Replacement Tires for 2007 Touring

[staze]

Hi All,

Apologies if this is covered somewhere else, but a cursory search doesn't turn up a whole lot when it comes to Touring (16") replacement tires. Even the dealer basically said "We don't deal with a lot of touring's, so we don't really know a good recommendation".

I have the stock tires (Turanza El400's) on the car now, which are down to the bars after only 26k miles. WAY under the 80k they should last. The dealer basically said that Bridgestone won't warranty them because they are OEM installs, which don't have a treadwear warranty. I haven't talked to Bridgestone yet, but that seams like something that would be the case.

Does anyone have a good recommendation for replacement tires? Everyone says the Goodyears on the standard are great for LRR, but a bit rough. I have no clue if they make them in the 16" size. Ideally I'd like to give up as few MPG as possible, and keep the lower profile of the Turanza's (they handle pretty well, not much sidewall flex).

Thanks for your help with this!

[rigormortis]

i just bought tires, sigh

me and americas tire store called bridgestone, they would not cave in on thier no treadlife warranty for oem installs

here are some choices for touring tires:

1) buy another set of turanzas
2) 80 % of all tires made in the 195 55 16 size are run flat tires, these can run 120 and up. the reason for this is most cars made in that size do not have a spare tire
3) consumers reports top rated the Falken ZE912 tire, these are about $99 each and are available in the touring size
4) for about $145 and up you can get michelin pilot primacy tires, these are made in that size, but there is no treadlife warranty on these tires, the mxv4 version of the pilot primacy has the treadlife warranty, and the mxv4s are not available in the "touring size"
5) upgrade to 205 55 16 as your choices will greatly increase, the tire will be slightly wider ??

it is hard for me to reccomend a tire when there are only 3 or maybe 4 tires manufactured in that size.

i went with the pilot primacy tires, the standard ones, i got them at sears, they mailed out a 15% automotive coupon to me
and i took advantage of them.

i seriously considered mailing my receipt for the tires to toyota financial to get an extension on my car payments, but did not haha

[Boo]

Here are the three all season, non-runflat tires that TireRack sells in the OEM 195/55/16 size:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...ce=AS&x=42&y=5

Seems like the Bridgestone Potenza G 019 Grid might be a good choice too in the OEM size given its price and very good reviews from TireRack customers who rate it second in its class of high performance all seasons.

Regarding the Falken Ziex ze-912, note that Consumer Reports tested and top rated its cousin or predecessor, the 512. It did not test the 912. Also, you should be able to get the Falken Ziex ze-912 in the OEM size online for much less than $99. I think misslexi paid $73; and that Discount Tire sells it for $77.

EDIT: Correction - As rigormortis pointed out below, Consumer Reports did test the Falken Ziex ze-912. It was among the tires tested in CR's January 2008 tests of Ultra High Performance tires, and it was the top rated Ultra High Performance all season tire tested.

Nokian also makes a high performance all season tire in the OEM size -- the WR G2 -- which a lot of our Canadian Chatters seem to like because of its performance in snow. But it's an expensive tire -- about $150 online.

Regarding the Primacy, I believe that is a summer tire, so it wouldn't be suitable for light snow.

Finally, note that there are a couple of threads about tires for the Touring. I think this is probably the lengthiest one:

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-mo...e-upgrade.html

There are also individual posts about tires for the Touring in the standard Tire Upgrade thread:

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-mo...e-upgrade.html

[staze]

Thanks!

So, I think I'll call up the local Firestone dealer tomorrow and see what they want for the Potenza's, and see if they'd give me any kind of deal because of the wear on the OEM's (I seriously doubt it, but we'll see).

The Potenza's certainly seem to get good reviews, and they're pretty affordable. It's interesting to see that the OEM Turanza's are seemingly subpar, or otherwise different than the standard Turanza's. I don't really need snow performance living in the PNW (Western Oregon)... but light snow is somewhat common, so it looks like the Potenza's would handle that.

I'm also going to check with Costco and see if they sell anything in the 195 size... looks like they have a few, but they're all really friggin' spendy (I guess cause they're runflat). I like Costco, and they have always been good to me... but I'm not going to spend $600 on tires if I can afford it (especially since all it would give me is N2 fills). Living in the PNW, I can go to any Les Schwab and get free rotations whether I bought the tires from them or not.

I'm not sure I entirely like the idea of going to 205s, but if it's necessary, I'll certainly look at it.

Either way, thank god I'm able to refinance my car at this point... I can just roll that into my loan.

Thanks for the info. Any other info you might have would be great! I did read the first linked thread, but going through the 33 pages of the second thread is a bit much. =/

Also, made a note to make sure the tire shop doesn't trash my TPMS.

[rigormortis]

i just logged onto consumer reports, its an old report and it needs to be revised because the ratings don't include the current size choices, but it was the uhp falken ze-912 that was top rated in the uhp catagory with the score of 85. i am looking at that page right now and i am really confused when you claim they never tested it


that is probably your best deal, because the falcons are only $99 on average

[Boo]

Originally Posted by rigormortis

i just logged onto consumer reports, its an old report and it needs to be revised because the ratings don't include the current size choices, but it was the uhp falken ze-912 that was top rated in the uhp catagory with the score of 85. i am looking at that page right now and i am really confused when you claim they never tested it


that is probably your best deal, because the falcons are only $99 on average

You're right! Thanks for finding that report. It was their January 2008 report on Ultra High Performance tires. I had missed it when it came out.

Yes, the Falken Ziex ze-912 was top rated by Consumer Reports in its test of Ultra High Performance all season tires.

Also interesting is that they characterized the 912's rolling resistance as good (but my guess is that it's not as good as the OEM Turenza El400's)

And for $77 from DiscountTire.com, it sounds like a bargain.

[staze]

So, calling around, online is seemingly the cheapest way to get tires, but install kills....

Bridgestone locally wants $440 for 4 Potenza's and install. Sears wants nearly $500 for 4 ZE-912s (btw, asking someone on the phone "Do you sell Falken tires?" is just hilarious). That's $92/each, plus about $70 install. Which means that $75 for the Potenza's online, plus shipping (about $10/each), only puts the online site $7/tire cheaper than the local store. And installs in the area range from $60-$80. So really, I'm not saving much by going online rather than to the local Bridgestone.

The last question is, I guess, is are the Falken's much better than the Potenza's? Because ordering them online, and having them installed would be the same cost as the Potenza's. The downsides being that the Falken's have a lower mileage warranty, and I order online rather than giving money to a local shop.

Thanks!

[Boo]

Originally Posted by staze

So, calling around, online is seemingly the cheapest way to get tires, but install kills....

Bridgestone locally wants $440 for 4 Potenza's and install. Sears wants nearly $500 for 4 ZE-912s (btw, asking someone on the phone "Do you sell Falken tires?" is just hilarious). That's $92/each, plus about $70 install. Which means that $75 for the Potenza's online, plus shipping (about $10/each), only puts the online site $7/tire cheaper than the local store. And installs in the area range from $60-$80. So really, I'm not saving much by going online rather than to the local Bridgestone.

The last question is, I guess, is are the Falken's much better than the Potenza's? Because ordering them online, and having them installed would be the same cost as the Potenza's. The downsides being that the Falken's have a lower mileage warranty, and I order online rather than giving money to a local shop.

Thanks!

Hard question for any of us to answer since (a) haven't seen a third party road test comparison of the two tires, (b) doubt that there's anyone here who has tried both tires, and (c) in your initial post you said you didn't want to lose mpg, and I don't think anyone has solid rolling resistance info on the two tires or the stock Turenzas.

If it were me, I'd probably go with the Falkens. In any event, both tires seem like good choices. I'm comforted by the fact that the tires have received good reviews from Consumer Reports, TireRack, TireRack customers and/or PriusChatters.

Good luck.

[rwhoyle]

staze,

I have researched replacement tires for the day I need to replace tires on my wife's and my Tourings. Due to the fact that there are a slew of 205-55-R16's to choose from as opposed to the few OEM size 195-55-R16, I have decided to go with the 205-55-R16 size when I replace the Bridgestones. The three tires that I have filtered down to as possible Touring replacement tire candidates in this size are:

Goodyear Assurance TripleTred
Goodyear Assurance ComforTred
Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S

As of now, I am leaning toward the Michelin's when I need to buy replacement tires.

Hope this helps you with your selection!!! Let us know what you decide to go with and how it works out.

[staze]

Boo,

Yeah, I realize that. And, while I don't "want" to loose MPG, I fully understand that I might. Loosing MPG would be much more likely if I went to 205's rather than 195's.

rwhoyle,

I'm not sure I want to go to the 205's... looking online, the Pilot Exalto A/S's are about $140/each at Costco... which would turn my $440 into nearly $600 for new tires. Also, only 45k mileage on them. Though, looks like Sears only wants $123...

I'm going to have to go to Costco tonight and see what they say.

And here I thought I had my mind made up...