Tire Upgrade

[freo-1]

Hi all,

I recently traded in my Prius for a 2009 Touring model. My older Prius had Goodyear Comfort Treads, which I thought was a worthwhile upgrade from the stock tires.

My question is:

Are the tires that come with the Touring OK, or will they give me problems in the winter? The Tire Rack pretty much trashes the OEM tire, BUT, I do not know if that is marketing hype or not.

What's the word?

[Eug]

^ What are the tires?

[freo-1]

Originally Posted by Eug

^ What are the tires?

Turanza EL400-02





Here is the link to their rating:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Turanza+E L400-02&partnum=955VR6EL40002&vehicleSearch=true&fromCo mpare1=yes&place=21&speed_rating=S&speed_rating=T& speed_rating=U&speed_rating=H&speed_rating=V&speed _rating=Z&speed_rating=W&speed_rating=Y&speed_rati ng=(Y)&minSpeedRating=S#Survey

[Eug]

Those Tirerack ratings are not done by Tirerack. They are from the users. That 46% rating is from 169 submissions.

I don't know how accurate that is, but I will say my Goodyear Integritys got 51% after 1504 submissions which puts them near the bottom of the pack (for the passenger all season category), and I agree the Integritys are horrid tires.

I updated my Prius with the much better rated Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires (in the Grand Touring category) and so far they are much, much better, although I will reserve final judgement until I do some highway driving in the rain.

[boston71]

I have the MXV4's on my lexus and yes, they are quite smooth and the performance less than expected from Michelin in wet and snowy conditions considering the price point...

I installed the Goodyear Assurance 195/60/R15 TT's today ...updates to follow in a couple of months. Thanks for the suggestions.

Originally Posted by 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.

...

P.S. On my road bike, I set my tires at 130 PSI. That's some bone-rattling but energy-saving goodness.

[DirkG]

Nobody is really talking about the fuel Max. Is it that new of a tire? I think I may end up getting them unless I see some reasons not to. One post said they are bad in the snow. It snows here a few inches a year and stays for a few days. Ice though is very constant. Black ice even more so. A lot of people run studs from Nov to Mar to fight the ice in the hills. I had studs on my Previa from Dec to Feb, when it snowed it was great, and I never noticed the ice but it was there. Maybe I will go with something cheap, and then also get some studs for those 4 months. I drive 1000 miles a week in town.

[blacktouring]

Fuel Max is new as is Yokohama dB Super E-spec and Bridgestone Ecopia. I've been searching the web for more info on these tires but with little success. One thing I did notice on tirerack is that these newer tires are for the most part, significantly lighter than non LRR tires of similar size. Rotational mass does make a big difference, perhaps more so than rolling resistance?

Here's an interesting article in Road and Track regarding rolling resistance.
RoadandTrack.com -- Feature - Green Tires, Get Your Roll On (5/2009)

[Suspenderman]

Bought a used '05 and noted via GPS comparison that the speedo is off 2 mph at 50 and 3 mph over 60. Thanks to these explanations I now know why as it has Goodyear Assurance tires 195/60.

[cillic]

FYI,

According to every place I've called, the Goodyear Tripletread is being discontinued in 195/60x15, and I could not find a full set anywhere. I was very happy with those, but mine are just about warn out. So the Michelin MXV4 seems to be one of the most popular tires for the Prius, I decided to check them out. I will let you all know how they compare to the Tripletread.

Through the end of August, NTB (Big O in other parts of the country) is selling Michelin's at $60 off for 4, and $10 per point traded in, so $100 off for the whole package.

With their package that gives lifetime balancing, rotation, roadside hazard, etc etc etc., It comes to about $660 for a full set of the MXV4 (h rated).

[Boo]

Consumer Reports has conducted new tire tests, and the results are published in its November 2009 issue.

The types of tires tested were:

- All-Season (S & T speed ratings)

- Performance All-Season (H speed rating)

- Performance All-Season (V speed rating)

- Winter

Scans of the Ratings charts are attached below in a Word file because my computer skills are too limited to insert the charts directly and more clearly into this post (so, zoom in or blow up the view if and as necessary):

Attached Files: Consumer_Reports_Nov._2009_Tire_Tests-1.doc