2016 Prius C Stock Tires

Which model C do you have? The sizes of the tires are different.

My 2013 C Three came with Goodyear Assurance Fuelmax. - my stock size is P175/65R15. I don't really like them too much. They have about 5/32" of tread left after 32,000 miles so at least they are lasting a while.

My next set of tires is going to be Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Plus. These tires are well-liked on these forums. Also the fact that I am employed by Bridgestone makes it a no-brainer because I'll get a discount on them. My co-workers don't like to sell them because they way they wear makes them "appear" to be worn out sooner than they actually are - the tread in the outer blocks isn't as deep as it is in the center of the tire.

But for my snow tires I did something weird - I bought Michelin X-Ice3 with Green X Low Rolling Resistance. I actually ordered 14" Steel wheels so that I could run minus one size as well (P175/70R14). These tires work GREAT in the weather, but what I didn't expect is that I'm getting excellent mileage with them in the dry too. I don't leave them on the car past march because that rubber compound isn't made for the heat.

I like to compare the UTQG ratings for tires specifically for treadwear. The higher the number, the longer they are rated to last. The Goodyears are 580 Tread wear, the Michelins are 480, The Turanza is 300, and the Ecopia is 640. So despite the wear concerns from my co-workers - the Ecopia should in theory last much longer than the stock Turanzas on your C.

Your Turanza tires are Low Rolling resistance. You should see Bridgestone's Eco-Product branding somewhere on the tire to confirm this.

 

be prepared for a huge hit to mpg's. that's what the stock tyres are built for.

 

not that i've seen here, or ever heard of. some people claim to be getting the same mpg's with better performing tyres, while others claim an mpg hit with those very same tyres. we have no real guaranteed studies, and the tyre mfg.'s seem to play games with manufacturing locations and specifications.
if you read some of the tyre threads, you'll see the frustration.

 

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Hit 52000+ and my Goodyear Assurance 15 inchers were about done. So I got Michelin Energy Savers. The road noise and ride seems about the same as the Goodyears - I was hoping for improvement. The MPGs on the car display were lower than the Goodyears - bummer.

Surprise, Surprise - Fuelly MPG is now almost dead on with the car so the "lower" MPGs shown on the car displays are accurate to within two or three tenths of a mile. Even more puzzling - I'm running the Michelins at a little lower pressure than I ran on the Goodyears.

Previously the car displayed MPGs were always 3 to 4 MPG more than Fuelly MPG - optimistic to say the least. First noticed this finishing up the partial tank after I changed to the Michelins. The first full tank with the Michelins - the Fuelly MPG is almost dead on with the car display.

Can anyone explain what's going on?

YMMV