I need to replace the tires on our 2018 RAV4 Limited (235/55 R18) with 60,000 miles. Original tires were Bridgestone Ecopia H/L 422 Plus. I see Bridgestone has a new tire Alenza AS Ultra. Does anyone have experience with the Alenza AS Ultra? Price is about the same. My wife drives the car around town in Murfreesboro TN and we travel to Indiana and Florida in the car. Which should I buy?
Bridgestone Ecopia H/L 422 Plus versus Alenza AS Ultra
- Thread starter AlanC
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Aftermarket tires tend to be better than OE tires. Go for the Alenza AS ultra.
I ditched my OE Bridgestone Alenza Sport A/S after about 7000 miles for better aftermarket tires.
I ditched my OE Bridgestone Alenza Sport A/S after about 7000 miles for better aftermarket tires.
I would do a search in TireRack and watch the videos for them. Whatever you do, DON'T get the Ecopia's again if it were me. They rate pretty poor all around.
Then comes the, did you like them? Do you need better snow traction? How about the wet grip and noise? MPG's favored over grip? Where are you going to buy them (Costco, Sam's, BJ's Discount tire)? That my play into price, rotations, flat repair. Do you do gravel roads, muddy stuff or other?
TireRack 235-55-18 Lots of choices.
Then comes the, did you like them? Do you need better snow traction? How about the wet grip and noise? MPG's favored over grip? Where are you going to buy them (Costco, Sam's, BJ's Discount tire)? That my play into price, rotations, flat repair. Do you do gravel roads, muddy stuff or other?
TireRack 235-55-18 Lots of choices.
I put a set of Continentals TrueContact (?) on my friends 2019 CR-V EX-L. Transformed the SUV.
That's what's on my Elantra. Really, really good tires.
The new Ecopias ep422+ are very different than the antique ones. (Not plus)
They wear better and you get better gas MPGs.
Sadly they have gotten very expensive
They wear better and you get better gas MPGs.
Sadly they have gotten very expensive
I have ecopias from factory and they are noisy, a bit harsh riding, and at least one is out of round enough that I can feel it, it won't balance out, but its not nearly bad enough to warranty, just super annoying. DO not recommend the ecopia line. MPG savings is not worth it.
The Ecopia tires are garbage. We had a set that came on our VW Tiguan. They perform badly in wet conditions. They aren’t that great in dry conditions. They are noisy and hard as bricks. I was so glad to get those things off.
Look at Michelin Defender T&H.
Look at Michelin Defender T&H.
We had the Ecopia flavor of the month as OEM on both of our Camrys. Both were replaced around 25K miles because the wet weather performance, not great to begin with, had begun to diminish pretty badly. I echo the sentiment that you should use TireRack as a source of information. I find their professional drive test reports to be particularly helpful and that's the main information I rely on when buying tires.
Alenza.
But I would go Michelin or Continental in that category. Bridgestone tends to do very good tires specific to a season, like Summer or winter.
The Continental TrueContact (Tour) line is a crazy-good tire for the money. Rides well, wears great, traction in all seasons is better than expected. I’m on my 6th set across 4 vehicles and haven’t been disappointed yet. Jeff’s statement is simple yet profound!
I had Ecopias on a Toyota from the factory. Didn't like them at all. Noisy and rough riding. I was glad to be rid of them. +1 for spending an hour or three on tirerack.com site comparing tires for your vehicle. Pretty much guaranteed Michelin Crossclimate and Pirelli Scorpion will be top rated choices. If I were buying today I'd go with Scorpions.
My Caliber had Ecopia’s on it. For as gutless as that car was, it had an alarming amount of wheel spin any time it rained, and they weren’t any better in snow. I do not recommend them at all.
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Long story short (below), I would not get
In Feb 2020, I ordered them. Then I read so many terrible reviews, I hesitated on picking them up, and the pandemic started.
Long story short Michelin Premier LTX had gone to 10/32" tread when new (was 8.5/32"), and I switched to them at $9/ea more in August 2020. We had only driven 350 more miles in all that time.
The funny thing was in Feb we got a warranty replacement credit. In August, being Costco, they don't exchange, they return and redo.
They go to redo the transaction and tech says your tires are 3/32", those aren't even worn out. He showed me the gauge. Mgr told him do the warranty anyway as he came in here with a warranty replacement he never picked up (had the paper in my hand).
Bridgestone Ecopia H/L 422
In Feb 2020, I ordered them. Then I read so many terrible reviews, I hesitated on picking them up, and the pandemic started.
Long story short Michelin Premier LTX had gone to 10/32" tread when new (was 8.5/32"), and I switched to them at $9/ea more in August 2020. We had only driven 350 more miles in all that time.
The funny thing was in Feb we got a warranty replacement credit. In August, being Costco, they don't exchange, they return and redo.
They go to redo the transaction and tech says your tires are 3/32", those aren't even worn out. He showed me the gauge. Mgr told him do the warranty anyway as he came in here with a warranty replacement he never picked up (had the paper in my hand).
We got 60,000 miles on the original tires that came with the car. They have worn well and still have 4/32 tread left. We get less than 1" of snow in mid TN, but we can get icy roads. I haven't noticed any real complaints with them, but I have seen poor ratings. I was just checking to see if there was a better choice. I was going to buy at Costco. Can get 4 for $1002 including install & tax. They will give free rotations and road repair. Plus they fill with Nitrogen (if that matters). Mostly drive around town on paved roads and several 500 mile trips on highways.
The alenza series has always been a good tire, kind of their sweet spot for all seasons. I’ve found, in general, that Bridgestones in their upper tier lines wear a long time, always handle well in the dry and are sturdy with a little weight to them. I find that Bridgestone in general loses the better characteristics of wet grip long before the tread wears out. I have started favoring continental as for some reason their wet traction stays true longer. The continentals tend to have a little more isolation from the ground with softer sidewalls, BUT up until at least a few years ago, continentals were plagued with higher incidences of sidewall failures. So, if it’s for a driver who hits potholes and curbs, I might lean towards the Bridgestones. Otherwise, I personally favor the wet grip abilities of the continentals. Folks who like to corner hard or more communicative road feel may prefer the Bridgestones.
the Bridgestone serenity line was one of my favorite tires of all times, and they did maintain their wet stopping abilities well into the life of the tire. It’s a shame they ended that line. I had 3 sets of those in view between family and friends.
I knew the predecessor to the ecopia model - it came oem on one of my mom’s cars. my mom is not a “car person.” Even she didn’t like the tires and couldn’t wait to put something else on.
the Bridgestone serenity line was one of my favorite tires of all times, and they did maintain their wet stopping abilities well into the life of the tire. It’s a shame they ended that line. I had 3 sets of those in view between family and friends.
I knew the predecessor to the ecopia model - it came oem on one of my mom’s cars. my mom is not a “car person.” Even she didn’t like the tires and couldn’t wait to put something else on.