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Tire Survey

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Mike_10, Jan 6, 2011.

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  1. BFGoodrich

    3 vote(s)
    6.4%
  2. Bridgestone

    10 vote(s)
    21.3%
  3. Continental

    1 vote(s)
    2.1%
  4. Dunlop

    1 vote(s)
    2.1%
  5. Firestone

    1 vote(s)
    2.1%
  6. Fuzion

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  7. General

    2 vote(s)
    4.3%
  8. Goodyear

    6 vote(s)
    12.8%
  9. Hankook

    2 vote(s)
    4.3%
  10. Hoosier

    1 vote(s)
    2.1%
  11. Kumho

    6 vote(s)
    12.8%
  12. Michelin

    27 vote(s)
    57.4%
  13. Nokian

    6 vote(s)
    12.8%
  14. Pirelli

    3 vote(s)
    6.4%
  15. Sumitomo

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  16. Uniroyal

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  17. Yokohama

    7 vote(s)
    14.9%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Mike_10

    Mike_10 Member

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    I'm looking to replace the stock tires on my '08 prius. I have read a lot on the forum and there is a lot of information... which is nice. Now with this survey I'm hoping to get a quantitative estimate of what brand people are satisfied with. If you have qualitative remarks, please use the reply function and leave a message detailing specifics of a tire and your response. If you are particularly dissatisfied with a tire you have (had), also use the reply function.
    Thanks!


    PS: You can choose more than one tire brand.

    PPS: After I submitted the survey, and when I was working on the options, I realized I should have entered an 18th option: "other" but I could not find a way to change that. If you have a positive expedience with a brand not listed, please use the reply function.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    are your bridgestones worn out? or are you dissatisfied with them? i've been happy with mine and at 20,000 miles, i don't notice any wear.
     
  3. Mike_10

    Mike_10 Member

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    The bridgestones were not bad in the fall (around 25.000 miles) but with the current snow in Boston (you'll know all about it)... it's TERRIBLE.
     
  4. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    I like the Goodyear assurance F/M for summer and I think I will go with Nokian G2 for winter and maybe year around as some do. H
     
  5. lshean

    lshean 2006 2008 & 2010 Prius Owner

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    I had bridgestones on my 2010 and I just couldn't get around with this snow we have. I replaced them with Nokian WR's and the car is like a different car. I couldn't be happier with my choice to go with the Nokians.
     
  6. davidj08

    davidj08 Junior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
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    Three
    With Bridgestone Ecopia 422's I'm realizing a solid 4 mpg gain over the OE Goodyears.
     
  7. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Not a bad idea, Mike, but I'm not sure your poll will make your choice for you. Depending where you live and the weather you experience, the specific advantages of some tires will not be useful to you. No one tire does it all - if you drive in genuine winter conditions, you'll need real winter tires for part of the year. Also, tires within brands can be vastly different. For instance, I will never buy Goodyear Integrities again, and would be cautious even riding in a car with them - they really are that bad - yet I've had a very positive experience with Goodyear TripleTred. So, consider my vote against and my vote for as cancelling each other out.
     
  8. nu2prius

    nu2prius nu2prius

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Just ordered Nokian WR G2's to replace the HORRIBLE B.Stone G019 Grid, which replaced a set of Nokian WR's. The B.Stones are the worst tire I have ever had, with the B.Stone RE92's coming a close second. The Grids are the noisiest tire I have ever owned, with flat spots, high spots, and the worst part, a drop of 4-5mpg over the Nokians. We drive 5-7 times a week to KC from west central MO, and the B.Stone is no longer tolerable.

    I HIGHLY recommend the Nokians. This will be my 5th set of Nokians, and 3rd set of WR iterations. They work great in snow (even a good depth), handle well (soft sidewall, though), ride smoothly and get me back that mpg drop. Where I live, we do not need dedicated snow tires, but I will not have another brand of tire on my Prius. I used Nokian's in Wisconsin when we lived there, and will continue using them in Missouri.

    Good luck!
     
  9. timo27

    timo27 Member

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    Hi Mike -

    I won't 'pollute' your poll because I don't have anything really to compare my Yoko Avids with on my 2010. I will say the car has done better in snow--up to a finite depth--than I thought it would.

    Have you checked out tirerack.com? They have a helpful tire-selection tool whereby you rank your priorities and they offer suggestions. For some tires, they have detailed reviews; these can be very helpful, but they tend to do them more for high-performance tires rather than the pedestrian little rubber doughnuts on our lowly Prii ;).

    FWIW, I've had good experiences on other cars with Michelins, Pirellis and some Bridgestones, but they're probably not comparable to what those manufacturers offer for tires in our size. Good luck--hope this helps.
    ~T
     
  10. stevemcelroy

    stevemcelroy Active Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
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    I put Goodyear Viva Fuel Maxes on my car about 8 weeks ago and have been very happy - they the Walmart exclusive version of the Fuel Max tires. Mileage has been very good for new tires -perhaps a touch better than the OEM tires. Handling has been terrific - they grip very well in both the rain and snow. At this point I really like them and the only remaining question that I have is longevity -it will be a while before I have an idea about how well they wear.
     
  11. Mike_10

    Mike_10 Member

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    hi there, thanks for your voting and the comments... I know it's a bit convoluted: voting on a brand... while a brand has so many options. And a set of tires can be great in AR but suck in NH. Unfortunately the poll options aren't a little more sophisticated: I'd like to set up a whole test sheet with multiple choice answers... but that's not standard on these forums as far as I know.

    I've been reading a lot and looking at different options, mostly checking what my local town fair tire and some others have in store and/or on sale... Michelin Hydroedge with Green X, Michelin Primacy MXV4, Continental Pro Contact Eco Plus to name a few on the top of my list.

    Another thing: I want to go from the stock 185/65R15 (24.46 inch diameter) to 205/60R15 (24.68 inch diameter). I've read some stories on the forum where people were complaining that the tire touched the wheel well (???). On the other hand many (many) others just did it and seem happy. Some report a significant hit in fuel consumption with 205 width... others say no. Moreover, I wonder how many who have not changed to wider tires but who did buy new tires ALSO have noticed a fuel hit. I know 185 width will be better in snow... but 205 width may give better stability on dry surface and --of course also important-- the 205 width look better!

    Please share more thoughts. With all this reading about tires I seem to have gotten obsessed with tires… but it’s fun.
    -mike

    PS: Current status of the poll: 268 views, 25 votes (about 10%), and 9 replies.
     
  12. Mike_10

    Mike_10 Member

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    To follow up: Today I got a set of Michelin X-Radials fitted at BJs. Price was $478 (incl. mounting, balancing, valves, resetting TPMS, a free 4-wheel alignment check, tax, AND free lifetime rotations, fixing flat, etc). So $119,- per tire incl. everything. This price was after a $70 instant rebate manufacturer’s coupon (offer ends tomorrow: 1/9/2011, but as you probably know these deals run all the time).

    I went with the stock size (185/65R15) because BJs won't fit anything that's not "approved" and I didn't mind because it theoretically has an advantage over the 205/60R15 in snow and rain because of more pressure on the road per cubic cm (or inch ;-).

    I chose the brand Michelin because I read lots of positive reviews (see also my attachments) AND because it won the prize for "most times mentioned for positive experience by PC members" in my little tire survey at the start of this thread.

    Although the X Radials (86T, 80,000 mile warranty) are only sold at "clubs" like BJs Sam's Club, and Costco. I was the only all-season Michelin tire they had in my size at BJs and after reading hours on PC, I believe it is in many ways comparable to Michelin Primacy MXV4 (88H, 60,000 mile warranty). I also liked the tread pattern with circumferential full-depth grooves.

    Some online rating do not include the X-radial (for instance, I didn't see it on a list of TireRack, probably because they don't sell them). Click the the thumbnail of a CR survey result below. I got if from another forum that uploaded it today, but I don't know when the CR survey was published.

    When I drove home I believe they were quieter than the stock Goodyears. Tonight it’s snowing again in Boston so will report on driving in snow soon.
     

    Attached Files:

  13. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    Model:
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    Good plan staying with the stock size! The wider tires would have hurt your FE. H
     
  14. Mike_10

    Mike_10 Member

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    true
     
  15. Mike_10

    Mike_10 Member

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    After a few days and some trips around town: my new Michelin X-radials are great. Compared to the Bridgestone stock tires:
    -clearly less noise.
    -very clearly better braking in packed snow on an unplowed street.
    -better traction on in snow (better that I expected since the X-radials have deep and quit wide circumferential grooves).
    -no squeaking in the parking garage (that's just an added bonus)

    Now this "report" is of course not of much value because all tires will be better than the stock Bridgestones and I have no experience with any other brand tires on this car.
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no offense, but break is b-r-a-k-e and brake is b-r-e-a-k.
     
  17. Mike_10

    Mike_10 Member

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    What can I say... it's a crazy language... spelling/pronunciation wise.

    I had to paste in this funny poem. We had to read it in school when we learned English as one of the foreign languages: It's British English and pretty difficult to read (fast), supposedly even for native speakers.

    =====================
    Dearest creature in creation,
    Study English pronunciation.
    I will teach you in my verse
    Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
    I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
    Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
    Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
    So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

    Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
    Dies and diet, lord and word,
    Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
    (Mind the latter, how it’s written.)
    Now I surely will not plague you
    With such words as plaque and ague.
    But be careful how you speak:
    Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
    Cloven, oven, how and low,
    Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.

    Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
    Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
    Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
    Exiles, similes, and reviles;
    Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
    Solar, mica, war and far;
    One, anemone, Balmoral,
    Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
    Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
    Scene, Melpomene, mankind.

    Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
    Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
    Blood and flood are not like food,
    Nor is mould like should and would.
    Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
    Toward, to forward, to reward.
    And your pronunciation’s OK
    When you correctly say croquet,
    Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
    Friend and fiend, alive and live.

    Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
    And enamour rhyme with hammer.
    River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
    Doll and roll and some and home.
    Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
    Neither does devour with clangour.
    Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
    Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
    Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
    And then singer, ginger, linger,
    Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
    Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.

    Query does not rhyme with very,
    Nor does fury sound like bury.
    Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
    Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
    Though the differences seem little,
    We say actual but victual.
    Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
    Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
    Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
    Dull, bull, and George ate late.
    Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
    Science, conscience, scientific.

    Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
    Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
    We say hallowed, but allowed,
    People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
    Mark the differences, moreover,
    Between mover, cover, clover;
    Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
    Chalice, but police and lice;
    Camel, constable, unstable,
    Principle, disciple, label.

    Petal, panel, and canal,
    Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
    Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
    Senator, spectator, mayor.
    Tour, but our and succour, four.
    Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
    Sea, idea, Korea, area,
    Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
    Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
    Doctrine, turpentine, marine.

    Compare alien with Italian,
    Dandelion and battalion.
    Sally with ally, yea, ye,
    Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
    Say aver, but ever, fever,
    Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
    Heron, granary, canary.
    Crevice and device and aerie.

    Face, but preface, not efface.
    Phlegm, phlegmatic, nice person, glass, bass.
    Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
    Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
    Ear, but earn and wear and tear
    Do not rhyme with here but ere.
    Seven is right, but so is even,
    Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
    Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
    Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.

    Pronunciation — think of Psyche!
    Is a paling stout and spikey?
    Won’t it make you lose your wits,
    Writing groats and saying grits?
    It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:
    Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
    Islington and Isle of Wight,
    Housewife, verdict and indict.

    Finally, which rhymes with enough –
    Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
    Hiccough has the sound of cup.
    My advice is to give up!
     
    1 person likes this.
  18. Den49

    Den49 Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    The Michelin X-radial is a lower price point version of the Michelin Harmony which you will find ratings for on Tire Rack. Both the X-radial and the Harmony are good choices.

    The X-radial is aimed at the BJs, Sam's Club, Costco mass market. It has virtually the same tread design as the Harmony, but in some sizes the X-radial will have a 10/32 new tread depth vs. 11/32 new tread depth for the Harmony.

    I had the Harmonys from Tire Rack installed on my Gen III on 12/20/10. I don't buy from the chain and big box tire stores because I have had bad experiences (bad balance, bad alignment, broken studs, loose nuts) with them. I buy the tires from Tire Rack and then take them to my Toyota dealer who does an excellent job of mounting, balancing and alignment, at a reasonable price.

    You should get many carefree and safe miles out of your X-radials if you keep them properly inflated and rotate them in a "modified-X" pattern every 5,000 to 7,500 miles. Modified-X rotation for the front drive Prius is: RF to RR; LF to LR; RR to LF; LR to RF. Good luck.
     
    1 person likes this.