LRR Tire Options - Handling vs MPG

So premiers: 60,000 mile tread life warranty, vs 90,000 mile warranty with the defender. Tough call, if you're high usage. We're low usage, and with snow tires on the car 4 months outa the year, mileage warranties fall apart. For us, tires die of old age more than anything. Just my take:

Energy Saver A/S: best rolling resistance, and it is an all-season, hence the "A/S" moniker. Sometimes hard to find, maybe even out of production?
Premier A/S: a step down in rolling resistance, best stopping distance, and a unique tread that stays viable as it wears.
Defender: another step down in rolling resistance, decent all-round tire, long tread life, been around a while.

When the time comes for replacing our 215/45/17, I`m still on the fence, not sure which way to go. Likely the Bridgestone Ecopia EP422, but I`m not 100% sure: still thinking about the Premier`s too, and even the PIlot MX MXM4, what we currently have. The latter have done just fine, surprisingly RR not bad, at least my seat-of-pants impression. Maybe I just don`t know better, lol.

 

you want the energy saver a/s

BION
StarCaller

 

Just put the Defender XT's on and they seem great after 200+ miles. Got them at Costco with the $70 off promotion with free installation as a Costco Premier member. A local tire chain (rhymes with "Mr Wire") insisted these are 'club tires' and use lesser quality materials than the 'regular' Defenders. Some research says they are exactly the same materials and construction except for the tread pattern. The local chain would not match Costco's price saying they are a different tire.

Noticed a drop in MPG from about 53 to 50, but the handling, grip and noise characteristics are much better than the stock ones they replaced. I'm very happy with the purchase.

 

I see the reason for some of my confusion. As near as I can tell, the only 15" A/S tires are 175's, other sizes are 16" and 17". Like I said, for the Prius with 15" wheels, Michelin only recommends the 3 models I mentioned (plus a winter tire). If I move to 16" or 17" wheels that presents a whole new set of questions regarding weight, yet another mpg hit, etc.

 

nope/
I bought a few month ago the regular size (195/65/15)

BION
StarCaller

 

I'm just going by the Michelin site. It shows Energy Savers in that size, but not the A/S.

Energy Saver tires | Michelin US

Energy Saver A/S tires | Michelin US

 

If you are going with 215 45 17 then Michelin Premier A/S is the way to go. No doubt.

 

hmm, I looked at the michelin site & that's really strange..../

that's the ones I bought/

 

I'm really confused. If I google the tire specifically, the results show them through both Walmart and Sears. So I click and get the page, but they don't seem to actually be available, not even for ordering. However, if I go to Walmart.com and search by tire size or vehicle, they don't show up in the results. If I search for "Energy Saver A/S" and filter for 15", the 185 size shows up, as does the 175 non-A/S, but not 195. If I google "Michelin Energy Saver A/S Tire P195/65R15", Amazon has a seller that says they have 1 left and have no idea about further inventory. Looks to me like they're only available where there is an existing stock. Tire Rack doesn't list them either.

 

Michelin tires I tried to get previously also were unavailable in my size to to being superseded by other models. DiscountTire Direct has consistently beat Costco (and all the others like WalMart, lol) and saved us between $25 and $50 per vehicle, after rebates. And their customer service, at least here in SoCal, is AWESOME. Free flat repairs on my cars, free loaner tires, just awesome.

 

Yeah, they're either being discontinued, or it's the perennial short supply at play. If it's available, it's only in the stock 195/65R15 size, it can't be had in 215/45R17.

 

I've used Discount Tires here for over 20 years. I mentioned Costco because I was there getting propane and saw a Prius getting new tires. When I asked the technician what tires were being put on he said Defenders. I saw this thread and figured I'd ask. Discount doesn't list the Energy Saver A/S either.

 

I purchased a set of the Michelin Energy Savers A/S (regular size) in June from Discount Tire. They had to get the tires from 2 different warehouses in other states, so I agree that there are supply issues or the phase-out is happening.

 

If it's a supply issue, why not just list the tire as temporarily out of stock? I sent them an email and I'll see what they say, if anything.

 

Picked up 4 Premier A/S for the '12 PiP today. Instant difference in handling and ride over the OEMs (which were obviously losing the battle after 51K). Researched Energy Saver A/S vs. Premier A/S. We have Energy Saver A/S on the '09 Prius, and they've given about 40K so far - but wear is apparent and I don't think they'll make another 5K let alone 20K. With El Niño on the way, it's probably a good bit of prevention on both cars to move to the Premiers. MPG is important, but I'm willing to lose 2-5% for better wet traction. We'll see what happens. After a few days, though, I'm still pleased with the Premier A/S purchase.

 

I got a response back from Michelin this morning:

The Michelin Energy Saver A/S 195/65R16 will be launched July 2016. Please feel free to use our tire selector tool at us.michelinman.com.
We appreciate your business and thank you for choosing Michelin.

 

Thanks for this. Do you mean 195/65R15?

I'm not sure how to read that; it's not exactly a new tire. The "launch"? Or are they talking about a revamp? And July's a long way off: they don't seem to want to sell these, frustrating. For me too: it doesn't come in 215/45R17.

 

odd/
maybe it's a new series of energysaver a/s....

BION
StarCaller

 

I completely missed that. The email says "16", so now I need to reply back and ask them if it's a typo. Thanks for pointing that out. I was confused too about the "launch" comment, but overlooked it.

 

Yeah please post any response. Thanks!