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Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max vs. Hankook Optimo 727

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by fintonissimo, Aug 13, 2010.

  1. fintonissimo

    fintonissimo Member

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    Thanks, now it makes more sense to me!
     
  2. vertex

    vertex Active Member

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    I read the same consumer's reports, and came away with the Michelin Primacy MX4 being the better tire. I bought 4 2 months ago. No change in gas mileage from the OEM tire, and I purchased a 205/60/15 tire. This wider tread should be better in snow then the 185, which was the only category that the Hanook was better.
     
  3. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Besides superior snow performance, the Hankooks are also less noisy than the Michelins, and they cost A LOT less than the Michelins.

    Given that OP lives in Chicago area, I think the Hankook's superior performance in snow might be a big factor in his calculus.

    BTW, I understand that narrower (NOT wider) tires perform better in snow.

    Not to take anything away from the Michelins which also seems to be a great 4 season tire.
     
  4. fintonissimo

    fintonissimo Member

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    Yes indeed, performance in the ice and snow is probably the most important consideration along with a more solid feel in handling for me. Even if they don't end up lasting 100K miles, the fact that the Hankook won't cost that much makes the decision basically a no brainer.

    I'm getting an incredible deal (it's who you know!) from Just Tires. He quoted me $348 OTD with mounting and balancing! I will get them installed tomorrow, and then will be going on a long vacation trip the next day (driving from Chicago to Springfield, Missouri) so I will have a great chance to test out the new tires; although no snow yet!

    I did think about getting the Michelin Primacy, but for the difference in price and other factors, I think I will be happier with the Hankook Optimo. I am usually pretty careful to research things before I buy them, and I had made up my mind to buy the Hankook before going to the 3 dealers. However, the dealers made me doubt my decision; hence the reason for posting this thread. After reinvestigating things and reading lots of opinions and reviews, I feel more confident that the Hankook is the right decision for me. We shall see! The only negative I could find anywhere in print is that the Hankook Optimo hasn't been around long enough for people to really know if it will be durable and deliver as promised; but I'm willing to take my chances!

    Chuck
     
  5. fintonissimo

    fintonissimo Member

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    I just returned from the tire dealer. They checked my alignment, and all but one of the parameters were in spec. The front toe was -.09L/.02R; but the left rear wheel Toe was measured as .32, out slightly from the .03-.28 parameter. The right rear toe measured .19.

    They did not recommend getting an alignment. Because the real wheels are shimmed, they didn't recommend doing anything to correct the left rear wheel. They said it was such a slight bit off that it wasn't worth fixing; but if I wanted to, I would have to go to the Toyota dealer.

    Is it worth being concerned about?

    I didn't ask them to fill the tires to 40 front /38 rear pressure levels, and sure enough, they were all set at 32. I reset them to 40/38, so I'm all ready for my trip tomorrow.

    The feel driving out of the tire place was completely different! It felt like the car was heavier, and I felt like I had to press harder on the gas initially to get the car to move. Maybe part of that was the lower tire pressure. Anyway, I'll be real curious what it will feel like on the highway.

    I ended up purchasing Just Tire's road hazard insurance, so my total OTD price with that included was $403...an incredible deal! I'm very happy about that.

    I'll report back after I have time to see how the new tires perform.

    Chuck
     
  6. fintonissimo

    fintonissimo Member

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    So far I'm very pleased with the new tires after about 2000 miles! My average mpg mileage went down slightly on the long trip, but I had 2 more bodies in the car plus extra stuff in the back. My average MPG (according to the display and since last February) was 51.3 before the long trip. After the trip with the new tires, it went down to 51.0. Since then, driving by myself, the average has gone back up to 51.1. In general the speedometer seems to read about 2 mph higher than actual speed. With the original tires the speedometer usually read about 1 mph higher.

    In terms of feel, it is definitely more solid. If I am turning from a stop onto a busy road, I don't have as many problems with the tire not grabbing. It also feels more solid on the highway when it is windy than before, and is better on rain slicked roads. Still waiting to test it out on snow, but that will come soon enough!
     
  7. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    Didn't they also give you the camber measurements?

    Factory alignment specs are typically twice as sloppy as someone who cares would align to.

    Even by that standard, your front total toe of -0.09+0.02=-.07 is a minuscule amount of total toe-out, a good place to be on a front wheel drive. Total allowable per the Toyota repair manual is +/-0.20 so you are less than 1/2 the factory spec.:rockon:

    Rear is mildly gross. You are not only out of spec on the 0.32 wheel,
    0.32+0.19=0.51 total rear toe. Max allowed rear toe is 0.45 so even by Toyotas sloppy spec, you are out of spec on the total rear toe.

    That said, if you like the way the car feels on the road and aren't having tire wear problems, rear alignment might not be worth fixing. If it were my car I would fix it myself. On the plus side, the extra rear toe will give you a bit of extra straight line stability.

    Rear axle shims are normally done by good alignment shops or do-it-your-selfers. Toyota dealers often don't do shims. It requires an aftermarket shim to do it.


    Thanks for the detailed report on your tires.:cool:
     
  8. fintonissimo

    fintonissimo Member

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    Thanks for your insight, xs650. I was hoping somebody would give me an opinion on my alignment. Here's the printout with all the numbers: alignmentspecs.jpg

    These numbers mean very little too me except for the fact that the rear ones are obviously slightly out of spec. Is it enough to be concerned about? I don't have a good handle on that. The performance right now is obviously way better than with the previous tires. What I don't know is if it would make a big enough difference for me to get the tires aligned. Could my gas mileage improve? Would I really notice the difference in the feel? The tire shop said that they don't do shimming of rear wheels, and that if I wanted to have it done, I should go to the dealer. What do you think about their comment? Is it worth the money to pursue this?

    Thanks for any opinions!
    Chuck
     
  9. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    Chuck, the front left camber is at the limit. You would be better off it it were adjusted to -0.7 like the right side. I can't say for sure that you could feel the difference or that you would notice a tire wear improvement, although I think tire wear would be reduced enough to matter somewhat. Watch for excess wear on the very inside part of the tire tread on the left front if you don't change it. If you don't get extra wear there, then no problem.

    The rear is worse. If it were mine I would definitely put a shim on the left rear and reduce the toe from 0.34 to 0.19 to match the other side and be near mid-spec. While they are at it, the camber could be reduced from -0.16 to -0.14. The camber difference is hardly worth talking about, but the same shim is able to correct camber and caster at the same time for the same total cost.

    Even though your rear is out of spec, it would also be reasonable to leave it as is and keep track of tire wear if you don't want to pay to get it fixed. As a wild guess, figure on the price of a 4 wheel alignment from a good shop, plus $20 for the shim plus an extra hours labor to install the shim.

    I do question the competence of your shop if they don't know that the rear is shimmable by any competent alignment shop and that Toyota doesn't have the parts to do the job. Even Toyota needs to go to the aftermarket to get the parts and some dealers won't. Toyota's Repair Manual approach is to swap parts until it's fixed. Toyota will be reluctant to do that because it is very expensive.

    You have some options.

    1. Go to your dealer and tell them you want the rear alignment corrected under warranty. Who knows, they might actually fix it.

    2. Do nothing and keep an eye on tire wear to see if it's acceptable. There is a reasonable chance that it will be.

    3. Go to an alignment shop that understands the process and get it aligned with a shim. The sooner you do that the sooner you benefit from some undefined improvement in tire life.
     
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  10. fintonissimo

    fintonissimo Member

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    Hi again, thanks for taking the time to explain these things to me.

    It may be that their shop is competent to do the work, but as you noted, it is expensive, so they don't. They told me flat out that they don't do shims but didn't say why.

    I would be surprised that the dealer would cover something like this as a warranty repair. My car is at 45K and out of the 3 year 36K warranty. The powertrain warranty goes up to 60K...would this be covered under that? Even it was still under warranty, isn't this something that could have been caused by my own driving (hitting a pothole or something)?

    I think I will probably bring it in to a different tire shop and get a second opinion. On one hand I could gamble and win by not spending money on an alignment, but it might be money well spent!
     
  11. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    You are right. I was under the impression you had a lot less miles.
     
  12. zm15

    zm15 Junior Member

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    Now that you've had these for a few years, how have you liked them? Snow performance? Summer MPG? Looking at getting the same exact thing.

    Thanks!
    -Zach
     
  13. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    They also damage the alloy rims by electrolytic reaction between the steel clip and the alloy as the clip scratches the paint off when being fitted. Any self respecting tyre fitter will use stick on weights on alloys.
     
  14. fintonissimo

    fintonissimo Member

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    Hi Zach, Overall, I've been pleased with the tires. However, my overall mileage however is down by about 1.5-2 MPG. After the tires wore in, they didn't seem to grab as much as when they were brand new. Snow/rain performance is definitely better than with the original oem. They seem to be lasting well...I've had them for about 36 K and there is plenty of tread left. I've been good with rotating them every other oil change, so about every 10K miles. Hope this helps!

    ~Chuck
     
  15. zm15

    zm15 Junior Member

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    Thanks for the update Chuck!!
     
  16. zm15

    zm15 Junior Member

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    Hey Chuck,

    Have a few questions for you about these tires. Just got them put on my Prius this week - 2010 III model - and i'm noticing they're quite a bit different than the OEM Ecopia's that came with the car.

    First thing is, I notice when i'm at highway speeds, 60+ mph, when i change lanes quickly or jerk the car a little the entire car feeling like it's rolling and swaying back and forth. It starts in the front then goes to the back. It's as if it's responding really slowly. It feel unsettling to say the least, very mushy almost a jello-y reaction. I didn't feel anything close to this with the OEM tires.

    Second thing is, it feels as if i'm being buffered by a moderate crosswind when i'm driving on the highway - almost as if the car is being pulled one way slightly then the other. This happens on calm days with little to no wind, and on good interstate roads with no road issues. I definitely didn't feel this with the other tires.

    Perhaps they're new and this is normal, but did you experience anything like this when you first got them put on??

    Thanks!
    -Zach
     
  17. fintonissimo

    fintonissimo Member

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    Hi Zach, I just noticed your question, so I'm sorry for my delay in answering you. I do have a 2008, so there is a little difference there. In general, I've always felt that the car responded "boaty"...but I don't recall feeling it becoming noticeably worse with the Hankook tires installed, though. However, I just checked my records, and a couple months after the new tires were installed, I did install a stiffening plate as well as a strut tower bar. I feel like that made a big difference in eliminating the response problems on the highway and with the wind. The new tire purchase didn't motivate me to do the suspension upgrade, though...I had been planning on doing that before I had the new tires.
     
  18. zm15

    zm15 Junior Member

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    No problem. 'Boaty' is a great way to put it. Not alot of response in the tires for quick movements.

    So i've discovered some interesting things and perhaps others have experienced this too.

    If i inflate the tires to around 42psi the 'boaty' feeling gets better.

    And as to the quick buffeting movements, or the 'twitch' of the car, what feels like could be a rear balancing issue. - The car doesn't shake like a tell tale balancing issue would present itself. More of a, tire can't find the groove in the road so it feels like it's moving left to right and back in micro-movements. I think this may me a strange combo of these particular tires, the car, and the roads.

    Several of the highways/interstates i drive on regularly have grooves in them, presumably for better traction in the winter with sand. They are parallel to and run with the direction of the road. They're not big at all, it's almost as if the very top layer of concrete was taken away to leave small grooves.

    I think the tires are weaving in between these grooves ever so slightly, but fast enough to notice a difference. I've never noticed it on any other car, but these are the smallest tires i've ever drove too.

    I've taken it back to the shop twice and they can't find anything, they've balanced all 4 tires twice to no avail.

    It doesn't do it on all roads, such as smooth asphalt ones. So this is what leads me to believe it's the tire/road combo.

    Anyone else have these kinds of strange road feelings with their tires??