Best tires for the Prius?

[auricchio]

I replaced the OEM Integrities at 24700 with 195-60 Hydroedges. The car handles better, it's quieter, and smoother. I've always run 38/36psi, and that's what I have the Hydros at.

Like others with new tires, I've seen about a 3mpg hit, about 5%. But this is reasonable (and it's been cold the past few weeks). If the Hydros last 3x longer than the Integrities, then the money saved on tire replacement is a little more than what I'll spend on extra fuel. (I run about 12k miles/year.)

[dayoff53@gmail.com]

Hi, guys! My wife and I each drive 2006 Priuses - hers is a blue package 4 and mine is a white package 8. I have 36K miles on mine and my Toyota dealer says (correctly) that I will need new tires before winter. I have been comparison shopping for quite a while and haven't decided for sure on my replacement tire. Consumer Reports will have its new report on passenger car tires in the November, 2009 issue, so I hope to wait until I can read it. Right now, I am leaning toward the Michelin HydroEdge or Michelin X.
Reading here, I see a lot of people saying they take a hit of 3% or 4% with new tires, almost regardless of brand or model. That makes sense, because they are relying on the car's odometer and computer to calculate their fuel economy. All other factors being equal, a smaller diameter tire will appear to give higher fuel economy because your car will "think" it is going farther than it actually is. So, when you start with the GoodYear Integritys with 10/32" of tread, a diameter of 24.4" and 855 revs per mile, then wear them down to 2/32" of tread, their diameter will have shrunk to 23.9", increasing the revs to about 873. When your computer counts 855 revs, it thinks it has gone the same mile it did with 855 revs when the tires were new, when you've really only gone a little less than .98 miles, therefore it is reporting a higher fuel economy than you are actually getting. When you put on brand new OEM tires, you will immediately notice a perceived (not actual) hit of more than 2% just because the tires have a larger diameter. Add to that the fact that you have much thicker tread, that will noticeably increase rolling resistance and decrease the actual fuel economy, and it is to be expected that you will calculate a significant decrease in fuel economy.
I have been keeping accurate fuel economy records (can't post the link because you can't include links until you have made 5 posts here) since I got my Prius and note a very slight increase in my seasonally-adjusted fuel economy over three years. I am anxious to see what happens when I replace my tires.

[Rangerdavid]

Just FYI:

Michelin Energy AS "green" tire report