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Flat tire

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by HPrimeAdvanced, Jun 26, 2017.

  1. HPrimeAdvanced

    HPrimeAdvanced Senior Member

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    Just for those curious folks:
    T.U.R.D.: Totally Useless Rotating Device
    POS: Piece Of "Stuff"
    Skins: Old sales term for tires
    I hope this clarifies my statements!

    .

    Mr. Coast, the Michelin Defenders I just bought today appear to be quieter, especially with road irregularities which you can see and then drive over but which make very little noise compared to the Toyo Nanocrappers. I haven't heard the booming type of sound made by the Toyo's, but to be fair, I'd have to drive the car a lot more to get a better impression.

    .
     
    #61 HPrimeAdvanced, Jun 27, 2017
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 1, 2017
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  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I've driven a car with brand new defender about 40 km, and found them easy rolling, and very well behaved. One of the marks I think of a good tire, you don't notice them much.
     
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  3. HPrimeAdvanced

    HPrimeAdvanced Senior Member

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    I feel comfortable with the 80,000 mile rating of the Defenders. My previous tires (yes they were wearing evenly, and were rotated and balanced religiously every 5K miles!) were warrantied by Michelin for 80K miles. When I sold the car, they had well over 80K miles, and the mechanics at America's Tire said they still had 20-30K left in the tread!! This was on my 2012 PIP. .
    Others, such as the Pirelli factory mechanic's trainer, who gave our car club a speech on tires, told us that Goodyear, Firestone and similar brands had a 25% flaw rate (not necessarily fatal, but not that great), while his brand had a 10% flaw rate. Michelin had less than 2%!! Also, Goodyear and relateds exaggerate their mileage durability by quite a bit: typically 40K rated would go maybe 25-30K, whereas Michelin would do the opposite. I had many sets of Michelin XWX VR tires on all my Alfas, and my brother in law's Alfas. Michelin tech support assured me the tires (very soft compound, steel sidewalls!!), would last 25K, maybe 30K. When I told him that I had experienced 80K mileage on several sets, he practically called me a liar!!. Michelin is the Master of the World in tires!!

    .
     
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  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    We had a set of Michelin Harmony, tread wear warranted for 120K kms, got to the wear bars at 60K. Michelin honoured it tho: the tire dealer presented the info, and we got a new set half off.

    Nowadays tho it's futile, due to our use of snow tires about 4 months or more per year. Coupled with low use, we never wear out tires, they tend to "age out".
     
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  5. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    If you put on new tires and they DON'T "feel better, more "planted", quieter, etc., etc.", TAKE THEM BACK! New tires always make the world right, for at least a few months. Longer if they are actually good. ;)
     
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  6. HPrimeAdvanced

    HPrimeAdvanced Senior Member

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    Mr. Beale, the new Michelins replace "new" Toyo Nanocrapper tires (only had 6172 miles on them), so the Apples to CrapApples comparison is appropriate. The Michelins are only slightly newer, and FEEL a good deal better. My impression is a more precise and cushior driving experience coupled with less noise.

    .
     
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  7. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Just put Defenders XT's on our 2010. I like them a lot and agree with your assessment. However, they sometimes get a bad rap in other threads for losing a few MPG..but time will tell. I'm running the pressure pretty high on them ( 42/40 ) so maybe that will help some.

    We have a 3500 mile road trip coming up in late July..so it will be interesting to see how they do.
     
    #67 farmecologist, Jun 28, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2017
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah please report.
     
  9. alexcue

    alexcue Active Member

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    That's what I will be interested to see, 1) what's the mileage drop (or increase) from them and 2) what pressure are they being set at?

    I always ran my Gen 3 tires at about 40psi, and got better mileage and better handling from them. I want to start pushing my crappy Toyo's a bit to help with the heat issues.

    @bwilson4web one thing to note about weather here in So Cal, USC/Downtown readings are not representative of the area. LA's area is huge, and I've had instances where at the beach it will 71* and drive for 35 minutes into one of the valleys and it's 89*. So Downtown LA is relatively mild in comparison to the valleys (with the beach being even more moderate). The swing in Hi and Lo's yesterday at my house in the foothills, was 93* high yesterday afternoon and this morning it was 63*, that's life in SoCal.
     
  10. HPrimeAdvanced

    HPrimeAdvanced Senior Member

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    Mr. Rider, as near as I can figure from my Googling, the "T + H" designation stands for "Touring" (I guess as opposed to racing?), and "H" is for the 130mph speed range. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong!!

    .
     
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  11. joachimz

    joachimz Senior Member

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    I have the Toyos on my Prime and pressure set to 42/41 ... always had it high on my Gen3 as well.
     
  12. HPrimeAdvanced

    HPrimeAdvanced Senior Member

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    Mr. Cue tells it like it is here in Socal!!. Unfortunately, right now my daytime temperature hit 94° yesterday with 65-70° most of the night. I'm praying for our June Gloom to keep temps as low as possible for as long as possible! Hi temps cost money!!
    My Michelins are set to factory specs, BTW. I run light and empty 99% of the time. I don't know if I'll be able to report any accurate economy changes, since I really haven't had any consistent way of checking my fuel economy for gasoline use. I'll keep an eye on my EV-only range and see if that changes. Of course the problem with that, is the temperature is changing dramatically also, so another variable is affecting my economy too. I'll stick to sweating the weather and not sweat the fuel economy for now!.
    I removed my wheel covers, does this mean I have to change my GVW sticker?, Har, har!

    .
     
  13. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    We'll be heading into the typical Alabama summer weather soon enough so I'll more closely track the tires.

    Bob Wilson
     
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  14. CoastRider

    CoastRider Active Member

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    Do I take a chance with my Toyo tires during my upcoming trip thru Arizona and New Mexico? (My regular Prius came with a donut spare in the trunk).

    Debating whether to throw on a new set of Michelin tires, or just run the crap out of my OEM Toyo tires. They haven't been a bad tire, they are just noisy as all heck. But I think I may have solved that, now I just roll down a window and let all the road noise in! That drowns out the tire noise. :)

    (The cheap guy in me, hates to part with four tires that are only 17 months old. And Soldier Guy got 45,000 miles out of his Toyo's and they still looked good.)
     
    #74 CoastRider, Jun 28, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2017
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  15. joachimz

    joachimz Senior Member

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    I would suggest you re-think that strategy while driving through Arizona :cool::cool:
     
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  16. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    We don't have enough data to call that question.

    Bob Wilson
     
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  17. CoastRider

    CoastRider Active Member

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    I'm actually more concerned with getting a cracked windshield.

    I would like to believe, that Toyota would not purposely and knowingly put an inferior set of tires on a Prius. Some owners report that they love their Toyo tires. And ANY tire, regardless of brand or price or reputation, can still get a flat.
     
    #77 CoastRider, Jun 28, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2017
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  18. ems2158

    ems2158 Active Member

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    I'm a cheap guy too. I would use the tires until they are worn out. I could never bring myself to get rid of serviceable tires. I would familiarize myself with the equipment provided in your Prius, if you do get a flat tire. Also, I'd probably buy a repair plug kit as a backup plan. I've used these plugs many times with no problems. In 50 years of driving, I've only had one instance of a tire being damaged so badly that it had to be replaced and the tires are much better than they were years ago.
     
  19. HPrimeAdvanced

    HPrimeAdvanced Senior Member

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    I got pushed into buying the Michelins sooner than I had intended, but now that I've done it, I'm a happy camper. If you've got the bucks, jump on board the Michelin wagon. Be careful to check carefully the model you get; I wasn't in the proper frame of mind, nor did I have the time to properly research the proper Michelins for me. Also, check into the $100 rebate I received at America's Tire to see if you can get it; it sure made a big difference for me!!.
    I believe that tires get noisier as they get older, from what I've read, so replacing your tires for your trip should make it more enjoyable for you. Good luck!

    .
     
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  20. ArcPrime

    ArcPrime Active Member

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    People get noisier when they get older too. That's also what I have heard. ha!