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Need tires soon

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by steve53mg, Feb 10, 2015.

  1. steve53mg

    steve53mg Junior Member

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    My 2012 Four, not IV, will need tires very soon. I want to maintain a high level of economy, but is there more of an all weather tire than the oem tires, that won't sacrifice economy? I'm in NY and we do see a good deal of snow and ice. I don't think that the original Yokohamas are particularly bad in the slop.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    how bout the michelin energy saver a/s?
     
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  3. matt b.

    matt b. Member

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    What bisco said
     
  4. lar.smith42

    lar.smith42 Active Member

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    I have 195/65-15 Yokohama AVID Ascend tires on my 2010 Prius 11. Have about 5,000 miles on them and love them. Quiet ride , good handling and traction. I run 40 PSI in front and 38 Psi in rear. Tires are rated for 51 PSI. Much better then the Michelin Defenders I had on my Honda. They are also LRR tires. Haven't had them long enough to know how long they will last. Don't know about snow traction but wet pavement traction is excellent.
     
  5. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    I thought the Bridgestone Ecopia 422 was considered better for winter and LRR.
    In any case, we went with the Conti True Contacts. I cannot say much as we have not had much snow, and lousy MPG due to local driving mode. Would be interesting to check TireRack.com though...ought to be more reports coming in on the Contis.
     
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  6. HaroldW

    HaroldW Active Member

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    Ecopia ep 20 all season. One size only for standard 15" wheels. Great FE and good on snow and ice at least for first year. I went with Nokian as we require a snowflake and mountain stamped on the side for winter. Hal
     
  7. Sporin

    Sporin Prius Noob

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    I'm really a huge proponent of snow tires. None of the most-recommended LLR Prius tires are worth a damn when the temps go below freezing. Run real winter tires in the winter, and the most efficient LLR you can for summer—trust me, it's worth it. With good traction tires, the Prius's notoriously intrusive traction control is kept at bay, and you keep moving even when the road is cold and snow covered. I've driven my Prius through 5 rough, Vermont winters and have never had issues as long as my snow tires were on.

    I only proselytize about 2 things, snow tires, and the ukulele. ;)

    I've got Michelin Defenders for my non-winters and have been extremely pleased with them. Good grip, good in the wet, the MPG hit isn't terrible, and they wear like iron. Michelin Energy Savers are supposed to be very similar but with even less of a MPG hit.

    Good luck with whatever you choose. (y)
     
  8. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    Nokian WRG3. A true "all weather" tyre. I didn't see a drop in mileage from them and they work well in snow, very well in rain, and don't wear any faster on dry roads than "summer" tyres. The Hakapalita work better in snow and ice, but the WRG3 do fine.
     
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  9. Sporin

    Sporin Prius Noob

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    Those are a GREAT tire and probably the only "all season" I would ever trust in winter. If I absolutely couldn't mange 2 sets of tires (I realize not everyone has a garage) then the WRG3's would be on my car.
     
  10. mrajdstp

    mrajdstp Junior Member

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    What tires were you running before the Nokians?
     
  11. HaroldW

    HaroldW Active Member

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    I use Nokian WR G2 for winter but put my Ecopia ep 20 tires on asp as fe improves tremendously with the Ecopia tires. I would run the ep 20 year around, but it is not legal here. Nokian are good tires. Run them full time on my 2006 Prius. H
     
  12. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    I'm a die hard Michelin Defender fan but circumstances may have me working Denver soon. The WR G3 looks like a "possible" next set but who sells Nokian Tires in the States? Tried Denver and Dallas zip codes and came up short at NTB, Discount Tire and Big O Tire. Even tirerack had none.
     
  13. HaroldW

    HaroldW Active Member

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    They are available in the States so keep searching. H
     
  14. Markee

    Markee Member

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    Which tires are best for south Florida no snow areas ?
     
  15. HaroldW

    HaroldW Active Member

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    Summer tire. LRR of your choice. H
     
  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    That's a common quest, and a very tall order. Concentrate on a good LRR all-season and get separate snow tires?

    If you're adamant to get a one-tire-shall-rule-them-all, and you don't mind a bit of a mpg hit, the Nokian WRG3 is worth a look. Hard to find though. And, I'd stick with my first sentence as the better route: you'll be wondering what you were thinking, all through the summer, rolling on the 4 season tire...

    For Nokian it looks like STS Tire and Auto Center, in your area.
     
    #16 Mendel Leisk, Jun 14, 2015
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2015
  17. Markee

    Markee Member

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    I have the Ecopia ep 20's
    What PSI do you feel is best to run them at ?
     
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    If I can jump in, I've run Bridgestone Ecopia EP20 any where between 40 and 44. They only come in 195/65R15, they're pretty cheap, and they are excellent for LRR. They tend to get noisy as they wear down, and become a menace on snow. But yeah, with separate snow tires for winter, the EP20 are my number one pic in Prius stock 15" size.
     
  19. HaroldW

    HaroldW Active Member

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    I get as good fuel efficiency at 36 lbs. as I do with 50 lbs.. 36 lbs. Is more comfortable. H
     
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  20. mrajdstp

    mrajdstp Junior Member

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    Potential drop in FE is what concerns me about the Nokians, but David Beale ran the G3 version of them and saw no drop in FE. I wonder what tires he is comparing to?