PSI Question, 30 Front 44 Rear?

No. The best tires should always go on the back regardless of which wheels are powered. This is really important. This video demonstrates it:

 

I can't advise you on what to do but I can tell you that 30 front and 44 back is not the answer. If you're really serious about this, contact Yokohama Customer Service, present your docs and give them a chance to correct it.

 

Apparently your right most online recommends worn up front with all stating danger of rear breaking loose in the rain if worn out back. Seems not right as worn up front would be even more scary in the rain but thats what everyone recommends.

 

I put my new tires up front. IIRC we have some lengthy threads on this topic including test drives and the answer was new tires up front. Also many here said tire plugs was a bad idea up front, so I wanted unpunctured new tures up front. Of course my rear are still OK tread despite 80000 miles back there (GY ComforTred). By now my fronts have equal wear to rear and I will replace all four next time.

 

Most sites seem to recommend worn up front due to possible hydroplaning in the rear with worn out back. But what happens when you hit the brakes in the rain with worn out front?

I always have put worn out back.

Imagine driving with bald Integrity's in the front?

Oh the horror.

 

The video shows very clearly what happens when you're driving on wet pavement and only your front wheels lose traction. Since the rear wheels are still holding, your car continues in the direction it was moving and, if you brake, it slows down. Usually the front wheels regain traction as you slow, so you can regain control easily.

If you have the better tires up front, the front end retains traction. The rear of the car tends to slide in one direction of the other. If you brake, the car starts spinning, leaving you less chance of gaining control.

Put the better tires on the back.

-Andy

 

I understand the reason for the "best on the back" recommendation, and as pointed out above it has definite advantages in straight line braking. It's not all one way though, in cornering for example the limiting factor is front traction. Lose front wheel traction in cornering and you go straight ahead and over the cliff or into the oncoming traffic etc.

In any case there is a practical difficulty with the "best on back" approach and the issue at hand here, which is uniform tire wear. The basic problem is that all front wheel drive cars wear the front tires far more rapidly than the rears, in my experience it's about a 2:1 wear ratio. So you buy new tires and inevitably the fronts become more worn than the rears over time. Now you say that's the ideal way to have it, but if we want even tire wear then we MUST swap those more worn front tires out to the rear. So in my opinion the whole "best on back" approach is inherently incompatible with normal tire rotation practice on a front wheel drive car.

As for the OP. Go back to the tire shop and tell them you want to buy 4 new tires and that you require a pro-rated warranty on the current set. Make sure you're talking to the manager and if they refuse then just make it clear that you're taking your business elsewhere.

 

Thanks for posting the make and model of the tire.

As uart posted above, I would recommend you go back to the tire shop and talk with the manager. While you are there, show him the docs you have about the rotation and alignment. Remind him that these tires are warranted for 80,000 miles tread life. They really should put on a new set of tires for you and prorate them. Also, as uart stated, tell them you will take your business elsewhere if they don't take care of you and honor the warranty.

 

We typically set tire pressures front and rear to 36psi for daily driving. I pull a little guy trailer behind the prius at times which is bigger than the prius. Get a lot of looks going down the road When the trailer is on I may bump it up to 38 but sometimes I just go with the 36psi front and rear. At the end of the day I am still getting better gas mileage than 99% of people on the road.

 

Tamim,

I wanted to follow up on this one last time.

First and foremost, Yokohama DOES warrant these tires on a prorated basis. It is plainly spelled out at tire rack dot com. Yokohama AVID TRZ

I suspect your tire dealer is trying to get the most money they can from you since the warranty states that the prorate lasts until the last 2/32" of the tire. Quote from tirerack on warranty:5 Years / Free replacement first year or 2/32" of wear, then prorated to 2/32" remaining depth

Second, when reading 40 of the 1700+ reviews of this tire on tirerack, it is plain that many, (not just you) are complaining that these tires are wearing out quickly and NOT lasting the warranty length.

With all of that said, you would be better off doing some research on tires recommended for the Prius and possibly changing brands altogether. I realize that you are on a budget, however sometimes it comes down to a point of biting the bullet and moving on.

F8L has posted an extensive list of LRR tires here on PC that is recommended. I think that would be a good place to start.

Low Rolling Resistance replacement tires: Current List | PriusChat

Good luck to you.

 

Good points Ron. Looking at tire-rack it seems those TRZs aren't even low rolling resistance. Checking with a "Consumer Reports" paper I have here I see they scored really poorly for rolling resistance. OP should definitely look at replacing them with something else.

 

I do agree, it seems to me that the OP should change brands of tires altogether. They may have worked well in the past for other vehicles, however they don't seem to be a good fit for the Prius.

I know a lot of folks knock the OEM Goodyear's that came stock on the Gen II non touring models. Honestly, that is what is on our Prius. I have learned the limitation's of the tires and drive the Prius accordingly. However, when they do wear out I will be switching to the Michelin Energy Saver A/S if they are available. Otherwise, it will be something in a LRR class that is available at the time of purchase. I would go with the Bridgestone Ecopia 422, but it seems that several don't like them due to sidewall flexibility. Whatever I get, I hope they will deliver at least what the Integrity's are giving concerning MPG.