Michelin X-Radial Tires - $275 for 4

Did they do a 14" wheel as well then? I only found out most of your Prius wheels in the states are 15" after joining Prius-chat. There are just 16" here in UK.

 

Wow, that is a good deal. With the $70 instant rebate, mine still came out to around $440 at Costco here in San Francisco back in April this year. Were there any other rebates?

 

In the US:

-- The Gen I Prius (2001 - 2003) has 14" wheels with size P175/65R14 tires.

-- The Gen II Standard Prius (2004 - 2009) has 15" wheels with size P185/65R15 tires.

-- The Gen II Touring Edition Prius (2007 - 2009) has 16" wheels with size P195/55R16 tires. I believe these 16" wheels on the US Touring Edition model are identical to the 16" wheels that the UK and the rest of Europe have.

 

website says no tires available and no X tires on site

 

Thanks jdms2000, I just got these installed on my 2002. Price verified at $277 including tax and fees in the San Francisco area.

Last time I asked at Costco about six months ago, they said they couldn't install anything except the OEM size 175/65R14, which they didn't have anything in. But they were OK when I asked to do it this time.

 

We put X-Radials on our 2008 about 2,000 miles ago and I have mixed results.

1) Much better tracking on the road. These tires changed the driveability of the car quite a bit for the better.

2) Much quieter than the stock tires.

3) Smoother ride (I keep them at 44/42)

4) So far we are experiencing 3-4 less mpg which to me is very disappointing. Our average dropped from around 49 to about 45. I hope it improves as I do expect to see $5 gallon gas in the next 18-24 months. I understand we should give it some time as new tread tends to produce lower mileage for the first 3-5K miles.

Would I do it again. No. I'd much rather have better mileage than the other factors. The original tires were just fine. We live in Southern California where the roads are mostly straight, and seldom wet. We just don't need any kind of serious performance other than good breaking.

I really wish the tire manufacturers would all do LRR testing so I could really select tires that would get the best mileage.

 

Maybe check out the Nokian i3s next time. I just looked them up for someone with a 2001 Prius and the do make them in a 175/65/14. They are cheap and after breaking them in your milage should go back to normal. Mine did.

 

Mileage with my X radials dropped a few mpg, but they came back to me after several thousand miles. I'm actually getting better mileage now than before, but that may be driver improvement.

 

That's good to hear. I'm anxious to see the mileage climb back to the high 40's at least. I'm quite aware that our daily driving conditions keep us from experiencing much higher mileage. We live 2 miles from the bottom of a 2 mile climb which we take several times a week. Also most of our trips are 3 to 15 miles one way. Our best mileage has been on longer trips at low freeway speeds of 60-65mph. We have not experienced the EPA better mileage in town. So for me to get back to 49mpg average would be great.

If the X-Radials can provide the same mileage as the stock tires with all the other advantages that would have made them a good purchase. Unfortunately we didn't get the CostCo discount so paid over $400 after taxes and other fees.

 

I just called my local Costco and was quoted about $120/tire plus tax. I asked about the rebate and was told after July 20 I could get $70 off when buying four tires. That's still not much of a savings. How did you learn about the special price of $275 for four?

 

Your 2006 Generation 2 Prius uses different sized tires than the pre-2004 Generation 1 Prius. So it won't be the same price or (perhaps) even on the same sale.

 

Keep in mind the new tires are larger diameter than your worn out tires. You will go farther with each wheel rotation. So your actual mileage will appear to drop by about 3-4% but it is fact unchanged. This explains 1-2 mpg of the drop. The extra friction of the new sticky tires is a few more mpg and is real.

 

Update with over 6,000 miles on the X-Radials. We certainly have lost 3-5mpg with these tires. I'm very disappointed. We used to hit 47-50mpg often and even higher sometimes. Now seem to be hitting 42-44 on most tanks with these tires. They are bound to last a long time and I'll certainly be looking for higher mpg tires next time. My advice is stay away from X-Radials.

 

This thread interests me as I just went to Costco and bought a set of X radials, standard size, for 470.00$ mounted and tax on my 2006 Prius. That included a 70$ discount that Costco has going on right now.
Impressions.
1) very quiet compared to the crapyear integrities
2) Much better handling on dry pavement (No rain yet this year)
3) Much better tracking
4) Slight hit on mileage but after checking, they filled all tires to 35 PSI. I went back because they fill with nitrogen not compressed air and refilled them to 42/40. Mileage is back where it was before tire change.

Overall I'm very happy especially if they perform as well on wet pavement as they do on dry.
-Paul R. Haller-