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Time for new tires. Which ones?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by justslappy, Oct 31, 2011.

  1. justslappy

    justslappy Junior Member

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    WHEN DO I NEED NEW TIRES?
    My tires are wearing fairly evenly, and have 5/32 of tread left. Is this considered very much? Any idea how many miles before I need new tires?

    WHAT NEW TIRES SHOULD I GET?
    I got an estimate on 4 new Yokohama ties, at about $400 installed. Are these good tires? Is this a good price? Any other recommendations?

    thanks
     
  2. dhanson865

    dhanson865 Expert and Devil's advocate

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    If you have a 2005 Prius you should be posting in Gen II not Gen III.

    As to 5/32s if you have plenty of money or are worried about poor traction on the current tires replace them now. See Tire Tech Information - Measuring Tire Tread Depth with a Coin for more info on when to replace tires by tread depth.

    And Yokohama makes dozens of tire models. You'd have to be way more specific than that.

    But I'll give you a generic Gen II answer

    Tires I'm recommending based on tirerack reviews and price and Gen II RPM target of 845

    Hankook Optimo H727 (better than average RR, still good pricing and better snow/ice ratings, best rated "Standard Touring All-Season" on tirerack)
    Gen II/III 15" choice $74 831 195/65/15 Hankook Optimo H727
    Gen II/III 16" choice $97 834 205/55/16 Hankook Optimo H727

    Yokohama Avid ENVigor (better than average RR, the Hankook Optimo H727 is likely a better choice all the way around)
    Gen II 15" choice $78 840 205/60/15 Yokohama AVID ENVigor
    Gen II/III 16" choice $100 833 205/55/16 Yokohama AVID ENVigor

    Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring (not LRR, don't confuse it for the Goodyear Assurance ComforTred (one says Touring the other doesn't) the non "touring" version isn't as good in the snow (among other differences). The touring version is the best rated "Grand Touring All-Season" on tirerack.
    Gen II/III 15" choice $103 836 195/65/15 Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring
    Gen II/III 16" choice $127 840 205/55/16 Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring


    Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S (not LRR, rated as the best "High Performance All-Season" on tirerack.
    Gen II/III 15" choice $101 832 195/65/15 Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S
    Gen II/III 16" choice $115 839 205/55/16 Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S

    So after all that no true LRR tires. What LRR tires would I recommend?

    For 15" rims a LRR choice is the Michelin Energy Saver A/S (it's only "Passenger All-Season" but it's rated highly in that category)
    Gen II/III 15" choice $95 832 195/65/15 Michelin Energy Saver A/S with Green X


    If you have 16" rims the Michelin Primacy MXV4 is LRR in a size I'd recommend (not LRR at 15" sizes, rated just below the Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring in the "Grand Touring All-Season" category on tirerack.
    Gen II/III 16" choice $138 837 205/55/16 Michelin Primacy MXV4 with Green X

    Another LRR choice is the Michelen HydroEdge with Green X (it's only "Passenger All-Season", it has better wet/dry traction than the Michelin Energy Saver A/S but worse snow/ice traction). May be harder to find.
    Gen II 15" choice 849 $105 205/60/15 Michelin HydroEdge w/ Green X
    Gen II/III 15" choice 832 $104 215/60/15 Michelin HydroEdge w/ Green X
    Gen II/III 16" choice 839 $111 205/55/16 Michelin HydroEdge w/ Green X
     
  3. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    I'll add the Goodyear Fuel Max tires. They are good in the snow and wet weather and no change in my mpg's
     
  4. justslappy

    justslappy Junior Member

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    Thanks for the info, and for the reminder to update my profile with my new Prius info.

    The Yokohama tires I got a quote for (for $400, installed) were Avid Touring S.

    thanks
     
  5. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    I would consider the Yokohama YK580 I posted about. Better traction than the Envigor but has better low rolling resistance qualities.

    MB860 ?
     
  6. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    I chose Goodyear TripleTreds, and I'm very happy with them. The OEM Integrities were so bad, they were dangerous. The car's handling has been transformed, and is now excellent (well, for a Prius) in both wet and dry. Ice and snow traction is rated more highly than the HydroEdge, which was the other tire I considered seriously.
     
  7. dhanson865

    dhanson865 Expert and Devil's advocate

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    I assume that was for the 195/65/15 Yokohama AVID TOURING-S which is $70 per tire on tirerack

    On a Gen III you want 835 revs per mile to make the speedometer/odometer accurate.

    So the Avid Envigor choice could actually be either of these

    Gen II 15" choice $78 840 205/60/15 Yokohama AVID ENVigor
    Gen III 15" choice $84 831 195/65/15 Yokohama AVID ENVigor

    The 205 AVID ENVigor is cheaper per tire but the 195 AVID ENVigor will give you slightly better gas mileage. Check your local dealers price on both, depending on what they have in stock either one could be cheaper.

    I'd seriously look at the Hankook if you want to stay in the cheaper tires or the AVID ENVigor if you prefer Yokohama for some reason.

    The touring - s isn't as nice of a tire and $400 installed doesn't sound like that great of a deal to me. Seems a little high (but I haven't priced tires in your area recently so maybe I'm out of touch). I'm just saying call around for better options.

    If you can get the Opitmo H727 for the same price or cheaper than the touring S take it. If you can get the AVID Envigor for a couple of dollars a tire more than the touring s that'd be better than getting the touring S.

    cheap option #1 hankook optimo H727
    cheap option #2 Yokohama Avid Envigor (either size I listed)

    As to the Goodyear Assurance Fuelmax it's an OK tire but you won't get it as cheap as tires with better traction, price it if you can get it cheaper than the two cheap choices I listed take it, just don't pay extra for it. It's LRR but it doesn't have the traction and handling of the tires I've listed.

    847 205/60/15 Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max
    836 195/65/15 Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max
     
  8. wookie

    wookie New Member

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    Anyone heard anything good or bad about the Michelin Harmony tire. According to the salesman it is a LRR tire with a 80k warranty. Was looking at the Michelin Energy Saver A/S and Michelin HydroEdge but he said the Hydro was being discontinued.

    I live in Tennessee and just need an all weather tire. hopefully one that will last better than the OEM Yokohama that I'm replacing on my 2010 gen III Prius. bought it new in June 2009 and I have 33,000 miles on it and the tires are really worn out. Had them rotated 4 x also.

    Michelin is offering 70.00 off if you buy 4 tires. I need 4 tires. Always had good luck with Michelin tires. I've checked out a lot of posts on here but haven't seen any posts about the Michelin Harmony that or I just missed them. Sorry if this is a repeat. I'm not locked into a Michelin and have priced other brands. I'm looking for a good tire with a warranty this go around. Oh and the Energy Savers have less warranty time on them. I think around 55,000.
    Thanks for any opinions. Buying tires is not one of my strong suites. Rather take a beating. :)
    Cynthia
     
  9. dhanson865

    dhanson865 Expert and Devil's advocate

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    Michelin Harmony it's not marked as LRR on tirerack and Harmony | Michelin Tires shows it as 7 out of 10 for fuel efficiency. Sounds like to me your salesman just wants to move some tires he has sitting around.

    It's a decent tire but it'll use more gas and it's about $105 a tire vs the prices you see in my posts above.
     
  10. justslappy

    justslappy Junior Member

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    I mentioned Yokohama because that's the first quote I got. I have no special interest in that tire and I will definitely shop around.

    I prefer to invest in high-quality tires that offer good performance and gas milage on a 2010 Prius III. Recommendations?

    I'm in NC so performance in ice and snow not an issue.

    thanks

    thanks
     
  11. dhanson865

    dhanson865 Expert and Devil's advocate

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    You know that old saying? Cheap, Good, Efficient; pick any two you like. I'm sure you've seen variations of it before.

    All the tires I listed in the posts above are good tires, I wouldn't hesitate to put any of them on my car if I got them at a good price. But when I'm paying full price the price/performance ratio matters to me.

    Generally speaking you'll either pay more for a LRR tire with good traction or you'll pay the same in dollars but pay the extra by getting worse traction. It's a trade off between traction/lower cost up front vs less fuel spent/lower cost in the long run.

    If you want LRR tires pick something that is listed as LRR on tirerack.

    just as an example here is a RR ranking from a post I made in another thread

    Best RR (but there may be a tire not on this list that gets better RR)
    Michelin Energy Saver A/S with Green X
    Bridgestone Ecopia EP100

    Yokohama dB Super E-Spec (about 2% worse than the two above)
    Bridgestone Ecopia EP422
    Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max (about 2% worse than the dB Super E-Spec)
    Goodyear Integrity
    Continental ProContact w/EcoPlus*
    Yokoham AVID TRZ
    Kumho eco Solus HM KR22
    Michelin HydroEdge Green X

    Hankook Optimo H727 (about 2% worse than the Fuel Max)
    Goodyear Assurance ComforTred

    Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All-Season (about 2% worse than the Optimo H727)
    General Altimax HP
    Worst RR tested (but there are likely many tires with worse RR)

    The Michelin tires with Green X are all good tires but they are more expensive than a Hankook, Yokohoma, or General tire. The Green X tires also tend to sell out / go on back order a lot so you might have to do more footwork to get one.

    I don't drive enough miles in a year to make LRR status my primary concern. If you drive a lot you probably should pay the premium. Something on the order of

    6000 miles a year or less get the cheapest tire I recommend.

    7000 to 10,000 miles a year look at gas prices in your state if they are 25 cents or more above the national average think LRR

    over 11,000 miles a year go LRR.

    Since I don't drive lot of miles I'd be happy with a $80 tire like the Optimo H727 or Avid Envigor.

    If you drive enough to want to go LRR you'll be looking at Michelen Green X (Hydroedge, Energy Saver A/S, possibly others depending on rim size) and you'll pay $100 a tire or more (25% more per tire at the least, not counting rebates).

    There are other LRR choices but some have no tirerack survey data (either new or just don't sell well), or have poor survey data, or are summer tires instead of all season.

    There are plenty of choices in this thread you'll just have to make a choice between up front cost and down the road cost.

    If you want to read more about the tires http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...esistance-replacement-tires-current-list.html is a good thread on LRR tires and http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-fuel-economy/98592-new-tire-tests-tirerack-com.html is a good thread for general reading as it has links to the tire rack tests.
     
  12. wookie

    wookie New Member

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    The tire store I was dealing with has the Michelin Energy Saver or can get them. I think the salesman just didn't know his stuff. They were more than willing to sell me any tire I wanted. I drive quite a bit. I'm averaging close to 15,000 a year. I'll price the M Energy Saver at several locations. Will see if I can find the Hydro hidden away somewhere.

    This gives me a lot of direction. Just what I needed. If I can find any of the Michelin at a good/decent price plus 70.00 rebate I'm going to snag 4 of them. Winter is coming and my Yokohama's are about bald!

    Many thanks for all your input.
     
  13. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    Michelin corporate told me last week that the Energy Saver A/S in our size will not be available for 60 to 90 days due to supply issues. So, inventory is going to be really skinny.

    Until Michelin can prove that there's a reliable supply of Energy Saver A/S tires in our size, I would pick a different tire because of the difficulty of obtaining a replacement tire in the event that it is needed.

    Gas mileage be damned, I'd take the YK580 or the Primacy MXV4.
     
  14. dhanson865

    dhanson865 Expert and Devil's advocate

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    Well "our size" in the Prius community when it comes to Energy Saver A/S is 4 different tires

    851 185/65/15 Michelin Energy Saver A/S w/ Green X
    832 195/65/15 Michelin Energy Saver A/S w/ Green X

    Both of those could be used on a Gen II or Gen III Prius but the 832 makes the speedometer/odometer more accurate.

    810 205/60/16 Michelin Energy Saver A/S w/ Green X
    803 225/50/17 Michelin Energy Saver A/S w/ Green X

    These two fit the Prius v (Wagon).

    They don't make a 16 or 17 inch version that plays nice with the Gen II or Gen III Prius with the larger "touring" rims even if there wasn't a stock issue with the 15 inch tires.

    As to the Primacy MXV4 it's a great tire and is even considered fully LRR in some sizes. But even the MXV4 is on backorder in some sizes and limited availability in others even sticking to sizes that would fit on a Prius.

     
  15. priusrick

    priusrick Member

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    How many miles did you get out of them????
     
  16. Den49

    Den49 Member

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    I installed Michelin Harmony tires about fifteen months ago. To date they have traveled 23,033 miles. The original tread depth was 11/32". Current tread depth is slightly more than 9/32". At that rate of tread wear, if I run the tires down to 3/32" they will last more than 92,000 miles, which is a realistic expectation, as I have seen Harmony's last longer on a Corolla. The tires run smooth, are quiet and have excellent traction in dry, wet, snow and ice conditions. When I first installed them there was about a 0.5 to 1.0 mpg reduction compared to the OEM LRR Yokohama tires; however, now that they have worn a bit they deliver about 1.0 mpg MORE than the OEM LRR Yokohama tires. My last tank of gas was 51.34 mpg. That’s with 35/33 psi tire pressure, about 50% 65-70 mph interstate driving and normal (not hypermile) driving in ECO mode. The Harmony is an excellent all-round tire, especially for those of us in the middle latitudes of the country who need traction in snow and ice but not winter/snow tires.
     
  17. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Unfortunately the Harmony is being discontinued and replaced with the Defender. Hopefully it will be as good. I have high hopes for it.