How about a real thread about TIRES?

Many here on PC will tell you to look at Michelin Hydroedge, Goodyear Tripletread or Goodyear Assurance Comfortread.

I have Toyo Proxies TPT on mine and they made a very dramatic improvement. They are 'H' rated with nice thick sidewalls and I've noticed no loss of MPG as long as I keep them at 42/40PSI.

You can browse the different tires availiable for your car at tirerack.com

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 10 2006, 10:16 PM) [snapback]253334[/snapback]</div>

Good question.
John1701a wrote about his handling and performance experience when he
replaced his stock tires with Michelin Hydroedge.
http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-maintain03.htm#Tires

Has anybody found a better tire than the HydroEdge?

 

I still have the OEM tires on mine I always have my tires rotated/balance every 3,000 miles at America's tire Co. I got the lifeime service with them just for $45.00 which infact make a big difference even the dealer's service manager was impressed with the tire because they're all wear evenly. My ODO is now @ 28,750 I notice that they inflate my tires around 38/38 so the other day I tried to do the factory required which is 35/33 the car felt more comfortable and it feels cushiony on bumps but I felt the the car start out heavy...I'm going to the Shop tomorrow to replace all 4 tires. I'm going to put in Goodyear comforthreads, see how it does on the freeway grooves...maybe I will stick to the recommended psi since the manufacturer did test the EPA ratings base on the tires running on these psi, I'm no expert just my guess? :blink:

 

ched1968
Not a very helpful response; what are you driving, where do you live.
Please update you profile!

 

I've been very happy with my BFG Traction TA's. I had to replace my stock Integritys at 37K due to a pothole that destroyed one and damaged another - they would have run for another 10K or so. I too looked over what's available on Tire Rack, and decided on the BFG's in stock size. They are T rated so are good for our Prius' top end. I've been very happy with them for the last 29k miles. They handle nicely, and since the weather has been warming up, my mileage has been steadily rising - my last tank was 55mpg. I have an 80 mile each way almost all highway commute to work. I'm sure the Goodyears lots are getting are good tires, but wanted to post a good alternative that's working for me.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 11 2006, 12:52 AM) [snapback]253357[/snapback]</div>

I doubt this! It was true with bias ply tires but not with steel belted radials. Most of us who run 42-40 have experienced greater wear on the outer edges which also goes against your logic.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 11 2006, 02:52 AM) [snapback]253357[/snapback]</div>

Wow! Talking about outdated information!!

That may have been true back in the 20th, but certainly is not anymore.

Today's tires offer dramatically better quality, providing a flat traction surface all the way up to the maximum listed on the sidewall. And after 37,600 miles of driving at that maximum with the better tires, I still have an even tread depth all the way across the tire.

In other words, the term "overinflation" most definitely does not mean PSI cold-measured below the maximum.

 

I definitely agree that we want full contact across the tread surface. In addition I want even wear of the tread from side to side, and have always supposed that those two goals would be achieved together, at some tire inflation pressure.

I've made detailed tread depth measurements at about 4k miles over 87k miles in Prius. OEM Potenza tires, Goodyear Allegra, and now the initial 8k miles with Nokian i3. Their max sidewall inflation ratings were 51, 44 and 51 psi respectively. All did well at 42 psi front 40 psi rear, but I am still working out the best choice for the Nokians (now 48/45).

It would surely be a coincidence if 42/40 worked best with all Prius replacement tires. I would start with 95% of the sidewall max in front and 90% in the rear. Use less if the ride is too rigid. Measure tread depths, and rotate them at least as frequently as Toyota recommends. You will find the best pressure for you. You *might* find a setting that leads to more tead wear in the center than the on the edges. But this would contradict my experience with various radial tires on Prius; thousands of individual tread depth measurements.

A police officer posting with considerable "extreme" driving experience does not agree that my choices are the best for dry traction. I would really like to set up cones in a vacant parking lot sometime, and do some maneuvering speed vs psi tests. That project needs an organizer.

Oh, it may seem like a lot to be into the 3rd set of tires at only 87k miles. I let 'em go when they still have 3.5 to 4 mm tread remaining. A German study found a rapid decrease in wet traction/braking distance increase just below that range.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 11 2006, 02:52 AM) [snapback]253357[/snapback]</div>

If you think the OEMs are rough at 40, then you should stick with the OEMs, as any tire that is going to handle better will ride rougher. The OEMs have about the floppiest sidewalls of any tire I've ever run into.

As for handling, you yourself note how floppy the OEMs are. Raising the pressure increases the handling (at least up to the ohS*** level), as the sidewall flex is minimized.

And treadwear? Think again. Anyone I know that gets over 40K out of the OEMs does it by running at such "extreme" pressures as 44/42 - which is still within the tire's inflation range. The first set on my 04 lasted through 45K, and the edges of the tread were worn more than the center (which tracks with a lot of other "overinflators"), even with proper alignment.

Have you done chalk tests on the OEMs? If you had, you'd see that the diff between the recommended 35/33 and running the max of 44/42 is near, if not at, zero. Putting a ruler on the tread anywhere but at the contact patch is a useless test. You are only concerned with the contact patch for treadwear.

You're making the same mistakes/assumptions as others do as to assuming that Toyota picked those pressures for tire life, handling, etc. They picked those pressures for your butt, and to minimally cover rollover tests (see Ford and the SUV rollovers, where they reduced the recommended tire pressure to an unsafe level (at least as far as Firestone was concerned) simply to get them to pass rollover tests), and not much else.

I'm starting to question whether you've actually experimented with any of this, regardless of your 3M miles of "experience".


BTW, HydroEdges really don't ride that much rougher at 44/42 than at 35/33.

 

Back to the topic.
Bridgestone RE950 tires in stock size give my 04 blistering cornering and braking and rain performance. I can take a 2 lane 90 degree curve rated at 35 mph with a 60 mph entry and 55 mph exit speed. No need to "set" the car as much (ala rallly style swing before the turn).

BUT, they ride very rough, even at 36/34 psi. Something in the Prius suspension is way too tight, I think to compensate for the terrible Integrities ( I think it's the struts, combined with sloppy bushings for the sway bar(s)=the quirky handling)
Dirt cheap price, about $78 ea on sale.
See my full review in the knowledge base, more then 30 days old.
Winter mpg about 46, summer about 48 (was getting 52 with Integrities). 40k with each stock and 40k miles with RE950.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 11 2006, 04:16 PM) [snapback]253718[/snapback]</div>

Ok. So we will list that particular tire as a bad choice if you want to run higher PSI.

It makes sense that some will work better than others. Those that report the tire remain consistent under pressure lucked out. They happened to choose a tire that did better.

Tires require tradeoffs. If you want to favor one aspect, there is typically a penalty with another aspect.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a @ May 11 2006, 05:45 PM) [snapback]253734[/snapback]</div>

Here's a tip on setting tire pressure for handling from an Audi forum. Will tell you what the pressure should be for handling, not fuel efficiency of tire life - all these things are a tradeoff.

http://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/53203.phtml

- Tom

 

I have 29,000 miles on my 2004 Prius; for the first 10,000 miles I kept the tires
at the factory 34/32 PSI. At my 10,000 mile service the Toyota dealer set my
tires to 40/40, saying the factory now tells them to do that for better tire wear.

My tires have worn down most of the tread at the curve where the sidewall
becomes the bottom tread. I drive for fun, not trying to maximize MPG, so I
accelerate into curving freeway extrance ramps. I doubt that alone is responsible
for my tire edge wear.

Around my 30,000 service I plan to replace the factory tires, so I'm eager to
learn what folks recommend here. So far, the HydroEdge seems like the most
consistently recommended choice, but with wide variance in opinion.

/Gordon

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 11 2006, 02:16 PM) [snapback]253718[/snapback]</div>

You WHAT?

If you averaged, say, 51 MPH on your 40-min. drive (2/3 of an hr.), you went 34 mi.; and if you averaged, say, 50 MPG at that speed, you used about .67 gal.

Did you fill up at the beginning of the 40-min. drive, then fill up again? If so, are you sure the gas tank was full to the same extent both times?

I doubt anyone can measure gas consumption this precisely using so little gas.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 12 2006, 03:02 AM) [snapback]253990[/snapback]</div>

Yes, the HydroEdge are "expensive" - compared to other tires in this size. I got mine for $496 OTD with Road Hazard Warr, etc, from Sam's Club (no $50 rebate there, unfortunately, not like last year). There are obviously much cheaper 185/65-15s out there. But you want better handling, so forget those cheap tires.

As for the mpg hit, there isn't one. I tracked mpg when installing them on my 04, and yes, there was a 1-2mpg hit for the first 1K miles or so during breakin. Since then, zero hit (over 10K miles on them so far). When I installed them on my 06 I didn't notice any hit, but I've only had them on for about 500 miles so far.

If you can ignore the price, the HydroEdges are hard to beat. Especially if you ever have to drive in any appreciable rain (with a 6 mo hurricane season here, I do, so that was of great importance to me).