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Goodyear Fuel Max tire reviewed as Prius Gen II replacement

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Arroyo, Mar 28, 2010.

  1. Arroyo

    Arroyo Member

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    2004 Prius
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    [​IMG]
    Fuel Max-fitted Prius at the Helios House

    IRRESISTABLE

    Goodyear's low-rolling resistance tire


    For our evaluation of the Fuel Max tire, we used our Project Prius vehicle which heretofore had been running Tripletred rubber. The stock tires on the second-generation Prius are Goodyear Integrity P185/65R15. The Tripletreds were P195/60R15, which maintained the same overall diameter, but carried a slightly wider footprint. The use of the Tripletred over the stock Integrity tires resulted in a slight decrease in average gas mileage (approximately 1.5 miles per gallon overall), but significantly better handling. The P195/60R15 Tripletreds are credited with avoiding an accident on the freeway, when we had to make an emergency maneuver to avoid a garbage can in one of the lanes. Finally , the the wider tread of the Tripletreds also gave the car a more attractive stance—making our Prius look a little less dorky than with the skinny stock Integrity rubber...

    More at: IRRESISTABLE | LA Car
     
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  2. don_chuwish

    don_chuwish Well Seasoned Member

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    Thanks for the review, always good to have more Prius specific reviews like that. One thing I noted was the comment about how quiet the tires are. Good to know but I wish it were better quantified. The Consumer Reports review did the same thing, just subjective commentary on which tires seemed quieter. Some before and after measurements with a sound level meter over a given stretch of road would be nice in future reviews. Just a suggestion!

    - D
     
  3. EZW1

    EZW1 Active Member

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    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius v wagon
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    Four Touring
    I purchased a set for my '09 Pri about 3 weeks ago. I replaced the stock tires because I was about to launch on a long trip and 2 of the stock tires had taken nail punctures that were repaired (one tire had a total of 3 punctures) and I felt their original integrity might've been compromised (and I hate replacing a tire on the side of the interstate - Ive done that a few times over the years).
    I noticed right away that these tires are much quieter than the stock tires they replaced. I just got back from a 2400 mile trip through northern California. I haven't noticed much improvement over the stock tires - getting about the same performance (I had an overall highway mileage of 45mpg for the trip which was about 50% level driving and 50% hilly terrain using the cruise control as much as possible). I only inflated the tires to 38psi because of the long run on the interstate and not being familiar with these tires like I was their predecessor. Now that I'm back home I'm going to bump the pressure up to 40. Id appreciate input if anyone has personal experience with the ideal tire pressure for these tires.

    All in all, I'm happy with my purchase.
     
  4. jcgee88

    jcgee88 Member

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    Just from a mileage point of view, I am not sure I
    see additional value to the Fuel Max.

    The report says that the reviewer lost 1.5 mpg by
    switching from the OEM GY Integrity to GY TripleTred.
    This included going from the 185/65/15 size to the
    slightly wider 195/60/15 size.

    He goes on to say that switching to Goodyear Fuel Max
    195/60/15 yielded 1.25 mpg gain. That effectively puts
    the Fuel Max on par with the OEM tires. Notwithstanding
    that the gain might increase further with more wear-in
    and that the handling is superior to the OEM tires,
    this would imply a modest gain/benefit for Fuel Max
    over the OEM tires.

    Tire Rack's report noted similarly modest mileage
    improvement, .37%, for the Fuel Max over the
    OEM tires.

    Seems to me that Fuel Max's are not delivering
    very much on the feature that they are named for.
    I am thinking that the Michelin ES A/S and the
    Bridgestone Ecopia are the best two choices
    if max mileage is your goal.
     
  5. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    +1 sizing and still got about the same MPG as the stock is pretty good. I like to see how Ecopia or Energy Saver get wit plus sizing.
     
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