leaning towards Michelin X-Radials and will sign-up with Costco (although still considering TT's). They have free life-time balance and rotation. I called the Nashua Costco and they will install 195/60's as they are within the allowances/tolerances.

 

I almost was considering the General Tire Altimax HP (185/65/15) but in the end decided to get the Michelin Primacy MXV4 instead since it was only CAD$15 more per tire.

We'll see how they do. I only need two tires, but I'm gonna replace all four of the tires. (I replaced some before because of a puncture.)

 

With the Michelin Primacy MXV4s, at 32 PSI (strangely enough recommended by both the tire shop and my Toyota dealer), the ride was way too soft. These tires are grand touring tires so softness is a "feature", but at 32 they were too mushy. I felt it was affecting the handling at that lower pressure.

For some reason the Toyota mechanic told me not use 35/33 PSI as recommended in the manual, so I asked him to up it to 35 all around. That gave a significantly better feel to the ride. Still luxuriously soft (compared to the Integritys), but not as mushy as 32.

I've since upped the fronts to 37 and kept the rears at 35. I'll drive at those pressures for a while to see how I like them. The good news so far is that besides the additional comfort, the Michelins are noticeably quieter than the Integritys. We'll see with time how much they affect fuel economy though. I expect the Michelins to give me somewhat worse gas mileage. I haven't hit rain yet so I don't know how good the wet traction is, but they've got to be better than the Integritys. Those stock Integrity tires are absolutely terrible in the rain IMO, while these Michelins have fairly positive ratings for wet handling.

BTW, I just used my relatively inexpensive bicycle pump. I was wondering how accurate the gauge would be, but when I clamped on the pump the gauge went to exactly 35 PSI (cold), just where the dealer had set it.

P.S. On my road bike, I set my tires at 130 PSI. That's some bone-rattling but energy-saving goodness.