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Quietest replacement tires with good mpg

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by mmcdonal, Feb 6, 2011.

  1. mmcdonal

    mmcdonal Active Member

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    Sorry if this is a duplicate post. I was unable to find a discussion on this.

    I am going to need to replace the OEM tires, and wanted to replace with something like the Michelin Energy, which I had used on a Camry hybrid, with great results (as to tire noise). I always ran the recommended tire pressure in that car, though.

    I am currently at 39/37 psi, and the road noise is manageable. I realize if I want quiet, I will have to deflate the tires to spec for a softer ride. The Michelin Energy have a constant contact center tread that keeps the road noise down, and I was wondering if anyone had gotten these tires and was able to increase the psi without adversely affecting their quiet ride properties.

    Most other "quiet" tires use this constant center contact patch technique, so I am wondering what the results would be with like a Continental EcoPlus, with higher psi.

    Thanks.
     
  2. GaryD1

    GaryD1 Active Member

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    what is the max PSI reading on these tires? How many mile have you got on OEM tires now? What size tire are they?
    I've read good things about this brand tire.
     
  3. mmcdonal

    mmcdonal Active Member

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    Wow, I guess I missed this one. I am using the regular OEM tires, which I think is supposed to be 35/33. I have them up to 40/38 now.
     
  4. Felt

    Felt Senior Member

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    FWIW .... I just bought new Michelin Energy Savers A/S. Too early to be sure, but thus far ... I am impressed.

    The OEM tires survived for 36k and had some wear left ... but I am leaving on a long trip soon, and wanted to replace them.

    BTW, snow is not an issue. Tire Rack reports the E/S tire is not the best in snow. My priority was rolling resistence and low road noise.
     
  5. billnchristy

    billnchristy Active Member

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    I have Primacy MXV4s and I am not happy with the economy but they handle 100x better and are quieter than the Yokohamas.

    I am hoping they will break in a bit.
     
  6. Genoz World

    Genoz World ZEN-style living

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    Bridgestone ECOPIA's.......100's if you dont have much rain, 422's if it rains. Kinda ironic that i've got 422's in sunny socal........but they're gr.....88888.....t!
     
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  7. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    A few years ago we changed to Goodyear Assurance Comfortread. We saw no difference in MPG data (still averaging 46.1 MPG) compared to the OEM Integrities (also 46.1 MPG). Just saw great review article of Prius tires on TireRack.com. They say the Comfortreads were quietest and best handling, but lower MPG compared to the newer low-rolling-resistance tires. So that's the trade-off.
     
  8. Thai

    Thai Prius Neophyte

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    x2. Love my Ecopia!!
     
  9. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    The dB Super E-Spec is fairly quiet as well but it does get louder when hitting bridge expansion joints and such. It's hard to call them quiet as all tires get louder when you overinflate them. Compared to my 17" Kumho ecsta ASX they are very quiet!

    TireRack.com gave their impressions on popular LRR tires:
    When Round and Black Becomes Lean and Green

     
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  10. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    Thanks for the comments and ideas!

    From several sources, including TireRack.com, it sounds like ComforTread also produces a very smooth ride. Did you notice much difference in that regard? If so, what type were your previous tires?
     
  11. olyprius

    olyprius Member

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    I heart Ecopia tires! The set of Ecopia that came stock on my 2011 are very nice and are pretty low on the noise!

    Having said that, thank goodness summer has arrived because looking at the treads on these tires, it looks like I'll lose a bit of control over the road if I needed to go all aggressive on them in the rain. Someone here recommended the 422, and I may go that path once this set gets close to balding.
     
  12. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    Ah, never mind! It looks like Goodyear doesn't make ComforTread in the size needed for my 2009 touring (notably, 195/55-16). They have a 205 width, but that would hose up mileage even further, I'd presume.
     
  13. alfon

    alfon Senior Member

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    I have Michelin Energy Saver tires for over 40,000 miles
    they are quiet and I have seen a 2-3 honest MPG over
    factory Avid Yoko tires, 195x65x15 tires.

    last fill up average was over 54 mpg calculated

    alfon
     
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  14. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    For those with 17"-19" wheels I would suggest the Michelin Primacy MXM4. They are an all around awesome tire and are VERY quiet.
     
  15. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    Yeah, it looks like I'm heading that direction too. Thanks for the thoughts!
     
  16. cyclopathic

    cyclopathic Senior Member

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    we have Michelins Energy Saver A/S and they are good at 42/38. I tried at 44psi but they would grip and no noticeable improvement in MPG. Cannot comment much on noise they are quiet enough and it did not sound like going from 35psi to 42 changed it.

    The MPG is great, 58-60MPG for last several tanks on my mostly no traffic :) commute route.
    ============================

    Just got out and with windows down up to 35MPH the electric motor is louder then tires..
     
  17. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    I just installed a new set of Michelin Primacy MXV4's on my 2010 yesterday. Today was the first drive to work and I was amazed at the difference in the noise level compared to the OEM Yokohama Avid S33's. Day and night. I knew the Yokohama's were the main source of road noise but did not realize that it was "the source" of the noise. I could turn the volume down on the radio a couple of notches.

    I really wanted the Energy Savers but Sam's Club did not have these available. You could not even order them online. The best they had were the MXV4's.

    Too early to give a comment on the mpg.
     
  18. Flow50

    Flow50 New Member

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    I too put a set of Michelin Primacy MXV4's on my 2010 and couldn't be happier. I did suffer about a 2 MPG loss but the handling and noise attenuation is well worth it.
     
  19. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I wish they made the new MXM4s in a 15" size for the Prius. They are even better than the MXV4s.
     
  20. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    Yes, I went to the Michelin website after reading your reports and found that they did not have the MXM4's for the 15". The MXV4 specs are very close to the MXM4, though. Both show 10/10 for Fuel Efficiency on the Michelin site.

    Also, Sam's did not even list the MXM4.