tires

smurf041 · 08-30-2006, 04:08 PM

Skidded about ten feet on wet pavement with Goodyear Integrity tires. Any opinions about Michelin X radial DT tires available at Costco? Rated just below Goodyear Assurance TripleTred, by Consumer Reports.

Smurf

ekpolk · 08-30-2006, 08:49 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(smurf @ Aug 30 2006, 03:08 PM) [snapback]311738[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Skidded about ten feet on wet pavement with Goodyear Integrity tires. Any opinions about Michelin X radial DT tires available at Costco? Rated just below Goodyear Assurance TripleTred, by Consumer Reports.

Smurf
[/b]

That sounds like one of the store brands that Michelin sells. You can usually find more info about those on the michelin site (though of course, I suspect you'll detect a tad of bias...). You can also see a lot of customer comments at the Tirerack website, though that's highly anecdotal. I wish I'd looked there before I tried a set of GY TTs on my old Camry -- as many others had already experienced, I couldn't get 'em all balanced. Turned them in after about three weeks (they had a 30 day money back in effect) and replaced them with very smooth Hydroedges.

I had a similar experience to yours with the Integs (which I've hated on two other cars). The Integs that came on the 04 I bought a few weeks ago were almost certainly factory OEMs. At about 15k miles, the tread looked about half gone, and they got downright scary in a heavy rain. I replaced them a few days ago with a set of Hydroedges. Pricey, but I'd recommend them. They don't turn the Prius into a 'vette or anything, but the car is definitely more sure footed. Do consider them if they're close to your budget point.

Jennjay · 08-30-2006, 09:14 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(smurf @ Aug 30 2006, 04:08 PM) [snapback]311738[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Skidded about ten feet on wet pavement with Goodyear Integrity tires. Any opinions about Michelin X radial DT tires available at Costco? Rated just below Goodyear Assurance TripleTred, by Consumer Reports.

Smurf
[/b]

I put the Michelin X's from Costco on my wife's Prius after a similar incident with me driving. They stick much better and handling is greatly improved. The tire installer thought I was a little crazy to replace tires with less than 5000 miles. They thought I was even crazier when I did the same thing with my Prius which I bought 6 months after my wife's when the integritys only had 300 miles on them. I do not regret the decision. The Michelin X's are excellent tires as pointed out in CR. Do well on wet pavement and handle well. I think mpg are slightly less, but safety is more important. You can do a comparison of them with other Michelins on the michelin site, but can't find them on Tirerack because they only review what they sell, and these tires are exclusive to Costco and other clubs. Also note they are rated above the Hydroedges

David Beale · 08-30-2006, 09:33 PM

Replacing dangerous tires makes a lot of sense. No need to justify. The tires will cost less than $400. An accident will cost many thousands (if you survive!).

I suspect your mileage with the new tires will improve once the tires are completely broken in. This can take several thousand miles.

lordmakemeworthy · 08-30-2006, 09:51 PM

I put Goodyear Comfortreads on and really like them, they are very quite, and roll over the bumbs quit nicely. A better tire than the Integrities.

nyprius · 08-31-2006, 12:52 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ekpolk @ Aug 30 2006, 08:49 PM) [snapback]311884[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

That sounds like one of the store brands that Michelin sells. You can usually find more info about those on the michelin site (though of course, I suspect you'll detect a tad of bias...). You can also see a lot of customer comments at the Tirerack website, though that's highly anecdotal. I wish I'd looked there before I tried a set of GY TTs on my old Camry -- as many others had already experienced, I couldn't get 'em all balanced. Turned them in after about three weeks (they had a 30 day money back in effect) and replaced them with very smooth Hydroedges.

I had a similar experience to yours with the Integs (which I've hated on two other cars). The Integs that came on the 04 I bought a few weeks ago were almost certainly factory OEMs. At about 15k miles, the tread looked about half gone, and they got downright scary in a heavy rain. I replaced them a few days ago with a set of Hydroedges. Pricey, but I'd recommend them. They don't turn the Prius into a 'vette or anything, but the car is definitely more sure footed. Do consider them if they're close to your budget point.
[/b]

I did a huge amount of research before upgrading the Integrities (shown in the following post: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=21271&hl=). You said many others have experienced not being able to balance the TTs. I read through literally hundreds of reviews on TT's on Tirerack, 1010tires, and epinions. I may have missed it, but I do not recall seeing one person, other than you, saying they had a problem balancing the TTs. Instead I saw that it got consistently better reviews than most, if not all, tires. It was rated number one on Consumer Reports and Tirerack. They've worked perfectly on my Prius for 5,000 miles. If you check reviews from other Prius owners on PC, I believe you'll see most love the tire.

It's probably a matter of opinion about what's the best tire for the Prius. However, I think it would be hard to go wrong with the TT.

ekpolk · 08-31-2006, 11:18 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nyprius @ Aug 31 2006, 11:52 AM) [snapback]312219[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

I did a huge amount of research before upgrading the Integrities (shown in the following post: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=21271&hl=). You said many others have experienced not being able to balance the TTs. I read through literally hundreds of reviews on TT's on Tirerack, 1010tires, and epinions. I may have missed it, but I do not recall seeing one person, other than you, saying they had a problem balancing the TTs. Instead I saw that it got consistently better reviews than most, if not all, tires. It was rated number one on Consumer Reports and Tirerack. They've worked perfectly on my Prius for 5,000 miles. If you check reviews from other Prius owners on PC, I believe you'll see most love the tire.

It's probably a matter of opinion about what's the best tire for the Prius. However, I think it would be hard to go wrong with the TT.
[/b]

NYP:

Perhaps I should have added that what I reported happened back in late 2003 (maybe very early 04). My apologies, clearly I should have added that. I don't know how long the reviews stay on TR. I got the subject V-6 Camry in early spring 03 after my 02 model had been totalled in a wreck. After a few months on the OEMs, I tried a set of the TTs. They had just been released by GY, along with their siblings, the CTs. Immediately after installation, I had vibration, clearly a balance issue. The tire store (two actually) tried several times to get them right, but to no avail. That's when I started sniffing around and saw the other comments re the balance issue. That, and the apparent balance-proof nature of the set I had, induced me to take 'em back.

So, a couple thoughts. First, it was very early in this product's life cycle. Maybe they had some minor issues that have been tweaked away. Second, the tires were very nice except for the balance thing, quiet and comfortable on the Camry anyway. Third, there were not heaps and heaps of balance comments, maybe a half-dozen echos of what seemed to be the same thing -- enough to trigger me to bail while I still had time to do so for free.

If you're enjoying these tires, and other Prius owners are too, well, you can't all be wrong... Maybe I over-reacted, maybe they've been improved, who knows. At any rate, I'm glad you're enjoying yours now.

kaptaink · 08-31-2006, 11:52 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lordmakemeworthy @ Aug 30 2006, 09:51 PM) [snapback]311922[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

I put Goodyear Comfortreads on and really like them, they are very quite, and roll over the bumbs quit nicely. A better tire than the Integrities.
[/b]

What kind of mileage hit did you take with the comfortreads?

00Silverado · 09-01-2006, 01:04 AM

I was doing some searching on tires and came across this thread. I was wondering if anybody else has the Michelin MXV4's or the HydroEdges on their Prius? How do you like them? How is the road noise? Any help would be appreciated, going to replace the crappy GY's either tomorrow or Saturday. Thanks!

quagmire0 · 09-01-2006, 10:34 AM

Sounds like just about any tire would be an upgrade over the stock.

I'm actually tempted to just dropship the new tires to the dealership when I know the car is coming in and have them install them right away.

Does anyone know if dealers would give a discount for that? Or if any business would buy the stock tires?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Tires	pejohn	Newbie Forum	5	12-19-2006 07:55 AM
Rotating Tires/ can't get rear tires off	filiberti	Gen II Prius Main Forum	18	08-31-2006 02:59 PM
OEM Tires	heliotropehead	Gen II Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting	6	02-22-2006 09:26 PM
tires	MarinJohn	Gen II Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting	3	10-11-2005 04:08 PM
Stock tires ok tires?	Bob Allen	Gen II Prius Modifications	5	04-30-2004 01:50 PM

08-30-2006, 04:08 PM	#1
smurf041 Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 18 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Skidded about ten feet on wet pavement with Goodyear Integrity tires. Any opinions about Michelin X radial DT tires available at Costco? Rated just below Goodyear Assurance TripleTred, by Consumer Reports. Smurf

08-30-2006, 09:33 PM	#4
David Beale Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton Alberta Posts: 2,116 My Car: 2007 Prius Model: Package: B Thanks: 3 Thanked 77 Times in 58 Posts Friends: 0	Replacing dangerous tires makes a lot of sense. No need to justify. The tires will cost less than $400. An accident will cost many thousands (if you survive!). I suspect your mileage with the new tires will improve once the tires are completely broken in. This can take several thousand miles.

08-30-2006, 09:51 PM	#5
lordmakemeworthy Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota Posts: 41 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I put Goodyear Comfortreads on and really like them, they are very quite, and roll over the bumbs quit nicely. A better tire than the Integrities.

09-01-2006, 01:04 AM	#9
00Silverado Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bakersfield, CA Posts: 16 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I was doing some searching on tires and came across this thread. I was wondering if anybody else has the Michelin MXV4's or the HydroEdges on their Prius? How do you like them? How is the road noise? Any help would be appreciated, going to replace the crappy GY's either tomorrow or Saturday. Thanks!

09-01-2006, 10:34 AM	#10
quagmire0 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 110 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Sounds like just about any tire would be an upgrade over the stock. I'm actually tempted to just dropship the new tires to the dealership when I know the car is coming in and have them install them right away. Does anyone know if dealers would give a discount for that? Or if any business would buy the stock tires?