Replace tires on brand new Prius?

I would repla

I would replace them only if YOU are not happy with their performance, not because of lower rating on the Tirerack

- Alex

 

Your existing tires will be fine for the next 30,000 miles. Leaving them in place and save yourself some grief. Somewhere after 30,000 miles the tires need to be replaced, then you can shop for replacement tires.

 

I would definitely keep them until they need replacing, especially in Houston. It's wasteful to replace new tires. Be thankful it didn't come with Goodyear Integrities like the 2nd-gen!

 

What is the treadwear rating on your tires? I would pump them up to max sidewall and get the most out of them that I could.

Save the money for the new tires and the effort of selling the old ones. The retail tire rated on tirerack isn't the same tire as the OEM version.

 

get rid of those pieces of junk, your life isn't worth it.

 

There's nothing wrong with the EP20's, they're a fine tire, good for LRR. My only quibble would be they get a little noisy when worn. Oh, and don't even think about venturing out in snow when they're worn. Both of those would apply to pretty much any all season.

I've bought them as replacement a couple of times now, for a previous Civic Hybrid. Nice and quiet when new, track good, mpg doesn't skip a beat.

 

If you can sell the tires for $50 each, your trade up cost would only be around $200 total. Not the end of the world and it'll make you happy

 

The main thing is if you have the money and it will make you happy go ahead and do it.
Putting up with a tire you don't have any confidence in for 20 to 35 thousand miles is not worth the worry.

 

My experience has been different.

My Prius came with Bridgestone Ecopias. I understand that they are not the worst out there but my experience was flat tires requiring tire replacement, road noise on rough surfaces, less secure handling than I would prefer at speed on freeways and relatively early loss of tire performance from hardening of the rubber.

Changing to Michelin Primacy tires made a big difference.

If I bought a new car that had Ecopias, I would probably get them replaced immediately with Michelins and resell them.

If I bought a 2nd hand car that had them and they were in very good condition, Providing I wasn't about to do a long trip or a lot of winter driving, I would wait until the Michelin sale was on at Costco (twice a year IIRC) and replace them then.

If I only drove locally on good smooth roads, with no significant time on busy freeways, my approach might be different.

 

Don't 'think', find out what they will give you.

 

Ask them first! ......they could be with more or way less.

 

I wanted to get rid of the 15" Yokohama Avids that came on our Prius since we bought the car. Mid rated tire. But the things were fine for the kind of driving we do around Maine and found them to be quite adequate for long distance travel. I couldn't complain about their hydroplaning resistance or traction on slippery surfaces. They finally wore out at around 52,000 miles. Were getting a bit noisy on the road, while wearing exceptionally evenly. Totally round, no flat spots or wobbles.

I had bought a set of Persona 17" wheels in the Spring of 2014 when the Avids were starting to show wear and finally installed a set of Pirelli P7 Cinturato 205/50 17 on them this Spring. Took a while to get those Yokohama Avids to wear out. They thoroughly tested my patience by the time they were a millimeter from the wear bars. They probably would have lasted another 3,000 miles, but we were going on a 6,000 plus trip, so off they came at that point.

Sometimes a mid rated tire isn't so middling. It's all about how you drive, what the road surface conditions are and what you're giving up for perceived performance loss on a car that is not really intended for track days.

 

^ Listen to this guy, save your money.

 

I have the same situation as OP.

My Prius 2014 comes with EP20. It is really noisy when on non-smooth road. I have 26000 miles on it now. I will replace it with Michelin soon.

The good thing is, it has really good MPG. Average 55 computer MPG in the past 1200 miles.

 

Replacing with a good LRR should yield about the same MPG... only watch out for a slight decrease at first as the tire breaks in. I had not noticed that break in thing until I switched to the Pirellis and thought I would never again see 50 mpg plus. After about 1,500 miles... the mileage came back to our normal 52-54 mpg range.

 

Why would you basically waste something you paid for? Pick what you want to go with and make the switch when you need to change tires.

Unless you know someone who will buy the old set off of you.

 

Depending on your use, it can also be about safety.