Has anyone bought Hydroedge Michelin

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(maliboulake @ Nov 27 2006, 12:33 PM) [snapback]354502[/snapback]</div>

I bought the Michelin Hydroedge. Good tires. 90,000 mile warranty. A little noiser than my originals. My originals wore out early due to misallignment. The inner edge of the originals had the most wear. With the originals my mileage was around 50 mpg. It's now at 47-48. I don't know whether the Michelins caused the drop in mileage or whether it had to do with the fact that I was driving with a narrower footprint due to the negative camber problem. After installing the Michelins I immediately had Toyota do a front end alignment for me.

For what it's worth, I feel much safer with these in poor weather than with the originals.

When I trade in for my next Prius I will have them assure me that front end alignment is correct before I drive out. I can't think of any driving event in that first few thousand miles that might have caused camber change (both front wheels having about the same degree of significant negative camber error).

 

I think most people who buy Hydroedges are very satisfied with them, but noise is a factor. Most people see a drop of several MPG after switching. If you have a club membership (Costco, Sams, etc.), check out the Michelin X-Radials. They were more highly rated in Consumer Reports (Nov. '05), and I find them to be very quiet with no discernable mileage hit (CR rated them excellent in rolling resistance). They are also less expensive than the Hydroedges.

 

Just put a set on mine, in fact. They feel sort of "heavier" than
the integrities, but seem to handle bumps better [less of that "regen
cutout" nonsense, it seems like] and on dry roads, they roll just
fine and I expect the MPG there to remain more or less unchanged.
Wet roads seem to be a different story; those chevron tread channels
are really good at pushing water aside, but that takes quite a bit
of *energy* to do. So more hydroplaning avoidance comes at a certain
price. They are also a little shy of an inch *less* in circumference,
meaning the wheels turn just a tad faster and I'm seeing about 1 mph
higher speeds [relative to GPS] on highways. This is pretty odd,
considering that the Hydroedges are supposed to weigh in at one
*fewer* rev per mile and I thought these would make my speedo/odo
more accurate instead of less. It's also going to make the MPG
shown by the MFD that much more optomistic, I fear, so keeping track
of those pumped-tank averages will continue to be important.
.
They also seem to need a delta of about *four* PSI front to rear to
balance relative spin rates to zero, unloaded car in neutral. I'm
running about 48/44 cold for now.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(maliboulake @ Nov 27 2006, 02:33 PM) [snapback]354502[/snapback]</div>

I have the hydroedges as well.. looks to be about the same mileage.. maybe 1 or 2 mpg less.
But the wet traction more than makes up for it.
I have 45K miles on them now.. and I expect them to go close to 100K..

Scott

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(maliboulake @ Nov 27 2006, 01:33 PM) [snapback]354502[/snapback]</div>

I swapped to the Hydroedge with about 5000 miles on the Integrities. This was after some wild handling on a wet road. I (and my wife) feel much safer!

 

Mine are still look pretty darn good aftet 49,000 miles.

The small MPG hit was well worth the traction gain.

 

I do not see the need to spend that much money for a tire when you can get an even better tire for half the price. Admittedly you may not have heard of the manufacturer, but they have been around for years and have received either top ratings or near the top, twice in a Con---mer magazine. They are the Falken Ziex ZE-512's. I just got them and they are amazing. Obviously the Integrities stink. I put up with them for 23,500 mile, but could not go through another winter with them. The Falkens are absolutely amazing in the rain. Even my 16 year old daughter noticed that when we went through heavy puddles the car didn't hydroplane,. She doesn't know what this is, but she said "gee dad the car didn't seem to go to the right like it used to" when we hit a spot where standing water always accumulates. They are even better in the dry, stopping has improved tremendously and handling also.

Anyway, the only possible knock on these tires is that they may not last as long as the hydroedges, but for $62 installed, you can but another pair for the same price three years from now and end up with over 50% longer life net.

By the way, I do not believe that I have not taken to large a hit in mileage and they are just as quiet if not quieter than the Goodyears. They come in 185/65r15 are H rated, have the same revolutions (855) as stock and an even higher load rating 88 vs. 86. All in all an amazing choice. Good luck

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusDreamer @ Nov 28 2006, 10:23 AM) [snapback]354776[/snapback]</div>

I gather that you haven't tracked exactly what your before and after fuel mileage was and is. Any estimate?

 

I track my mileage constantly (I guess most of us do), but it is still hard to estimate. I have lost about two miles per lately, but that is probably more due to the onset on colder weather than the tires. I actually think the loss, if any, is rather negligible.

 

Thanks, PriusDreamer. The Falkens caught my eye in the latest writeup in one such Con--mer mag. I hadn't recalled seeing them mentioned in the Prius forums (though I haven't searched). It's good to hear from someone who's used them. It will be a while before I need tires, but in the meantime I've begun assessing my choices and the experiences of others.

Has anyone here done any comparisons between these and either the Hydroedge or the Energy MXV4+?

 

I put Hydroedges on my Sienna over a year ago and noticed a 1-2 mpg increase over stock bridgestones and crisper handling due to stiffer sidewalls, which probably also contributes to better gas mileage. On the van I run 32 psi - less than I do now with the Prius so you may not notice the stiffer sidewalls as much at 40 psi as at lower values.
Very good tire in wet conditions and surprisingly good in snow/icy conditions. I had/have Michelin Arctic Alpines (now they would be called Pilot Alpines) on steel rims for the van and the Hydroedges get me about half the improvement over stock that the Alpine winter tires provide. The Hydroedges are good enough that I probably wouldn't get dedicated winter tires next time. Too bad they don't come in the Touring size - 16"/195/55.