Best tires for the Prius?

I replaced the OEM Integrities at 24700 with 195-60 Hydroedges. The car handles better, it's quieter, and smoother. I've always run 38/36psi, and that's what I have the Hydros at.

Like others with new tires, I've seen about a 3mpg hit, about 5%. But this is reasonable (and it's been cold the past few weeks). If the Hydros last 3x longer than the Integrities, then the money saved on tire replacement is a little more than what I'll spend on extra fuel. (I run about 12k miles/year.)

 

guys! My wife and I each drive 2006 Priuses - hers is a blue package 4 and mine is a white package 8. I have 36K miles on mine and my Toyota dealer says (correctly) that I will need new tires before winter. I have been comparison shopping for quite a while and haven't decided for sure on my replacement tire. Consumer Reports will have its new report on passenger car tires in the November, 2009 issue, so I hope to wait until I can read it. Right now, I am leaning toward the Michelin HydroEdge or Michelin X.
Reading here, I see a lot of people saying they take a hit of 3% or 4% with new tires, almost regardless of brand or model. That makes sense, because they are relying on the car's odometer and computer to calculate their fuel economy. All other factors being equal, a smaller diameter tire will appear to give higher fuel economy because your car will "think" it is going farther than it actually is. So, when you start with the GoodYear Integritys with 10/32" of tread, a diameter of 24.4" and 855 revs per mile, then wear them down to 2/32" of tread, their diameter will have shrunk to 23.9", increasing the revs to about 873. When your computer counts 855 revs, it thinks it has gone the same mile it did with 855 revs when the tires were new, when you've really only gone a little less than .98 miles, therefore it is reporting a higher fuel economy than you are actually getting. When you put on brand new OEM tires, you will immediately notice a perceived (not actual) hit of more than 2% just because the tires have a larger diameter. Add to that the fact that you have much thicker tread, that will noticeably increase rolling resistance and decrease the actual fuel economy, and it is to be expected that you will calculate a significant decrease in fuel economy.
I have been keeping accurate fuel economy records (can't post the link because you can't include links until you have made 5 posts here) since I got my Prius and note a very slight increase in my seasonally-adjusted fuel economy over three years. I am anxious to see what happens when I replace my tires.
:rockon:

 

Just FYI:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/68105-michelin-energy-green-tire-report.html

 

I have a 2005 Prius with Goodyear Integritys. I have been pulled over twice by the CHP for wandering on the road. The car does not stay in the lane. I want to put on 195/65/R15 on it since California roads are so full of potholes. Big O tires advertise Sigma tires at $52 each, but then they say that the Sigma tires do not have a good rolling resistance and they want me to purchase tires at $120 each. Bate and Switch. How can you find the rolling resistance data on these tires? I can get the Continental touring tires. Are they good?

 

Has anyone tried the Bridgestone EP 100 tires?
This was recommended to me by Wheelworks today.
Heard that Goodyear integrity sucks.

 

Here you go.....

When Round and Black Becomes Lean and Green

 

Michelin X Radial is a MUCH softer ride, softer sidewall than the old MXV4+. I've gone through 60k on each and there is a big difference.
That said, the X Radial is 10 times better than the Integrities for traction, cornering, tramlining, cross winds, etc.

 

You heard right. Worst tire I have had on a car in ~40 years of driving. I suspect one of the reasons the Prius doesn't score as well as it might on the CR tests is the lousy OEM tires Toyota insists on mounting.

 

I have Nokia WR tires and they work very here in New England. I'm getting 51mpg with these tires which I inflate to 42front 40 rear. FishHawk

 

To others who posted, thanks for all the info on replacement tires. It was a bit overwhelming, but still good info.

The below info may be "nothing new". I'm just trying to compress the info I gathered, for the first time replacement buyer.

Here is my experience on the Prius, with Original Equipment (OE) Integrity tires. The Integrity tires seem to have a bad reputation, so I wanted to offer another view. However I did not want to replace them with another set of Integrities, as I definitely did not like the review on Tire Rack of the wet stopping distance. (Yikes!) I'm glad I never had to make a 50-0 mph hard stop in wet conditions.

I recommend you view all the tabs on these reports:
"When Round and Black Becomes Lean and Green"-Tire Rack


Eco Friendly All Season Tires- How Does Performance Measure Up?-Tire Rack


Post on Priuschat regarding fuel economy decrease with replacement tires-Best Tires for the Prius? (dated 08-30-2009, 04:01PM). Great info. Thanks to the poster.

Disclaimer: I do not recommend any tire. I only recommend you do your research. I'll let all the "tire gurus" do the recommending.

2006 Prius. Southern California driving. Mostly freeway miles. MPG 49.4 city/hwy lifetime at time of replacement.

In Sept 2010, I replaced my OE Integrity tires at 61700 miles. I think I could have pressed it to about 2000 more miles, but better judgement prevailed. The Integrity tires were not quite at the wear bars, but didn't have enough tread to give me confidence. They were rotated ever 5000 miles, as outlined in the maintenance manual. They were also showing some wear at the outside of the tread. (I will get an alignment soon from the Toyota dealer). One tire had a puncture (screw) toward the outer edge, at about 40k, and was repaired by a local service station with no further issues. PSI was kept about 38 Front/36-38 Rear.

I seriously considered the following replacements (185/65R15):
Michelin Energy Saver A/S
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max
Continental ProContact EcoPlus
Goodyear Viva Authority Fuel Max (Walmart only brand)

I chose the Walmart Viva Authority Fuel Max for the following reasons (and others):
-It most approximated the OE tires (some Specs below)
-Price
-Promotion (for Sep10 had free lifetime balance promo)
-Location of store-very close
-65000 mile guarantee
-Made in the USA (At least we're making something!)

I gathered from the searches I made that big retailers will often have their own specifically named tire in a certain tire class, but with a different tread pattern. Therefore, they don't have to "match" prices from competitors. So, don't bother searching for Goodyear Authority Fuel Max on a site other than Walmart.
You won't find it.

The one thing I couldn't find on "Viva A's" was something that steered me away from the OE tires; stopping distance. Therefore, I did my own non-expert analysis of the tread design on the Integrity and the others I researched. To my untrained eye, I did not see much water evacuation tread design on the center "wet stopping portion" of the OE tires. There seemed to be much more of a design on the other tires I considered. So, with the claim of better "wet stopping performance" on the Viva (along with the LRR (low rolling resistance), I went with that.

Specs (sorry, Priuschat won't let me post the url):

Walmart for Viva Authority Fuel Max
51PSI, Tread 10/32"

Tire Rack-Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max & Integrity Tires reviews

Consumer Reports Discussion: Choosing tires > Goodyear Authority Tires (From: Steven Glanzer To:All 9/26/09)

So, there you have it. Hope it saves you some time, or at least a couple of clicks.

Cheers!

 

tire pressure on a 2009 prius

 

All the California roads I've driven are in great condition. You want to experience pothole filled roads, drive in Michigan.

 

I bought a set of BF Turanza EL400's a couple of weeks ago at Costco. They listed them on their website as acceptable for the Prius (2006). At my first replacement of tires at 40k, I bought from Discount Tire and had a 9mpg drop. Discount took them back and put on original tires (with the comment that they are not as good as the new tire I bought). Mileage and handling returned. This time I asked the Costco tire guy if the Turanza was okay so I wouldn't go through the same thing. He said they would be okay. NOT! I lost 10mpg. Used to get 55mpg, now 45mpg. Also the handling is terrible, especially on concrete. Went back to Costco, said they wouldn't take them back. Lesson learned: Do your homework ahead of time, don't rely on the Costco or any other tire guy. They don't know the Prius. Then when you go back, they look at you like you are stupid. Also, buy from Discount, not Costco. They stand behind their tires. However, the Costco manager did say he would give me a free pizza. Wow that really made up for it!#*!

 

You honestly expected a Costco service guy to know the mileage gains/losses with all vehicles and tires? Consumers have more information at hand, thanks to the internet. We need to do our research prior to walking into a tire store.

 

I agree with using Discount Tires; I now have 160,000 miles on my '04; original tires went 48,000, replaced them with Goodyear Comfortred, went 75,000, no complaints, the 2cnd set was better handling, tiny loss of mpg, then I bought something at Discount, don't remember what, went a week, they replaced them with full credit for something else which I also don't remember what (this year I plan to hide my own Easter eggs) a week later and traded for Pirellis, which are still on the car, cheap Pirellis, I think the set was something under $260, and they're pretty good, no problems, tho I doubt they'll last as long as the comfortreds...but Discount T. was great at replacing everything, and giving me full credit (I have no connection to that company, just a customer.) Now that I have so many miles, I no longer track or care about mpg, I know I'm getting good payback from this great little car, and so, I just drive it.

 

wow!
lots of data to process.
I have stock tires (goodyear integrity185 x 15) on 2008 prius and i will need to replace them soon.
can someone tell me what are their recommendations based on their experience for good prius II tires?

my criteria is:
-- low noise (factory tires seem too noisy)
-- good fuel economy (small hit in fuel economy is OK, as long as tires are less noisy)
-- good safety in all weather (although i live in southern Ca, you never know when you need that extra "wet grip")
-- longer thread life than integrity (I have about 38K on factory tires and threads are getting pretty low. I figure i _may_ get another 5K after rotation)

I am sure that someone already went down this road, so your feedback is very appreciated.

TIA!

 

Michelin X Radial. Softer than MXV4+ and derivatives. Same mileage as Integrities, much better handling, just as quiet. Costco. I have 190k on my 2006 and I'm averaging 51mpg in the summer (70mph freeway, 55 on 2 lane country roads and some stop-n-go traffic).

 

Very expensive tires at Costco. I'm just saying.

 

I'm happy with the Yokohama Avid Touring S on all those counts on our car...

 

Ecopia's.
have set on 2007 touring and 2009 touring. They are quiet and great in rain.