Bridgestone Ecopia EP100 Tires Longevity

I got 70,000 out of my set.

 

Few people use EP100 as they are (were?) summer only tires. The OEM tire is EP20. The popular replacement is EP422.

 

I had EP100s on my Civic hybrid and loved them. Being from Florida, I don't need anything besides summer tires and they got amazing wet traction. I put 39k miles on mine before trading my Civic in on my Prius. I still had plenty of tread left, at least 30%. I wish they didn't discontinue the EP100s. The EP422s get worse mpg and worse wet traction. Plus they cost more. A real step backwards in my opinion.

 

Straying off-topic a bit, but:

I was on the cusp of getting Ep422, last week. I'd picked up the phone expecting to replace EP20 (which I'd previously purchased at Costco) with the same, same store. The guy (sort of) bait-and-switched me over to EP422, saying it's more readily available, longer lasting, etc.

Thinking back now, I recall with the last purchase I had to pre-order. It's funny though: their site make NO mention of EP422 for the car in question (Civic Hybrid), recommends the EP20 AND shows it in stock.

Anyway: reading on tirerack: EP20 gets fairly good reviews, EP422 are mixed. Several reviews reported rapid wear and/or vague steering feel, wandering. What's kind of strange is the EP422 actually has better wear rating numbers.

When I pulled the trigger I went with EP20. The last set went on at 86000 km, and they're still not at the wear bars (though close), at 162000 km. To be fair, there have been snow tires on for maybe 20000 km of that span.

I do like their feel, and they are good for RR I've found.

 

My 2013 with 12,000 miles has ozone cracking on my EP 20s around the tire beads.

 

FWIW, B/S Ecopia EP20's are OEM on our new 2014 Prius.

 

Shallow small cracks are harmless. BTW the OP is about EP100.

 

Which brings up the question: what are the differences (if any) between the EP20, EP100, EP422, etc.?

 

Yeah well, if it's not covered under warranty I'll probably wind up having to replace these tires before the tread wears out.

 

Of course they should be if they are OEM tires.