Tire Upgrade

[F8L]

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.

[Boo]

Originally Posted by Rafikiro

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 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.

[hyo silver]

Originally Posted by Rafikiro

...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...

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

[boston71]

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.

Originally Posted by Boo

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.

[Wa1hog]

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.

[Boo]

Originally Posted by boston71

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.

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.

[hyo silver]

Originally Posted by Boo

...check out the CR Ratings Chart:...

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.

[boston71]

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.

Originally Posted by Wa1hog

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.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Eug

75000 km on my car. Perhaps 15000-20000 of that or so was on snow tires.

Original stock tires in the front, newer but stock tires on the rear. Front tires must be replaced now. (Actually, they probably should have been replaced a while ago.) Rear tires still have lots of tread on them. (I got 2 new tires because somebody stuck a pin in one of them a couple of years ago.)

Get 4 new tires, or just two?

I live in Toronto, and want all seasons. I have decided I don't want snow tires alternating with summer tires. Most of the time Toronto has no snow, and I don't like snow tires on pavement.

Oh and what are the most popular in this thread? Something like these?

Goodyear Assurance ComforTred
Goodyear Assurance TripleTred
Michelin HydroEdge

I think I'd prefer non-directional threads, for ease of rotation.

How to calculate the math with regards to tire sizing? I want to keep the same rims. Sorry if it's already been mentioned, but I haven't read the entire 40 pages of the thread. If you could point me to the pertinent posts that'd be great. Or should I just specify 195/60R15 and be done with it?

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.)

[Eug]

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.