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Help Me Select The Best 15" Tire Replacements - 2010 Prius IV

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Lottamoxie, Sep 7, 2016.

  1. Lottamoxie

    Lottamoxie Member

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    I know there are many threads about tires for the Prius. I've read several and just got confused. I'm going to need to replace my OEM tires in the next couple of months.

    Here are my stats and I'm hoping I'll get a good recommendation based on my stats for my 2010 Pkg IV:

    - Current mileage: 33,000 (yes, you read that right. My Prius is going on 6 years old, 2010 model, purchased end of 2010)

    - Current tires: Stock OEM 15"

    - Geo Area Live / Work / Drive: North Carolina / Triangle Area

    - Driving: about 60% city, 40% highway

    - Conditions: we get 'winter' weather with some snow and more likely ice about once or twice a year, lasting a week to 2 weeks. On big snow days or icy days I stay home and can telecommute. We do get a fair bit of rain here and hydroplaning can be a factor, something I have noticed with the stock tires.

    I obviously want to get the best MPG I can but want tires that will be excellent in rain, okay in some snow, provide a good quiet ride

    - Budget: Average. Want good value and priority is getting the 'right' set of tires. Since my yearly mileage is low, I'm not concerned with mileage beyond 60K. I'll have to replace in 6 years regardless.

    OK, Help Me Out, Please!!
     
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    What tires have you got on there now, specific brand and model?

    Something will have to give with your expectations and criteria. First off, if there was a tire with all of those characteristics, and average price, all the competition would be out of business, lol.

    What I gather, you don't want to get snow tires, you want a semi-decent all-season with good mpg, that won't break the bank. If you don't mind staying home when it snows, and don't mind a tire that get's a little noisy (both of these factors become more pronounced as the tire wears), I'd suggest Bridgestone Ecopia EP20. They only come in 195/65R15, pretty cheap, decent road feel and tracking, good for mpg, and readily easy to find. The main drawback: once they're down to about 5/32" remaining tread depth, they're terrible in snow.
     
  3. Lottamoxie

    Lottamoxie Member

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    Ok after doing lots of reading and comparing, I decided on the Michelin Premier A/S since that seems to be a tire that lots of Prius people generally like (and some even love).

    Ratings are very high for traction in rain. The amount of snow we get in the Carolinas is tiny compared to other places in the country. So snow tires are not needed. 3 season or all-season do fine here. Naturally these are not cheap tires, but I wasn't going for cheap. I shopped online, looked at 'Discount Tire,' and several other places and got quotes. I got the Tire Rack price quote and the local shop I take my car to just so happens to be a Tire Rack installer so that will work out. There's no real "deep" discount is what I discovered during my research. You may get a lower quote on the tires only to have the total cost rise to match what others charge with higher tire prices, but lower install costs.

    Yes I looked at Costco. I'm not a Costco member, but I did the math with their prices for the Michelin Premier A/S, and then, adding the cost to purchase a membership for 1 year, they're slightly less, maybe $12. So for the extra $ I'm going to give my business to my local shop I've been going to for years. (As an aside: that local shop allowed me to purchase my own parts online when I had my 1998 Saab Turbo SE and then bring them in and they did the labor. Saved me $$$ during the last 4 years I owned that car, and as anyone who's had a Saab knows, they are expensive to maintain).

    There's the $70 mail in rebate of course. I'm very committed to making sure I get my rebates + paperwork in immediately and watch it to make sure I get paid back.

    So, tire install will be tomorrow.

    I feel good about my choice. I did my homework. By the time I need the next set of tires my Prius will be 12 years old.
     
    bisco likes this.
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah that is a good all-round choice. Gives up a little on mpg, but highly rated. The tread is special: some of the grooves get wider as the tire wears, and some are hidden when the tire is new, emerge as the tread wears. All with the aim to keep traction undiminished as the tire wears.

    One thing about Costco and tire rebates: they take off the rebate at the till, so it's in your hands right away, no hassles, and it also means you're paying less sales tax ($70 worth of tax less).

    OTOH, there's the price of membership, as you mentioned, and while you're waiting to get them installed you'll likely wander into the store and spends the rebate, lol.
     
  5. Lottamoxie

    Lottamoxie Member

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    I know Costco takes the rebate off the top. I still decided to give the business to my local shop. It's just a bit less hassle for me since they are literally around the block from my house and Costco is a couple towns away. For balancing & tire maintenance, an important component, it's a whole lot easier to pop around the corner 1/2 mi from my house than to go wait at Costco, which can have long wait times for tire service. The difference in price isn't to the point where I'm willing to give up that extra time.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  6. H00s13r

    H00s13r Member

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    The OEM tires that came on the prius were very cheap and I got almost 46K miles on them before the wife got a flat on one of them. I took car to my local discount tire. They looked at all of them and recommended they needed to be replaced. I knew they were starting to get worn, so I went ahead and got new tires. I got Yokohama Avid touring S P195/65R-15 which were close match to OEM, but much better tire. They had promotion of buy 3 tires and 4th free so I think it was over 375$ for everything which includes lifetime balance/rotation and replacement if they cannot be repaired (nail in side wall, etc.). I just had them rotated recently there (a little over 100K miles) and the tech said they still had 9/32 tread on them). I have been very happy with them. They have been performing very well in rain/snow, and my MPG didn't drop (still around 51+ except for winter where it is in upper 40+ MPG). I drive the car on average 300 miles/week mostly on highways/expressways to and from work, doing average of about 65-70mph. Good luck with your new tire selection.
     
    Coast Cruiser likes this.
  7. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    How come I never see anyone talk about the all-season Pirelli tires? I think it's rated #1 on TireRack.com. Michelin is/was 2nd. I believe it was a fairly recent review.

    I also visit a local tire shop near me. Good fast service. Free rotations every 5K. Nitrogen. And they hand torque the lug nuts. (Minimal use of impact wrench.) I never brought my Prius there before, but he knew me from the past, and gave me a free rotation.

    Also, if my alignment is fine BEFORE I buy new tires, it will be fine AFTER the tires are installed. (And how you gonna know unless you drive it first with the new tires.) I never let anyone sell me an unnecessary expensive alignment. In 45 years of driving, I think I only needed an alignment once... after I bumped a curb.
     
  8. Lottamoxie

    Lottamoxie Member

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    The new Michelin Premier A/S tires are on the car. I immediately added air to make the front 40psi and the back 38psi.

    Here's the thing: I have never gotten what I consider excellent gas mileage from my Prius. Now maybe my tire pressure was too low or something, but the best mpg I *ever* got on the OEM Yoko tires was 54mpg on a 450mi trip. Typical day-to-day usage mpg was around 42 - 43mpg. It's just 1 human (me) and one 25lb hitch mounted folded up bike rack (most of the time without the bike). Average around town trip mileage is 10 - 15mi. Round-trip on the days I go into the office is 19 mi stop 'n go city type driving. So no big mileage hits.

    99% of my driving is of shorter duration, typically an hour or less. If I'm traveling I fly rather than drive (like going from NC to FL to visit family). If I have to drive somewhere and it's over 8 hours, I prefer to fly. And I never have to drive that far anymore.

    So my mpg will probably be down in the 30's. Maybe I'll hit 40mpg if I'm lucky? I'm an average driver, not especially aggressive or timid. I'll go 5 mph over the speed limit, maybe as much as 10, depending. I don't try to perform hypermiling, I just get in and drive the car. I've never averaged 50mpg just driving around, not even when I was driving 50mi roundtrip for one job I had.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Please post how they work out for you, handling, road noise, feel, and definitely mpg. They're on my short list for 215/45R17, which our's takes.
     
  10. Lottamoxie

    Lottamoxie Member

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    Don't know anything about Pirelli or why it's not talked about.

    It had been a year since my car had last been checked for alignment and they did it and showed me the computer printout. Two of the 4 were out of alignment so I went ahead and had it done and this way I know all 4 (new) tires are starting out properly aligned and in sync. That should be good for hopefully a nice long while. Road conditions / pot holes and all of that can affect alignment so it never hurts to check it and see where it is.
     
  11. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    I guess I've been very lucky. I've never had any unusual signs of tire wear; and only had that one incident of alignment trouble when I hit one of those cement parking blocks, or a curb. I don't recall. (The car started pulling to the left.)

    I trust my tire shop guys with installing/rotating/balancing tires, but I would feel somewhat more comfortable if a Toyota dealer did my alignment check. You'll have to excuse me, but I'm just very skeptical about "computer printouts" that can be manipulated... but I guess we have to trust somebody, sometime. My father was an auto mechanic for 60 years, for several different brands, and I was constantly hearing the bad stories about rip-offs, deceit, shabby service, etc. I hate going to dealer service depts, but age and health prevent me from doing my own work.

    I just hope my Prius is VERY low maintenance. Oil, filters, tires...
     
  12. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    We just replaced the 15-inch Toyo OEM on our 2014 Two with Continental True Contact Eco Plus. OEMs had 38K miles. We used Continentals previously on our 2005 Gen II, and were very satisfied. Tire Rack price was $82/tire + shipping. Matched by Discount Tire who did the install for $432.
     
  13. Lottamoxie

    Lottamoxie Member

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    It's been 22 months since I had the Michelin tires put on. I drive *very few miles* compared to other people since all my driving is local/around town and typically less than 20 mi.

    I'm getting approximately 39 mpg with these tires. On the original Prius tires my average mpg was only about 42 - 44 mpg. I've never gotten the standard average 50 mpg that other Prius owners get for around town and very short trip driving, even when I inflated my tires a few psi more than spec'd.

    They do ride well and are smooth and handle as expected. I knew in advance my mpg would take a hit and it did.
     
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    These are premier A/S, just for the record.