Low Rolling Resistance replacement tires: Current List

I just didn't like the fact that they used the Turanza to compared against in one area, and EP100 on the other. I'm not only upset at Michelin as almost every company does this. I've been a sucker most of my life for these kind of ads. You really have to have done your homework and read all the fine prints to pick it out.

 

That was one of the reason I did away with the stock 15s in the first place I've got to stop wanting everything that I come across.

 

Wow this is an enormous thread. Please can someone give me quick advice.
A few days ago I installed Michelin Primacy tires on my Prius 2010. The gas mileage immediately dropped about 10mpg! I also felt that the ride seemed a little harsh. I called Costco and they told me I can exchange the tires within 30 days.

They told me that Bridgestone Ecopia and Michelin Energy Saver are both recommended - and also Michelin Defender.

I don't want to go with Bridgestone because their Consumer Report ratings are really bad. Both Defender and Primacy were top rated. I originally went with Primacy because they had them in stock and I heard the handling would be better.

Because of the gas mileage, I want to change them out for either the Energy Saver or the Defender. They don't have the Defender in stock but will be getting them soon; they would have to order the Energy Saver.

I recently started commuting a long way - over 52 miles each way. I am going from Rockville, MD (hilly) to Harpers Ferry, WV (mountainous). It can get a lot of snow in Winter. I have been reading in this thread that the Defender is better in the snow than the Energy Saver, but it has lower mpg. It also handles better. I'm also concerned about how it handles in wet weather. It has longer tread life, but I think I'll be wanting to trade this car in for something else before I go another 90,000 miles (I have 40,000 now), so I'm not that concerned.

With my OEM tires I was averaging about 51mpg (per the computer, more like 48mpg hand calculated). I've only driven one way so far today (after driving around town over the weekend and getting mileage in the 30s) and ended with about 43mpg. Usually, my one way commute to work gets 52-55mpg. It was a nice day outside, not wet or too hot or too cold, so the weather didn't have anything to do with bringing down the mileage.

So, should I go for the Energy Saver or the Defender? Please weigh in with your thoughts!

 

I've notice the significant MPG drop with my MXM4 in the first 500 miles also, but I also upgraded to 17" wheels. -10 MPG is a little extreme with stock rims. Make sure the bad ride quality and big MPG hit are not due to improper tire balancing and inflation. Primacy MXV4 is not the best tire for the Prius. You won't see much improvement in FE with the Defenders neither. But it does have a super high tread life, so $ you lose in gas you gain some back with tire cost. Energy Saver A/S = King of FE, and pretty much a great all around tire. With such a long commute the choice is pretty clear even though LRR tires shows the most effectiveness at city/stop and go traffic.

Since FE is not on the top of my list, I vote for the Defenders for better traction dry/wet/snow, shorter stopping distance, etc. When you nerd out the $ you can save with the ES on gas minus the money you save from the Defender lasting longer, the amount is microscopic.

google Defender VS Energy Saver hundreds of threads from both sides will show up.

 

Appreciate your input. fe is more important to me than tread life because I don't expect to keep the car for that much longer BUT traction and stopping is also important. Do you think the Defender will get better fe than the primacy?

 

Did you search for the Defender + Energy Saver comparison threads? Those would give you more info than I can.
I never have any experience on the Defender. I'm going off of Michelin, tirerack, and PriusChat reviews. Michelin rated the Primacy MXV4 and Energy Saver A/S the same score of "10" on FE.... and the Defender @ 8, so take the reviews with a grain of salt.
Tread life is along the same lines as FE, just because they say 90k, it doesn't mean everyone will get the same. Driving style, speed, types of road, weather, tire pressure...blah blah all have some factors when it comes to tread life. Also, I would never let my tires wear down to 2/32, I change them at a little <4/32. Besides, when you sell your car, private party or trade-in, they would knock the price down a little if your tires are bald

You would be buying the Defender for performances, and you would make much of the $ of the tires back from the Energy Saver if the +5mpg claims from many holds true +/-$400 (Life of tire ***lazy math est.***)

 

I see the EP422 frequently labeled as poor handling...and the GY Assurance Fuel Max that came on my Prius now have 47K+ miles, and I've considered them to be poor handling on the interstate - because if there is less than 38 psi, they tend to wander instead of holding a straight line. I learned to keep them at 42 psi when cold. So is this the same "poor handling" that the EP422 is being labeled with?? Thanks!

 

Thanks! And, the Energy Saver A/S is top on my list...

 

I am on my second set of Michelin Energy Saver AS tires, 195.65.15. The first set I obtained nearly 70,000 miles.
MPG increased over Yokohama Avid tires the car came with by 2-3 mpg.
I tried the EP422's, they were terrible, with lower mpg's and wandering on the highway at 65+mph speed...

I already have 15,000 miles on my new set of Energy Saver AS tires and I believe they are the best all round
tire for the Prius especially when it comes to MPG's.

 

How often did you rotate your tires? (Trying to get a yardstick to measure my tire rotation against) thanks!

 

Thank you for all the responses.

I've been looking at this thread and other discussions, and I realize that I might be asking for the perfect combination which doesn't seem to exist in one tire. And I am also seeing a lot of conflicting experiences and stats. So, let me first go back to my basic quandary.

The Primacy tires seem to be giving about 8-10 mpg under my original OEM tires, which is why I want to exchange them. I bought them from Costco and have 30 days (now about 25) to do the exchange. I want to stick with Costco and Michelin.

MPG is important to me, but so is traction and handling. I don't mind losing a couple of mpg for a better tire. But 8-10 mpg seems unacceptable. I've only made one 100-mile round trip so far with these tires so it could be premature judgment - and I haven't had a chance to check the tire pressure (but I'm pretty sure that Costco would fill them to specs). However, since the Primacy is top rated, there is no point trading them in for something that doesn't do any better in FE. I haven't seen many reviews of the Primacy related to FE.

The consensus seems to be that the Energy Savers do have higher FE but the Defenders have better traction, etc. My question is, do the Defenders have better FE than the Primacy? What is contributing to my confusion is that Consumer Reports rated "rolling resistance" as excellent for both the Primacy and Energy Saver, but only very good for the Defender. Isn't low rolling resistance one of the main factors in FE?

So, I'm concluding that if my main reason for making the change is to recover the fuel economy, then I should go with the Energy Saver. There doesn't seem to be any point in swapping the Primacy for the Defender except for the longer tread life if there is no improvement in FE.

 

Yes, it makes sense F8L. But it still doesn't answer the question of whether the Defender is actually the same as or more or less fuel efficient than the Primacy. If their FE is a little better, then I might switch to them, but if they are the same or worse, there's no point. Or, is there another reason I should switch?

My other question is, are either the Primacy or the Defender much safer than the the Energy Saver? My BF is telling me that I shouldn't trade in my Primacy's for more fuel efficient tires because the higher rating means they are the safest. He says that since I am now driving so much, safety is more important than FE. I would agree with that, but what I'm not sure about is how much I would lose in terms of safety - traction and handling - if I switch to the Energy Savers.

 

How about the Cooper GFE ? I would of considered this for the '08 Yaris , wasn't available for it . Did use the COOPER Tendsetter SE for many years without any problems . The GFEs are rated second to the Energy Saver A/S by C.R.. They rated them slightly higher than the Ecopia EP 422 for handling . The GFE ratings are : Better than average for dry braking and Average for wet . ECOPIA is Average for dry and Better Than Average for Wet braking . GFE is Average for handing and ECOPIA worse than average . For Hydroplaning the GFE is Better than average and the ECOPIA average . Ride the GFE and Ecopia are better than average . Noise the GFE is average and the ECOPIA is better than average . Snow traction the GFE is average and the Ecopia is average . Ice braking the GFE is worse than average while the Ecopia is average . Both are Much Better Than Average for rolling resistance . Treadlife the GFE is worse than average and the Ecopia gets average . Go here for the GFE if curious ,
CooperTiresConsumer - GFE&lt;span class='trademark'&gt;&trade;&lt;/span&gt;
. The 195/65-15 can be bought for less than $85 . It's T rated .