Lost 5 mpg when replacing Integrity tires with Hydroedge

[elkhornsun]

The Hydro Edge are not an option for me as they are not V rated and no one will install anything less than H rated on my 16 inch wheels for my 2007 touring version. But in looking at what was available in a 16 inch diameter and H rated the choices came down to the Goodyear Assurance ComforTred, Fuel Mark, or the Triple Tread.

With the Fuel Mark I would expect to be buying at least one extra set of tires as compared to the other two models so it makes little sense to get an extra 2-3 MPG and spend the money on the additional set of tires. The tires will cost appreciably more than the additional gasoline, and I would be contributing additional tires to the local landfill as well.

Having tires that last for only 30K miles is one decidedly ungreen aspect of the Prius.

[carz89]

Originally Posted by elkhornsun

The Hydro Edge are not an option for me as they are not V rated and no one will install anything less than H rated on my 16 inch wheels for my 2007 touring version. But in looking at what was available in a 16 inch diameter and H rated the choices came down to the Goodyear Assurance ComforTred, Fuel Mark, or the Triple Tread.
...
Having tires that last for only 30K miles is one decidedly ungreen aspect of the Prius.

Is this a joke? The tire dealer will only sell you a tire meant for very fast sports cars? Find another dealer. The Prius is not a sports car and can't go faster than 100mph. So what speed-rating do you need? The Hydroedge are T-rated (118 mph), which is plenty of safety factor above the max speed that you'll likely be going. If you're frequently driving at a speed at which you would be remotely concerned with the tire speed rating, you are driving the wrong car, getting terrible gas mileage, and illegally speeding (in this country).

You CAN get the Hydroedge for the Touring model. Find another dealer who will sell them. You'll just need to get the right spec tire to make the overall diameter roughly the same as the original, which is P195/55R16 I think. But the Hydroedge isn't made in that size. Try P205/55R16, which will probably be about 1.5% different in circumference.

You'll be happy with the Hydroedge. Incredibly good wear specs and warranty. Excellent handling, especially on wet roads, and a quieter tire. You'll lose a couple MPG, though, as they are not LRR.

[elkhornsun]

I am in California, and neither Costco or Sears nor two local independent car dealers will install a tire that is more than one "speed rating" lower than the stock OEM tires. The Bridgestone stock 195/55R16 tires are V rated so that means buying V or H rated tires and paying about 30% more. With my trucks I have had a similar deal with B/C/D load rated tires, but the odd thing is that the higher speed rated car tires actually have a 10% lower load rating on average.

People with 15" wheels are not going to run into this problem, nor would anyone running stock "H" or "T" rated tires as they can put on V, H, or T tires and no one would say a word and they would be, like you, ignorant of the policy. I ran into the V or H rated tires with my Mercedes coupe but did not expect to run into it with the Prius.

What strikes me as odd is not the policy of the tire dealers, but that Toyota would put V rated tires on a Prius in the USA. In Europe and especially in Germany, I can understand putting 130mph tires on a car. It makes little sense in the USA where people drive a lot slower (as well as a lot less sanely).

In addition to paying 30% more for tires one has to deal with the very limited selection of H rated tires available in a 195/55R16 size, or go to a larger diameter 205/55R16 which is what I will be doing. But the fault is not with the tire dealers but with the idiot at Toyota who specified a V rated tire on the Prius for the USA market. Had Toyota used a 130mph H rated tire on the Prius people would be able to choose another H rated tire or a "T" tire and be limited to 118mph (and the rating applies to sustained speed not top speed).

Toyota is not trying to produce a green car so whether a car requires 4 sets of tires or 12 sets and puts 32 more tire carcasses into the landfills is clearly not their concern anymore than it is for USA car makers.

[Boo]

Originally Posted by uart

It's interesting that many people are reporting a similar story of "about 5 MPG" decrease for their new hydroedges, given that in the recent tire-rack tests (see When Round and Black Becomes Lean and Green ) found only a very maginal difference (0.6%) between them and the GY Integreties.

Can we assume from this that the majority of the reported decrease is just the result of the tires being new and not yet "broken in"?

This very marginal 0.6% difference is attributable to the type of HydroEdge TireRack tested.

TireRack tested the new HydroEdge with Green X which features a low-rolling resistance silica-based tread compound that is presumably lower than the original HydroEdge.

I believe that all or almost all of the posters saying that they've lost a lot of gas mileage with HydroEdges are using the original higher rolling resistance HydroEdge.

[mr_zorg]

Originally Posted by JimboK

My experience was similar; I estimated a 5-10% loss. Much of it has been made up now that I have 35K miles on the Hydroedges.

When I replaced my tires at Costco, they even had a sign indicating that as tires wear their mileage improves by up to 10%. So that it certainly consistent with what everyone is saying here.

[pardreamer]

UPDATE: After 3000 miles, my gas mileage has improved to an average of 53 MPG compared to 50 MPG when the tires were new. Maybe the tires broke in and I also increased the pressure in the tires from 36 to 40 psi.

Originally Posted by mr_zorg

When I replaced my tires at Costco, they even had a sign indicating that as tires wear their mileage improves by up to 10%. So that it certainly consistent with what everyone is saying here.