Replaced the tires

[jfschultz]

A couple of weeks ago we drove from Memphis to Eureka Springs. On a stretch of two lane road with an added passing lane, the Prius got caught by a cross wind and started going off track. Fortunately, I kept enough control to avoid any dire consequences. But both Kathy and I were scared.

I did some research, including comments at Tire Rack and decided to go ahead and replace the OEM tires at just under 5000 miles. A local dealer, that I dealt with before, was willing to give a bit on the Goodyears, which helped with the pain in the back pocket, So the car now has 4 new Michelin Hydroedge tires.

The Hydroedge tires do have more road noise than the OEM tires. (But John 1701a (?) reports in his log that they quiet down as they break in.) They seem to ride easier than the OEM tires. Time will tell how they do under various conditions.

[sparkymarvin]

Not too long ago, my dad replaced the tires on his 02 Prius with Michelin Harmony tires. They were a little noisy at first, but ride just fine now that they are a little broken in.

I also think that they should last a little longer then the stock Firestone tires that Toyota had on the classics.

I was wondering what made you choose the "Hydroedge" tires. I have been a fan of Michelins myself, and am trying to find the best tire for when the time comes for replacement.

Cheers.

~Andrew

[jfschultz]

After what happened, I put a priority on wet traction where the Hydroedge is better than the Harmony.

The Harmony rates a bit better on snow. (In Memphis the one or two snows each year turns to wet slush very quickly so snow traction is not an issue.) Also the Harmony rates a bit better on ride, but both are much better than the OEM tires in all categories.

Overall the Hydroedge rates a bit better than the Harmony. But they are close enough that it comes down to which is better in the area is important to you. The Harmony would be my second choice.

[john1701a]

There's no contest, HydroEdge is better in every respect. And to further sweeten the appeal, Michelin has lengthened the warranty from 80,000 to 90,000 miles. Cool, eh?

Here's the comparison data:

HYDROEDGE
10 - Tread Life
10 - Wet Traction
10 - Quiet Ride
10 - Handling
8 - Winter Traction

HARMONY
9 - Tread Life
9 - Wet Traction
8 - Quiet Ride
8 - Handling
7 - Winter Traction

[ryogajyc]

Hey John, where did you get the comparison data? I found customer review data on Tire Rack with similar categories (plus a few more) with scores with two decimal places (from averaging customer reviews), but that looks a bit different that what you are showing. Thanks in advance.

[daniel]

I'm still trying to decide among:

1. Keeping my OEM tires;
2. Switching to the Hydroedge; or
3. Buying snow & ice tires for winter, and going back to (1) or (2) in summer.

For now, I'm waiting for the first snow in Minneapolis so we can read John's report on how the Hydroedge does on snow.

[john1701a]

where did you get the comparison data?

From Michelin's own website.

Customer reviews are great, but they obviously don't compare the two tires. They compare the new tire they purchased to the one they previously had, which is what I've been doing by stating HydroEdges are clearly better than the OEM tires.

Go to this page... http://www.michelinman.com/catalog/tires/M...html?source=mid ...and click the "Compare This Tire" link in the bottom-right corner.

[sparkymarvin]

Thanks everyone for giving me a bit more direction for the time when my tires tire.
:?

~Andrew

[ryogajyc]

Thanks, I found the comparison data a bit after I made the post, but forgot to amend my post. =/ Since this post is a bit long, I've put in bold my followup question hidden in the middle of the post.

I noticed that Goodyear has an Assurance ComforTred which seems to be rated in a comparably based on customer reviews. They have their own comparison data on their website as well, but I doubt the Michelin and Goodyear data can be compared to each other.

From Goodyear's website:
Dry Traction: 9
Wet Traction: 9
Snow Traction: 9
Ride Comfort: 10
Quiet Ride: 10

On TireRack's website, it appears that based on customer ratings, the HydroEdge edges out the ComforTred in handling, dry traction, wet traction, and tread wear rating (based on specifications)/warranty. However, the ComforTred edges out the HydroEdge in snow traction, ride comfort, noise comfort, tread wear (based on customer reviews), and is $24 cheaper per tire ( $74 vs. $98 -- funny spacing due to emoticon insertion).

HydroEdge appears to be an excellent choice. However, It seems ComforTred might be a comparable tire to the HydroEdge while being significantly less expensive. It looks like the ComforTred only came out recently, so it might of not been an option back when some people switched there tires. Does anyone have any experience with ComforTred? I found only one reference to it here, but no actual ComforTred experience. It looks like TripleTred might also be a good alternative (slight emphasis for handling/traction over comfort/noise), if Goodyear ever decides to make one sized for the Prius.

For Daniel, from Goodyear's website, it looks like you only get slightly better snow traction (rating 9=>10) going from the ComforTred to the Eagle Ultra Grip GW2/Ultra Grip Ice, while ComforTred is an excellent all-around tire. From Michelin's website (you probably have to select X-Ice in the second comparison column, it's a 2004 Prius sized tire based on TireRack's tire guide), you get a slightly bigger snow traction difference (8=>10) going from HydroEdge to X-Ice, and again, HydroEdge is an excellent all-around tire. I don't have a whole lot of snow driving experience, so I can't say how much that matters, but it doesn't seem like a big difference to me. ComforTred might be the way to go, since snow traction is important to you, while you can still simplify things with one set of tires. I also lean toward it since it appears to be significantly cheaper with slightly better comfort/noise than the HydroEdge, sacrificing a bit of dry/wet traction (compared to the HydroEdge--both tires are much better in all categories than the OEM Goodyear Integrity tires). Again, keep in mind, this is just me hunting for data on websites and I don't have any tire experience other than with the OEM tires. Maybe you can get the ComforTred and tell us all about it. =)

Personally, I am leaning toward ComforTred tires for when it comes time to change my tires. Of course, that may change with the availability of new tires or additional reviews/opinions.

[jfschultz]

HydroEdge appears to be an excellent choice. However, It seems ComforTred might be a comparable tire to the HydroEdge while being significantly less expensive. It looks like the ComforTred only came out recently, so it might of not been an option back when some people switched there tires. Does anyone have any experience with ComforTred? I found only one reference to it here, but no actual ComforTred experience. It looks like TripleTred might also be a good alternative (slight emphasis for handling/traction over comfort/noise), if Goodyear ever decides to make one sized for the Prius.

If you check out the tread pattern the ComforTred is more like the Harmony. Tire Rack rates the TripleTred a bit above the HydroEdge.

Note that both the Harmony and ComforTred have a "normal" bi-directional tread pattern. The HydroEdge and TripleTred have V shaped groves in the tread pattern which makes them uni-directional. Look at the sidewall of a HydroEdge and you will see "Tire Rotation" with a direction arrow. The tire needs to be mounted so that the tire turns in that direction when driving forward.