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Michelin ES A/S or Michelin Defender

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by PSD Prius, Feb 1, 2013.

  1. PSD Prius

    PSD Prius Junior Member

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    Good morning, I just got some prices for some new Michelins and here is what I have so far. The prices are pretty close to one another, so which would you all choose?

    Michelin Energy Saver A/S 195/65/15 $489.00 OTD 65K mileage warranty
    Michelin Defender 195/65/15 $494.68 OTD 90K mileage warranty

    These are at Sams with the $70 instant savings.

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Jay
     
  2. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I prefer the Energy Saver A/S for max mpg and lowest cost per mile to own. The Defender is a low cost to own tire because it lasts so long but it gets worse fuel economy. If you care about max mpg get the Energy Saver. If you want better handling then get the Defender.
     
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  3. Felt

    Felt Senior Member

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    I replaced the original tires with ES A/S about 10 months ago. aurally, I have no experience with the Defender. Before my purchase I read Tire Rack reviews, as well as Consumer Reports. I made my decision and could not be any happier. I immediately noticed an increase in mileage, but far and away the most significant improvement was in road noise .... or I should say, the lack of road noise. They are remarkably quiet, as well as comfortable.

    My dealer did say they were difficult to find, however.

    Good Luck.
     
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  4. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Felt, do you happen to remember what your OE tire was?
     
  5. GSW

    GSW PRIUS POWER

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    I have 11,000 miles on my ES A/S tires and totally agree with Felt and F8L. I've had several people riding with me who commented on how quiet the car was. MPG is 2 to 3 mpg higher than the stock Yoko's they replaced. As long as Michelin makes this tire, I'll buy it for the Prius.
     
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  6. Felt

    Felt Senior Member

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    Hi. I seem to recall they were Yokohama, but I am not absolutely certain. But I think that is correct.
     
  7. milkman44

    milkman44 Active Member

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    I just struggled with a decision on the same tires, I went with the Defenders. I went through a set of 65K Goodyear Fuel Max in 37k miles, they were almost to the wear bars and really getting noisy, so if the 65k Michelins only last like the Goodyears, I didn't want them. I went with the Defenders for the extra miles, not sure if I'll take a MPG hit yet.
     
  8. SuperchargedMR2

    SuperchargedMR2 Diehard Rams Fan

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    I just bought a set of 195'65R15 Energy Saver A/S & put them on today. I saw better mpg right away & recorded a trip of 61.1 mpg today. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do through the entire summer. They are very quiet & ride nice too. I still have my 16" summer Energy Saver also to play around with. They seemed to get similar mpg to my stock 15" Yokohamas.
     
  9. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    You freaked me out. I was like "what happened to his 16s".
     
  10. SuperchargedMR2

    SuperchargedMR2 Diehard Rams Fan

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    I still have them too. ;) I just wanted to get a set of 15's to play with too. I'm taking my 09 Corolla to Alaska in June & I'm going to use the 16" wheels & tires for that trip to maximize my MPG on my Corolla. :)
     
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  11. CLUBGUY

    CLUBGUY Member

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    During my short time on this forum I learned you are the "go-to-guy" for tire/wheel questions...Your input is solicited;
    have a OE tire/wheels for a "v" 3 (purchased used on the pvt.sale forum)coming for my "v"5..I plan to install the set myself and seek a tire retailer to serialize/sync the sensors to my car....what should one expect to pay to have four sensors/wheels synced....
    Thanks....
     
  12. srivenkat

    srivenkat Active Member

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    Any one with first hand experience with ES A/S and/or the Defender on Snow? How do they fare relative to the OEM and relative to each other? Thanks.
     
  13. SuperchargedMR2

    SuperchargedMR2 Diehard Rams Fan

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    Not sure as I never use a A/S tire in snow. I have a set of Michelin IceX2's for winter driving. :)
     
  14. SuperchargedMR2

    SuperchargedMR2 Diehard Rams Fan

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    Are you just transferring the OEM sensors to the other wheels? If so, nothing else needs to be done. I'm not sure what the dealer charges. FOr years I've just lived with the light on when I have my winter tires on. I was just told buy ATC that they can install a 2nd set of sensors on my winter wheels for only $160 & they copy the OEM codes so as I swap the wheels & tires I'm good to go.
     
  15. CLUBGUY

    CLUBGUY Member

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    Tire/wheel/sensors package are off another "v" and I'm installing the package on my "v"....looking to get this new package "synced" to my vehicles sensor system....
     
  16. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Unless you got the codes for the sensors you will have to remove the tires to get the codes from the sensors. Then you can have the dealer or tire place enter the codes into your car's ECU.

    I could be wrong but I don't think you can read the codes.

    If this is the case, I would just drive with the warning light on until you need to buy new tires. The cost of removal, reinstall and syncing would likely be well over $100 and not worth the effort.
     
  17. CLUBGUY

    CLUBGUY Member

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    I was attempting to to a handle on the COST TO SYNC. thinking this could be accomplished WITHOUT removing the tires.
    This was based on a response I received from Air_Boss..see below...Now I'm somewhat confused....think I will ask the "stealership" and a "stand alone" tire retailer...


    The wheel-mounted TPMS sensors are serialized but also serve as transponders that broadcast their serial numbers, which a TPMS scantool can read, which serials can then be entered into the car's TPMS monitoring system. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen automatically (or the TPMS monitoring system might start tracking sensors on adjacent vehicles), so it either requires dealer intervention or a tire shop with the right tools.
    But it doesn't require breaking down/remounting tires from wheels......







    Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/wheels-tpms-change-question.122743/#ixzz2NGKdpvR0
     
  18. srivenkat

    srivenkat Active Member

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    I don't believe this to be the case. I once took my car to Walmart for swapping the winters with summers and a tech used a scanner to scan the summers for what seemed liked sensor codes. I simply wrote those down, but opted not to get them programmed into the car's computer. I had purchased the summers with TPMS already installed so I didn't know it for a fact until the scanner scanned the codes. Recently when I went in for a tire swap for the winter the lady asked me if I needed to get the TPMS reprogrammed. I said no. So, I think TPMS' are now common enough that places like Walmart have the scanner/tools to deal with them.
     
  19. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    In light of this I will edit my original post. I like being wrong in this case. I guess we just didn't know how to use the TechStream well enough to find the codes. Damn The Critic. Doesn't even know how to use his own tools. :p
     
  20. CLUBGUY

    CLUBGUY Member

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    I was NOT trying to say anyone was correct or incorrect; just attempting get a ballpark cost of syncing the new sensors(without removing the tires) to the cars tpm system.?
    A guess on my part is between 10 and 20 per wheel ........but I'm hoping for a more definitive cost.