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Michelin defender mileage hit?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by icarus, Feb 18, 2013.

  1. icarus

    icarus Senior Member

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    07 Prius, with 70k miles. I have been driving Nokian WRX's with great fuel mileage, ~50-52mpg. I had one fail, and without doing too much search I bought a set of Defenders from Costco as the sales guy said they were great on Hybrids. In the first two tanks, the mileage (all else remaining equal) as dropped to 45-48, while trying to keep the mpg up.

    Question is, have others seen this? Grill blocked, scan gauge reads normal engine temps etc. I am wondering if Costco still has a 100% return policy? Is there a better tire choice beyond going back to the Nokians that I loved. The problem is finding warrantee service many places.

    Thanks in advance,

    Icarus
     
    #1 icarus, Feb 18, 2013
  2. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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    #2 SteveLee, Feb 18, 2013
  3. icarus

    icarus Senior Member

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    Will do, Costco will trade out for Energy Saver A/S for no charge within 30 days. Trying to decide.

    Icarus
     
    #3 icarus, Feb 18, 2013
  4. dhanson865

    dhanson865 Expert and Devil's advocate

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    Michilen's own website (michelenman.com) says the Defender is 8 out of 10 for fuel economy and the Energery Saver A/S is 10 out of 10.

    Visually they tread patterns are almost the same and the big difference is 80,000 mile tread with better traction vs 40,000 tread and better fuel efficiency.

    You can use either tire, one will cost you a new set of tires quicker the other will cost you more gas for the life of the tires.
     
    #4 dhanson865, Feb 18, 2013
  5. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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    Of course you would expect that new tires will get lower mpg at first than worn out tires. I've read in here that new tires routinely get lower mpg at first but increase after broken in. 45-48 is not bad and may get better. The difference between 65k and 90k for the life of the time is significant it seems to me. If your mpg increases at all it may be worth staying with them, all other things being equal; tire pressure, driving style, etc. What size did you go with. I was thinking about going with at least a 195 and maybe a 205 next time for more stability.
     
    #5 SteveLee, Feb 18, 2013
  6. icarus

    icarus Senior Member

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    When I put the Nokians on, there was no break in mileage hit. We have had the car for 6 years and have always done better than 50 winter and summer.

    Here is the way I would look at it. 60k miles at 50 mpg would cost $4200 in fuel at $3.50/gal.
    60k at 47 mpg would cost $4468. Factor in 25% sooner replacement for the A/S, since the tires are essentially the same cost ($2 cheaper for the A/S) there is a $120 depreciation difference leaving a net savings over the live of the tire of of $148 for thte A/S. Not a lot, but enough to buy one new tire!

    That said, if the defenders do better after "break in" or the A\S's don't perform quite so well the margin gets less. Additionally one doesn't know what the price of fuel (or the price of tires) is likely to do in 3-5 years. Assuming that the price of each goes up proportionally to each other, the advantage is still with the A/S's.

    Anybody running A/S tires who can report real world MPG?

    Icarus
     
    #6 icarus, Feb 18, 2013
  7. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Swap them out for the Energy Saver A/S if high mpg and lowest cost/mile is your main interest.

    Most people observe 2-3mpg gain over the OE 15" tires after all other variables are ruled out.
     
    #7 F8L, Feb 19, 2013
  8. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I would do the math assuming a 3mpg gain with the Energy Saver A/S over the Defender. That is a safe assumption. See this thread for similar analysis.

    Total lifetime cost for fuel and tires over 150,000 miles | PriusChat

    Energy Saver A/S
    65,000 miles / 53mpg = 1226.4ga * $3.6 = $4415.1 / 65,000 miles = $0.06792 cents per mile*

    Defender
    90,000 miles / 50mpg = 1800ga * $3.6 = $6480 / 90,000 miles = $0.072 cents per mile*

    *Assumes tires cost the same
     
    #8 F8L, Feb 19, 2013
  9. ProZach

    ProZach Junior Member

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    I put the Michelin Defenders on my 2010 Prius 3 and my average mileage dropped from 51 mpg to 45mpg.
     
    #9 ProZach, Feb 22, 2013
  10. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Brand new tires will almost always cause a mpg hit at least until they break in. The Defender will likely cause a permanent 1-2mpg hit but they will last a hell of a lot long than your OE tires. It takes a few thousand miles for your mpg to come back up.
     
    #10 F8L, Feb 22, 2013
  11. icarus

    icarus Senior Member

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    Costco is swapping them out for no charge,

    Icarus
     
    #11 icarus, Feb 22, 2013
  12. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    What tires are you replacing them with?
     
    #12 uart, Feb 22, 2013
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Could you post your tire size. With no package, and location "earth" it's hard to judge :ROFLMAO:
     
    #13 Mendel Leisk, Feb 22, 2013
  14. icarus

    icarus Senior Member

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    Michellen A/S, I'll post tire size tommorow, can't remember off he top of my head.

    Icarus
     
    #14 icarus, Feb 23, 2013
  15. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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    Some have gone to a wider tire for increased stability and report no hit in mpg. So size info is of interest.
     
    #15 SteveLee, Feb 23, 2013
  16. icarus

    icarus Senior Member

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    185/65/r15

    Icarus
     
    #16 icarus, Feb 23, 2013
  17. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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    ahh, ok. Thanks.
     
    #17 SteveLee, Feb 23, 2013
  18. icarus

    icarus Senior Member

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    So, we changed out the tires the other day, and the mileage jumped from ~44.5 (trying hard to hyper mile!) to 55 driving the same way, with the same conditions! The difference is simply amazing! Who would have thought that a simple tire switch would make nearly a 20% difference fuel mileage!

    The net tire mileage advantge of the defenders is clearly gone!

    Icarus
     
    #18 icarus, Feb 25, 2013
    ProZach likes this.
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