New Tires after Prius delivery?

I installed Goodyear ComforTred tires after about 300 miles. The Integrity tires are pitiful. The Michelin SVX is a low rolling resistance tire, I think. I also believe both ComforTred amd SVX are available in the same size as the OEM tires, so as to avoid milage inaccuracies. Both should cut road noise too. I know the ComforTred does.

 

First check with the dealer to see if they will swap the tires before delivery. Also if I recall correctly, after delivery, you can get full credit for an exchange at Goodyear within 500 miles.

 

Before I took delivery of my Prius almost one month ago and after reading comments here on PC, I decided to go with the Goodyear ComforTreads. I was surprised however that our local Goodyear dealers were NOT willing to give me anything but "old/used" prices on the new OEM tires! :angry: I told the dealers I would drive directly from the Toyota dealer to the tire store and to expect no more than 20 miles on them but the Goodyear dealers would not work with me! Needless to say I decided to keep my OEM tires and try them out before throwing the OEMs away for a few dollars.

The OEMs are a bit noisy on most road surfaces but not all. I've had them in rain now on both freeway and mountain roads but have NOT had any poor weather handling others have described. I do drive conservatively. I'm on my third tank of gas and I am averaging about 51 mpg with the OEMs running 42/40 on the tire pressures. The dealer delivered the tire pressures at 36psi and the ride was a bit softer at those pressures than the current 42/40 too but overall, I find the tires acceptable so far. I may change my mind this winter in snow but so far the Prius drives very nice and I'm happy!

If you can get a Goodyear or other dealer to give you a reasonable trade in for the OEMs, I'd do it but the OEM tires are not so bad as to give them away for a few dollars as I was asked to do. If I do decide to get rid of them later with say 10,000 or 15,000 miles on them, I'm still better off $$ wise than what the Goodyear man would do for me! By the way, I could have bought 4 new Goodyear ComforTreads from Sam's Club (no trade in) on my own for less than the Goodyear man wanted WITH the OEM tires!!! Shop around.

Enjoy your new Prius! I know I am!

Tom KN6VV

 

I bought Comfortreds after spending about 500 miles with my Integrety tires. The road noise improvement is dramatic. We also get a lot of rain in the winter up here in No. California, so I'm unwilling to take chances with rain handling. Like most here, I got nothing from my Goodyear dealer, but to be honest his price was ridiculous anyway.

I bought my tires from Wheel Works, who price-matched the local Wal-mart at about $87/tire. With installation the price was about $400 total. I then put my OEM tires on Craig's list and sold them in about a day for $100. The difference in price is cheap for such a major upgrade in ride comfort and bad-weather security.

 

I put Michelin HydroEdges on mine the first week - the car came in three days early, so the tires hadn't made it to Discount Tires yet. The car had 168 miles on it, and Discount gave me $150 for "trade in". I was willing to put the Michelins on no matter what (better wet traction and twice the rated tread life), so getting anything back was a bonus.

 

Hi Hopeful,

I received a $20/tire credit for the OEM Goodyear Integrities at Discount Tire at 4800 miles ware. That month they also had a $50 rebate on a set of four tires (which I received and deposited). I replaced the tires with Michelin Hydroedge tires, mosty as I drive in heavy traffic in the rain, and also because with Silica in the tread compound they are a long wearing and lower rolling resistance, for how good they grip in the wet.

 

I have to give another vote for the Goodyear Comfortred...I had my Integrity tires swapped by the dealer at a local store (Just Tires) before picking up my car. I am very happy with how quiet the tires are, how well they handle in the rain/snow. and how well they are wearing after the first 41,000 miles. They're also about $25 cheaper per tire, if that makes any difference.

Either way, you're going to end up with a more dependable/quiet tire than the OEM tires. If you can find a Goodyear store that will give you a higher credit for the Integrity tires, you can still buy the lifetime rotation/balance package from Discount Tire for about $60.

 

I put on Comfortreads on at 3 miles. My dealer arranged a deal with the Goodyear dealer ($200 total for the new tires in exchange).

 

Something to consider, if you can't get a good price for a swap, is to just put on new tires and keep the Integtity tires in storage. When you trade in your Prius for the 2010 MY (or later) put the new/stored Integrity tires back on - no hit for "used tires".

 

I tried to get rid of my OEM tires but none of the tire dealers around here in MA will do it for fear of a lawsuit. If the tire fails and it's used they are open to a lawsuit. I can see their point.
So here is a question for you , how much mileage did you loose with the better tires like the Goodyear Comfort Treads? FishHawk

 

I replaced the Badyears with Costco Michelin Xs at less than 1000 miles.

In our case, the new tires are also mounted on new wheels, with the exact same specs as the OEMs [same width, diameter, and offset] - $75 apiece from Tire Rack. The tires were about $95 each from Costco. The OEM wheels and tires are bagged and sitting in our storage cage.

Yes, this means the very expensive Tire Pressure Monitoring system is disabled. Whoopdeedoo. I took care of that by covering the warning light on the dash with a small piece of black tape.

When we get ready to sell or trade the car, I'll let the new buyer decide which set of wheels / tires go with the car, and I'll resell the others.

Incidentally, the Michelins are an improvement in every conceivable way - handling, ride, stick in the wet, wear....you name it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FishHawk @ Sep 2 2006, 05:41 PM) [snapback]313185[/snapback]</div>

This past spring, Hogan Tire in Waltham took my Integrity tires (25 miles on them) in trade for a set of Nokian i3 tires. Gave me a fair price on the Goodyears, as well as similar to mailorder pricing on the new ones. They were great to deal with.

When I was looking around, the local Sulivan Tire store also said they would take a trade.

I know Direct Tire wouldn't consider it. Almost wonder if it's at the discretion of the store manager.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bill Merchant @ Aug 31 2006, 01:23 AM) [snapback]312025[/snapback]</div>

I forget the exact guidelines, but rubber products have a shelf life. I believe light, air and ozone work together to degrade rubber. The "Best if Used Before Date" for tires is something like 5 or 6 years from the date of production stamped on the sidewall.

 

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I got new tires at 250 miles. I got Falken ziev's in the 205/60/15. They are quiet but did not help the handling problems I experienced on rain grooved concrete freeways. If anything the new tires made the handling worse in that with the improved grip, it would track the groves with even more vehemence! (It was the BT Stiffener Plate that resolved the handling issues) While the Prius was never meant to be a sports car, with the BT Plate and new tires, the combo has finally made the car feel stable and safe. I have played with tire pressure from 34/32 up to 44/42 and have settled on 40/38 as the best compromise between the tires remaining quiet, not too harsh a ride and best possible mpg. I got them from Discount tire online site for $48 and installed at Discount for 11. They gave me $20/ea. for the Intgrities.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gordonr @ Sep 4 2006, 08:28 AM) [snapback]313985[/snapback]</div>

If you keep them bagged, out of the sun, then these guidelines are wildly conservative. Ozone and UV are the problem - if you keep them away from air and sun, there is no reason that they won't be good as new several years from now.

 

I thought about changing my tyres after 11k miles, for some quieter or better rolling ones. Tyres in the Prius size though seem to be for the 'prestige' market though and it's going to cost at least 400 quid (over $700) to change them. So maybe I'll wait til they wear out!

Less? I've never hyrdoplaned in my life! Are you implying that hydroplaning is a regular hazard? And yes, we get plenty of rain where I live. On the other hand, I don't go ploughing through deep puddles whilst on the brakes or cornering hard...

 

This last observation caused me a small chuckle - the roads in the UK are, for the most part, in so much better shape than most of the USA, that it's no surprise you've never had the problem.

Here, heavily traveled Interstates ["A-roads"] are so poorly maintained that truck/lorry traffic has ruined all but the passing lane, resulting in a real risk of hydroplaning during or after a heavy rain.

In France, I have been rained on in truly Biblical fashion, and never lost traction; in the USA, it is a risk every time you venture out on any heavily traveled highway. We're great at collecting taxes, but not especially committed to spending that money on maintaining existing roads. [Too many tanks and aircraft to buy?]

Anyway, it's a real risk here, in ways that most EU drivers can only imagine.