2005 Prius: New Michelins--mileage took a nose dive!

Does the car have any alignment issues? Like pulling when driving or braking?
Did you change gas stations?
I wonder if the winter gas vs. the summer gas has anything to do with it?

ZC1

(of course, it could all be due to tire rolling resistance)

 

New tires take a little while to wear-in, and mileage improves a little after that. But you don't say anything about tire pressure. How is yours set? You want those things nice and hard far the best mileage and longevity, with 42/40 or 44/42 being common recommendations around here.

The other thing that strikes me is that your integritys only lasted 20k. I know it's a lousy tire, but what happened to them? Mine have loads of life left at 27k, albeit having been inflated above 40psi since the beginning. If the edges rounded off, that is a symptom of having had too little pressure.

Please check pressures and get back to us. Best to take care of this now so that your new tires last!

 

That's normal.

My new HydroEdges have 4,500 miles on them now. That new tread combined with unseasonably cold weather kept me from cracking 50 MPG until yesterday.

Break-In is a pain. But fortunately, you don't have to worry about it again for another 70,000 miles.

.

 

Pretty much the same thing here when I put Hydroedges on last year. I estimated a 5-10% hit to fuel economy. I'm certain I've regained some of that now with 15K miles on the tires, but probably not all of it. The Integritys apparently are still somewhat lower in rolling resistance.

 

Hi gawilson,

When you first got the car, your mileage increased the first 6 months you had it, I presume. Allot of that was engine break-in, but some was tire break-in. The tread edges wear down, and the sidewalls get more compliant. Take a new uninflated tire and flex the sidewalls. Then do the same thing with a worn out tire. You will notice quite a difference. That means, when each sidewall flexes the same amount, the worn out tire generates less heat in the rubber.

The Hydroedges make allot of noise when new. That is the factory siped (all those extra edges built into the tread). Over time the siping edges will feather in to the roll of the tire. And only come out to play when you put allot of force on the tread.

I am running Hydroedges, and they are 2 years old in June (about 24 K miles). My last suburban/combined driving tank was at 63 mpg. Summer traffic and construction helped allot with that though.

 

I put those same tires on my Prisu a couple months ago. I haven't noticed any mileage problems but my last set were almost bald. Plus the weather has been changing so frequently in my area any MPG hit has been due to that (I think).

 

That's the basis of your complaint?

.

 

Where did you get RR #s for the Hydroedges?

I spoke to a customer care individual at Michelin yesterday and she said the Hydroedges are an efficient tire but they are not recomended for my area because of a lack of rain, it is a rain tire afterall. She said their most energy efficient tire is the Energy series tires like the Energy MXV4. It seems like she was just reading literature though so I am going to take her advice with a grain of salt.

Michelin on RR


What ever happened to the Proxima?

 

I not only purchased the Hydroedge tires, but i did so just prior to winter setting in. My mileage was horrible!!! I mean, I was in the low 40's almost all winter.

Not only did I get the hydroegde, but I got a size wider which really will affect you mileage. It has added some lateral stability though. One of our moderators here recommended I increase my air pressure and I did so, and now that spring has set in, my mileage is up again to 52-53 on the last two tanks.

So here are my recommendations. Increase your tire pressure to 50 front - 48 rear. Trust me. You will see an immediate increase in you mileage. My tire guy at Costco also has a Prius with hydroedges, and he runs that pressure too. Fill up the tank, and see if your mileage doesn't return to your prior levels, or quite close.

The hydroedge is a great tire, and as said above, there is a break in period, which I found for these tires to be around 4000-5000 miles. But the tires last forever. the ride at those pressures is not too harsh.

Good luck.

David

 

I wonder what made you buy hydroedges instead of energy mx4's? Im only at 4K miles but am planning and am curious.

 

I thought Michelin killed the Energy tire line and was supposed to introduce a replacement LRR tire? Did I get that wrong?

 

the michelin web site still shows MXV4 S8 and MXV4 Plus still in the line up.

Michelin tires and wheels for cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs: Michelin Tires

 

So maybe you should stick with the OEM tires and get the best mileage. Yes , people think they are not great tires but there doesnt seem to be a tire out there that comes close to the mileage the OEM tires get.
With gas prices rising everyday it's a choice we all have to make when replacing our tires. FishHawk