Time for tires

[Rxmxsh]

So, I am at 30k, and the tires are ready to be changed. Recommendations? I am starting the research now, but I am completely clueless as to which tires are good, what is rolling resistance, how is that measured, etc...

I'd like to keep my total cost less than $500 installed.... maybe even a little cheaper if possible without compromising mileage.

[Rxmxsh]

If I go the Costco route, the BF Goodrich Traction T/A's would cost me $344 out the door. Another tire I was looking at was the Michelin - X Radials. Those are a little more at $484. That's a pretty steep difference per tire. Does anyone have any thoughts on these tires, or perhaps another suggestion?

[lenjack]

Very pleased with the Micelin X radials. Got them at Sam's. Same price as Costco.

[Rxmxsh]

Originally Posted by lenjack

Very pleased with the Micelin X radials. Got them at Sam's. Same price as Costco.

Good to know. Do you have any more details? MPG's, ride, road noise, etc... I would really appreciate it...

[jsorger]

Not that I work for Goodrich or anything, but I found the costco tires fine, especially so for N. CA. They lasted more than 70k.

http://priuschat.com/forums/care-mai...re-costco.html

[Boo]

Originally Posted by Rxmxsh

Good to know. Do you have any more details? MPG's, ride, road noise, etc... I would really appreciate it...

The Michelin X Radial is one of Consumer Reports' highest rated passenger all season tires. It's notably rated excellent for noise and low rolling resistance (the gas mileage issue you raised).

I have the Goodyear TripleTreds which I'm very happy with (my Prius is the third car I've put TripleTreds on). But I'll probably try the Michelin X Radial when I next need new tires.

Check out this Consumer Reports' ratings chart of passenger all season tires it tested:

Consumer Reports Ratings Passenger All Season Tires.doc

[patsparks]

I love my Michelin Energy MX1+. Great grip same fuel consumption as the old tyres and the traction control hardly ever kills my power now. I put them on 20,000km ago and they are holding out very well.

Make sure you get the wheel alignment checked too, some tyre warranties require it.

[jdenenberg]

Michelin does make some good tires. I had a set of their MXV4+ "Energy Saving" tires on my 2004 Prius for 55,000 miles and they performed well (significantly better than the original Goodyear Integrity tires). I replaced the Michelin's with Nokian WR tires 45,500 miles ago (they still have about 5,000 miles of tread left) and they were even better in all respects (about 4% improved MPG and great bad weather traction) except for a little road noise at high speed. I will put on a new set of Nokian WRg2 tires (should have reduced tire noise due to a less aggressive tread design) in about a month. Nokian (Finland) has proved to be a source of great (but not inexpensive; 4 installed WRg2 tires will set me back just over $500 at a local tire dealer) tires.

JeffD

[p626808]

I like the michelins as well.

I have the hydroedges on now.. and have 144,000 miles on them.

Scott

[SilverSojourner]

Hi, Folks,
I'm brand-new to PriusChat, and I first want to thank all of you who posted info re: new tire suggestions on various threads. I found it very helpful.

I just yesterday got 4 spanking new Nokian WR G2 185/65/R15 XL 92Hs on my 2008 Prius. I'm really looking forward to them giving me substantially improved traction in the winter snow & slush, and a great all-around ride. My oem's, the Integrities, were rather abysmal.

While Import Tire in Glastonbury, CT (mentioned in one of the postings) offered me a great price ($110/ea for the "H"s; $510.00 out the door i.e., mounted, balanced, new stems, discard of old tires & tax included), I decided to go w/ a local dealer (near Boston) that offers free tire rotations, flat repair & balancing for the life of the tires. After many calls around, and prices ranging up to $777(! who are they kidding??? ) I got them for $586 out the door from Direct Tire.

Haven't yet checked the tire pressure, but I imagine they put in only 35/33 psi., as that's what they noted as recommended pressure on the invoice. Sidewall lists max psi as 44. I'll probably bump them up to 42/40 tomorrow - unless y'all tell me differently. :-)

Re: Hs over Ts: I had various dealers give me all sorts of misinformation :-); but, being a researcher, I went to the horse's mouth: The Nokian technicals, which you can download as a pdf file from their website, show NO difference between them in terms of size and weight.
Better yet, I called Nokian (800-852-5222) & they reiterated that the Hs, being a bit more of a "performance" tire, will handle a bit better (especially at high speeds), and they have a somewhat stiffer/stronger sidewall than the Ts, but that the mpg, tire life, braking and noise should be equal for the two.

Given my driving propensities, I thought paying $5/per tire extra for the better handling Hs was worth it.
I'll let you know how the mileage, handling and noise goes, as they break in & as the winter weather sets in.