Prius tires (2011 IV 15" wheels)

[DuckRyder]

Size: P195/65R15

Michelin Defender (Green X)

Yokohama AVID Ascend (BluEarth)

Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max (FuelMax)

Not my car and the owner is not really into mail ordering, neither the OE Avid 33's or Michelin Energy Saver A/S can be located.

At least equal to OE performance in all respects without a loss of Fuel Economy is important.

What say ye out of those 3.

 

[Rand]

michelin energy saver A/S

just look abit harder or have them ordered.

The goodyear fuelmax are much worse in performance than the michelin energy saver.

the yoko's I've never heard of that model it must be new.

Michelin defenders wont be that LRR compared to an oem prius tire.

 

[The Critic]

The Energy Saver A/S would probably be your best choice - are you sure the local tire shop cannot order this from their supplier?

I have a set of the Avid Ascends on a friend's Honda Fit...just had them rotated today for the first time after 10k and they are still at 10/32" all around. Fuel economy seems to be pretty close to OE on this non-hybrid application. However, TR testing does show the wet traction to be dismal.

The FuelMaxes are not known to last long.

The Defender is probably your best choice - but it will likely cut the fuel economy by about 5%.

 

[bourne]

Originally Posted By: The Critic


The FuelMaxes are not known to last long.



Lol, says who ?? I have adjusted one set since I started working for Goodyear since Aug, 2011 for premature treadwear.

My vote is for Comfortred Touring. Not known as LRR but my colleague did not notice a drop in gas mileage on her mother's Prius with these tires. And way better traction and ride comfort compared to the above listed choices.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
The Energy Saver A/S would probably be your best choice - are you sure the local tire shop cannot order this from their supplier?


They are all telling her that the Energy Saver A/S is NLA and is replaced by the Defender.

Originally Posted By: The Critic
I have a set of the Avid Ascends on a friend's Honda Fit...just had them rotated today for the first time after 10k and they are still at 10/32" all around. Fuel economy seems to be pretty close to OE on this non-hybrid application. However, TR testing does show the wet traction to be dismal.


That is not good...

Originally Posted By: The Critic
The FuelMaxes are not known to last long.


That is also not good. (she got 35,000 out of the OE Yokos.) There do appear to be 2 models of this GY, the OE and an H rated one with a higher treadwear number... My uncle had these and recommended them. I'm not a GY fan myself.

Originally Posted By: The Critic
The Defender is probably your best choice - but it will likely cut the fuel economy by about 5%.


I was browsing the Michelin site and they rate the ESA/S and Primacy MXV4 as "10" in fuel economy and the Defender "8".

Were it mine I would put the Primacy MXV4 on it, but if it gets worse than OE fuel economy she will not be happy...

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: bourne

Lol, says who ?? I have adjusted one set since I started working for Goodyear since Aug, 2011 for premature treadwear.

My vote is for Comfortred Touring. Not known as LRR but my colleague did not notice a drop in gas mileage on her mother's Prius with these tires. And way better traction and ride comfort compared to the above listed choices.


My hybrid service shop (Luscious Garage) told me in person,and they probably service more Prii than most dealers, as they handle almost all of the hybrid SF taxi cabs. They switched from the GY Fuelmax to the Continental ProContact due to treadwear and other issues.

http://lusciousgarage.com/blog/best_tires_for_gen_2_prius_continued/

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder

I was browsing the Michelin site and they rate the ESA/S and Primacy MXV4 as "10" in fuel economy and the Defender "8".

Were it mine I would put the Primacy MXV4 on it, but if it gets worse than OE fuel economy she will not be happy...


When I had a set of Primacy MXV4 tires on the Prius, I got 5-7% worse than the OE tires - but the ride, traction, handling and straightline stability were noticeably better.

Of the people on Priuschat who have installed the Defenders, they are report a few mpg less so about 5%...so I would guess that it is the same or possibly a hair better than the Primacy MXV4.

Remember, the only reason that hybrid drivers notice the reduction in fuel economy is because of the high base numbers we are using - 5% on 50 mpg is 2.5 mpg. 5% on 20 mpg is 1 mpg...people are less likely to notice.

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: bourne

Lol, says who ?? I have adjusted one set since I started working for Goodyear since Aug, 2011 for premature treadwear.

My vote is for Comfortred Touring. Not known as LRR but my colleague did not notice a drop in gas mileage on her mother's Prius with these tires. And way better traction and ride comfort compared to the above listed choices.


My hybrid service shop (Luscious Garage) told me in person,and they probably service more Prii than most dealers, as they handle almost all of the hybrid SF taxi cabs. They switched from the GY Fuelmax to the Continental ProContact due to treadwear and other issues.

http://lusciousgarage.com/blog/best_tires_for_gen_2_prius_continued/

I agree with your shop, Lascivious Garage, the FuelMax is bunkum. Wet traction is atrocious with them, as well.

 

[bourne]

Fuelmax was redesigned early 2011/late 2010. I believe that was after this review. The Fuelmax they refer to is GY's first dabbling in LRR tire. The current version of the model in the market is the second edition of the tire. Goodyear often does tire range upgrades based on public feedback.

The old Fuelmax did have treadwear issues. Actually come to think of it, the first edition of Tripletred, Fuelmax and Comfortred all had treadwear issues. They all got redesigned, and I havent heard nothing but good feedback about the new ones we have sold.

 

[eljefino]

So for goodyear, the customer is the QC?

 

[sciphi]

I have a set of FuelMax tires that came OEM on the Cruze. They're 2/3 tread from the factory, and I'm looking at replacing them right at 40k miles on the tires. That's 2/3 of the 60k treadwear warranty the full-depth ones have, so I'll be happy with 40k miles.

Pros of the tires are that they do grip pretty well in the dry, and handle pretty well for LRR tires. The ride is also okay. Cons are the wet traction isn't that hot, although it has improved as the tires wore down. They are quite predictable, though. They also handle light snow acceptably for all-seasons. I've not had any vibration or balance issues to date, either.

I'd give the Goodyears a shot if the price is right.

 

[DuckRyder]

Looks like it is going to be the Defenders.

 

[DuckRyder]

She did the Defenders the week before Christmas.

So far it seems to have lost 4-5 MPG and she is pretty happy with them otherwise.

Neither of us is very sure why, but It doesn't seem very consistent. She hasn't decided if she will keep them.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
She did the Defenders the week before Christmas.

So far it seems to have lost 4-5 MPG and she is pretty happy with them otherwise.

Neither of us is very sure why, but It doesn't seem very consistent. She hasn't decided if she will keep them.


4-5 mpg loss (10%) compared to the worn-out OE tires sounds normal. The worn-out OE tires were probably delivering a few percent better than new OE tires anyway.

 

[UG_Passat]

The Defenders "officially" replaced the Hydroedge & Harmony tires

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: UG_Passat
The Defenders "officially" replaced the Hydroedge & Harmony tires


I know.

She talked to the dealer and Michelin, the Defenders are getting replaced with Energy Saver A/S. She was told availability of ~40 in entire country in her size.

Not sure how true that is or if it came from the dealer or Michelin.

She loved everything about the Defenders but the mileage, couldn't live with 46 vs 51 though.

 

[Rand]

keep in mind that her old worn out tires were probably over-reporting by 1-3% due to smaller overall diameter.

so even the new ones may show a drop.. just not that much.

also dead of winter is going to be abit lower.

 

[DuckRyder]

She has had this Prius and another one (think it is an 06 or 07 Touring for a while, it got 51 new, so that won't wash with her.

She says winter makes no difference to them

 

[Rand]

not to be rude but there are laws of physics.

if the tires shrink by 3% you are going to get 3% better "measured" fuel economy.

if its cold out even in atlanta it will go down.

not arguing but I hope you can see my point.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: Rand
not to be rude but there are laws of physics.

if the tires shrink by 3% you are going to get 3% better "measured" fuel economy.

if its cold out even in atlanta it will go down.

not arguing but I hope you can see my point.


Not to be rude, but the lady has two of the things and has for quite some time.

She says it got 51 on the day she picked it up an it got 51 the day before the tires were replaced. It is her car and I expect she knows what it gets.

It gets quite a bit colder where she is than Atlanta and again she says the temperature makes no difference whatever. Again, she has two of the things and she watches the mileage like a hawk, so I expect she knows.

So I don't know what to tell ya.