Replacement tires vs terrible weather

I have used both Micheline MXV4+ Energy tires and Nokian WRG2. They are both good tires, but I prefer the Nokian. They seem to do better in the snow around here.

Tom

 

I have the Michelin Hydro's on my 06 Prius.
A world of difference over the originals.

The ride is different, car has a way better feel on dry pavement, feels better on thruway on ramps etc.

Now, It's not like it has snow tires, still have to take it easy on slush and ice.
But with the old tires I had trouble moving, and certainly while stopping.

I am very happy with them.

Downside?
Mileage took a 6-8 mpg hit.
I cannot pump these up as hard as I did the originals, otherwise they rode awful.

I'm also thinking, part of my mileage hit was due to the mandatory ethanol in the gas.
Anyone else notice that lately?

 

I put on Goodyear Viva Authority Fuel Max's in November and have been very happy. Mileage and handling are both better than with the OEM's and they been very good in both the rain and snow. At this point my only remaining question is longevity and assuming that they hold up well over time I'd likely buy them again when I need new tires.

 

Goodyear assurance Fuel Max here and I am very surprised how well these tires stick on ice and do well in snow. They are actually better than my snow tires ,[Cooper Tiger Claws] Hal

 

I am from the south and we have had a lot of snow and ice here as well. I did a lot of research before I replaced my tires last summer. Since I need to be able to get to work in all kinds of weather, I was looking for something that could handle snow and some ice reasonably well. I started at the tire rack and searched through all the all-season tires (there are several categories of all-season tires!). I was going to go with the Michelin Hydro Edge but I could find no retailer with them available and they were $125 each! Upon further study I came upon the Yokohama Avid ENVigor tire at about $72 each.

They are rated very highly, including for snow and ice handling. I have had the for about 5 months now and they handle very well, are quiet and have done very well in the recent snow and ice. Earlier this month I was going down I-85 when there was up to 5" of snow and SUV's (always seems to be the idiots in SUV's) were spun out in the center divide and the shoulder--I was able to keep in the lane and and maintain a steady 30MPH and felt comfortable.

So don't just fall for the expensive, heavily advertised tires but do a little research to find the best tire for you, depending on YOUR driving needs. I feel I made a good decision and saved almost $200 and got a tire about as good!

 

I am in Mississippi, so 'cold' weather still does not yeild much snow, but I have the Walmart version of the Goodyears mentioned above Viva II Authority Fuel Max and like them so far!

 

Tire pressures? What were the outside air temperatures when you were getting 45-50 mpg vs. now? I don't know where you live in IA, but I can see that in Des Monies, it looks like the highs aren't even breaking freezing and lows are <20 F and in some future days, below 0 F. Did anything about the trips and trip length change?

Also, even if you were to replace the originals w/the same make and model, you'd still take a bit of a hit, for awhile. See Tire Tech Information - Tire Rolling Resistance Part 3: Changes to Expect When Switching from Worn-Out to New Tires.

 

I don't have experience with them, but I thought TireRack did one of their tire comparison tests with them (and they did just fine). I'm thinking something else is going on here. Did you confirm the tire size that was installed on your car, and check tire pressure? Even with squishy snow tires, we got 44mpg on a mid-winter Minnesota 400 mile round trip over the weekend. In the most extreme cases, we've only seen 40mpg when it's the coldest of cold outside, like -30F or colder. We're running stock size Blizzak WS70's, and I still run 44psi up front and 40psi in the rear with the snows, with no noticable drop in traction. I run the same pressure in our summer LRR tires (Bridgestone Ecopia's).