1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

New shoes for the old girl

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by qbee42, Nov 30, 2009.

  1. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,074
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    It was time for new tires for our 2006. We have been running Micheline MXV4 Energy + tires in the stock size. After 40,000 miles, the tires still look good, but there isn't enough tread to trust them for winter driving.

    All season tires work pretty well in this area. While we have a lot of snow, most of the roads are well maintained and fairly flat. Studded tires are illegal in Michigan, so once again I have gone with all season tires. I am simply too lazy and too cheap to switch back and forth between summer and winter tires without getting to use studs.

    This time around I am trying Nokian WRg2 tires in the stock size. I'll let you know how they work out. As if some sort of omen, we had a pretty good snow storm on the way home from the tire shop.

    Tom
     
    #1 qbee42, Nov 30, 2009
  2. sakai

    sakai New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2009
    39
    1
    0
    Location:
    Charleston, SC
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks for the brief tire update. As a newbie around here, I'm wondering what your overall opinion of the Michelin's were - would you buy again? pricey for the tire/ride? could you see any mpg benefits? I did a quick search for related info, but would love to hear your opinions.
     
    #2 sakai, Dec 1, 2009
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,967
    16,191
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Sounds good. It should do better than AS but not as well as dedicated winters. The WRs have served us well on the west coast (2 winters of snow, with the last being pretty bad)
     
    #3 Tideland Prius, Dec 1, 2009
  4. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,531
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    I can sympathize with both sentiments, although being able to use a long-wearing tyre set for ~ 8 months of the year in my area would offset the cost quite a bit since over time less tyres would be bought.

    Perhaps the smart approach is to buy another set of wheels too, so that it is easy to switch the sets at home and save the bi-annual fees. I'll have to do a bit of arithmetic tomorrow. Dedicated winter tyres are an attractive option as a safety feature.

    Would realignments be recommended if the wheels and tyres were switched ?

    Parenthetically, I can only admit to being penny wise and pound foolish by spending thousands to have VSC and multiple airbags in my car, but skimping on good winter tyres.
     
    #4 SageBrush, Dec 1, 2009
  5. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,074
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I liked the Michelin's a lot. The traction was much, much better than the Goodyear (lack of) Integrity tires that came with the Prius. Mileage was as good or better than the Goodyear tires. The ride was quieter and smoother. Yes, they are expensive, but not overly so for a high quality tire. I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again.

    Michelin dropped the MXV4+ Energy tire that we were using and replaced it with the MXV4 Primacy. Supposedly it's even better.

    I decided to try the Nokian because I believe it's a better winter tire. The Michelin Primacy is rated well for ice, but there is a lot more to winter driving than ice. We live in one of the two snowiest counties in Michigan. A normal winter for us drops 120 inches of the white stuff. A bad winter will double that amount (that's 20 feet of snow for the mathematically disinclined). The Nokian WRg2 is a bit more expensive than the Micheline, but in the same neighborhood.

    Tom
     
    #5 qbee42, Dec 1, 2009
  6. acdii

    acdii Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2007
    1,124
    131
    0

    I heard the Primacy is a very good tire for the money, and has the lowest rolling resistance of any low profile tire. I was considering a wheel upgrade and going with a set of Primacy tires based on all the good reviews. Unfortunately they do not make it in a 45/18 size.
     
    #6 acdii, Dec 2, 2009
  7. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2006
    5,963
    1,982
    0
    Location:
    Edmonton Alberta
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    I can attest to the competence of the Nokian WR in -real- snow (but not real deep ;) ) and in very cold weather. I also really like its' resistance to aquaplaning and its' grip in the summer on twisty mountain roads. So far wear is about "normal", with 35,000 km on them and about half gone. Usually the second half wears less due to less tread squirm.

    I find I tend to panic unnecessarily when I realize I'm on black ice (I'm looking for a "slide off" path when I don't really need one). The tires/car so far hasn't had the problems I think it will. Do realize you may be able to -bend- the laws of physics, but you -can't- break them! Kind of a "Matrix" philosophy I suppose.
     
    #7 David Beale, Dec 2, 2009
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)