I'm approaching 44,000 miles on the EOM Bridgestone Ecopia 100 tires that came on my 2010 Prius IV. I've been following the various tires threads in the past preparing for the day when it came time to buy new tires. While that day is still a bit away I thought I'd begin looking around to see what was available and at what price. I took a list of what I'd gleaned from my readings here as the top 4 tires for the Prius by my local tire dealer and all 4 are available - Bridgestone Ecopia, Michelin Energy Saver, Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max, & Continental Conti ProContact. The Michelin is by far the most expensive, $300 more than the other three. I'm quite pleased with the mileage I'm getting with the Bridgestone (51 - 53mpg) but the road noise is a little much. Would the Michelin's give a significantly quieter ride? And, comparable or better gas mileage? I'm trying to determine what I'd get for the extra $300.
I don't think it would be worth the extra 300. Road nosie is part tire, but also the car. It's not like there is a 20-50% reduction of noise between tires. I'm guessing but may be wrong but i'm thinking tires would be around 1-7% difference in noise.
How are the Energy Saver A/S tires $300 more? With the $70 rebate they are pretty competitive price wise. TireRack.com ProContact = $328 Energy Saver A/S = $362 (after $70 rebate) Fuel Max = $320 (after rebate) Ecopia EP422 = $356 You also have to try and compare wear ratings. I believe all of the above tires are rated similarly but the EP100 wears out faster then these 4 and the ProContact reportedly wears fast despite the 80,000 mile warranty.
Michelin Energy Saver A/S - P195/65R15 89T - Sam's Club 112.68 x 4 = 450.72 - 70 = $380.72 You mail order, then 5 days later they have them at your local Sam's Club (Little Rock or Sherwood)
So is it true that Ecopia 100 is getting discontinued? Nothing worse that driving around on a set of tires that gets discontinued... I had that experience once... It sucked! Drove around forever looking for a matching tire...
I have always read good things about the Michelin Energy Saver, but they are more money. The Sam's Club price does look good though. My first 07 Pri came with Good Year Intregrity tires. They wore out after about 23K miles and got them replaced on warranty for a good price. The replacements were GY Assurance Fuel Max, they didn't seem to effect the mileage any, but they got noisy (whine) toward the end of life. The replacements had a 65K miles warranty, which was better than the original. However, they would have only gone about half of that mileage. Well, I just traded up to a 2012 Pri and it came with GY Assurance Fuel Max tires. So it looks like I'm in a vicious cycle. They are one size bigger than in 07, so hopefully they will get better wear.
The Energy Saver A/S is only about $40 more than the Fuel Max. You'll recoup that in gas savings because the Energy Saver is about 4% more efficient (53.8mpg vs. 51.6mpg).
I just put on the new Ecopia 422 two weeks ago and drove 300 miles on them yesterday. I run them at 40 psi and I found 53 mpg for the trip. I am happy with them.
I'm looking at these on-line and I don't see anything about a $70 rebate. Is this coupon only available at the store?
Tire Search It was under Michelin generically, not just these tires. (for me, once it paid for mounting, balancing, tax, and recycling, my tires were $1 cheaper than list)
Any experiences with the Michelin Harmony tire? Looks like the Michelin Energy Saver is no longer available.
Tire Rack has them in stock. Don't get the Harmony. Get the Bridestone Ecopia EP422 or the Michelin Defender instead.
