Tire suggestions for Camry hybrid

Joined
Nov 9, 2008
Messages
23,720
Location
NH
Time to replace the Firestone FR710's that are on our Hybrid Camry. At least I'm 99% sure it was an FR710... 205/65R16 size. Regardless, wet traction is kaput now and it's coming up on winter. Looking for LRR, cheap, etc. Wife does not want snows and it needs a/s for next summer anyway (I have a 7 year old set of snows in the garage in case of emergency). Wife is prioritizing mpg over other concerns--we tend to stay home when the weather is bad.

Not interested in anything by Michelin. I'd go RT43 but I know I'd never hear the end about the 10% drop in mpg. I'd get the same identical tire if I could. But I think this is being replaced by Firestone's All Season (heck of a name!), and... I'm not sure if it's "the same" tire.
 
10% drop in mpg with the RT43? Are you sure that would be that much? Seems like an awful lot to me. Tire Rack's testing puts the RT43 at only 0.8 mpg (-2.5%) lower mpg than the top LRR tire in it's test. You could always bump the tire pressure a little to gain mpg and satisfy your wife's mpg ocd.
CR says this about LRR tires... Some tires reduce resistance at the expense of wet-braking performance and tread life—a poor trade-off. It’s better to look first for a tire that provides good all-around performance in important safety areas, such as braking, handling, and hydroplaning resistance, then use its rolling resistance level as the tiebreaker.
 
10% drop in mpg with the RT43?
I think that was what it was, when I switched years ago. I was not happy with price/lifespan of Michelin Primacy and did RT43. Good sized drop, but I'm not going to go dig into records to find the exact number. ;)
 
Though I don’t think they are LRR, I’m pretty happy with the Goodyear Assurance Maxlife I have on the Camry now. They’re quiet and have good traction wet and dry. Snow performance is about what you’d expect out of non dedicated snow tires. Not sure if you have a Sam’s Club membership, but they were $400ish installed last fall from there ($80 off a set of 4, which about covered installation and tax). They’ve now got 30k miles on them and have worn well (they had an 85k mile warranty, if I remember correctly). I’d potentially grab another set in a few years (I do much prefer them to the Continental TrueContacts that I put on before, although those were highly rated themselves).
 
Though I don’t think they are LRR, I’m pretty happy with the Goodyear Assurance Maxlife I have on the Camry now. They’re quiet and have good traction wet and dry. Snow performance is about what you’d expect out of non dedicated snow tires. Not sure if you have a Sam’s Club membership, but they were $400ish installed last fall from there ($80 off a set of 4, which about covered installation and tax). They’ve now got 30k miles on them and have worn well (they had an 85k mile warranty, if I remember correctly). I’d potentially grab another set in a few years (I do much prefer them to the Continental TrueContacts that I put on before, although those were highly rated themselves).
The Goodyear Assurance Outlast tire that I suggested in post #4 above is the WalMart "exclusive" version of the Goodyear Assurance Maxlife tire on TmanP's Camry. It has a similar (not identical) tread and sidewall pattern and identical traction and temperature ratings. The only difference is the Maxlife has an 820 wear rating as compared to 800 for the Outlast due to the slightly different tread patterns. However, the Maxlife is currently priced $50/tire higher than the BF sale price on the Outlast. It's even a better deal with WalMart's free mounting balancing during the BF sales promotion.
 
Last edited:
1668615829379.jpg

These are excellent for MPG, but don't expect much more than 30-40K and traction will be comparable to the OE tires.
 
These are excellent for MPG, but don't expect much more than 30-40K and traction will be comparable to the OE tires.
That might work for me. 30-40k is what we usually get out of tires. Although if 30-40k is what others get, maybe I would only get 20k? now that wouldn't be so acceptable.

Goodyear Assurance certainly looks cheap at Walmart!

Dithering on going back to General, and telling the wife to deal with it. Too many options! RT45 or 365AW, 365 might do better in winter but winter is only half of the year.
 
Michelin Cross Climate 2 are all the rage now and have great reviews. Haven't noticed any MPG loss in the 2020 CRV Hybrid. I know you don't want Michelin's but they are worth looking into.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hrv
That might work for me. 30-40k is what we usually get out of tires. Although if 30-40k is what others get, maybe I would only get 20k? now that wouldn't be so acceptable.

Goodyear Assurance certainly looks cheap at Walmart!

Dithering on going back to General, and telling the wife to deal with it. Too many options! RT45 or 365AW, 365 might do better in winter but winter is only half of the year.

The 365AW is good year-round :)
 
Michelin Cross Climate 2 are all the rage now and have great reviews. Haven't noticed any MPG loss in the 2020 CRV Hybrid. I know you don't want Michelin's but they are worth looking into.
I can see my wife vetoing that--looks like an off-road tire!

1668625313265.jpg
 
View attachment 126472
These are excellent for MPG, but don't expect much more than 30-40K and traction will be comparable to the OE tires.
Even The guys that work at Costco don't recommend them. They are black and almost round but that's about it. Read the TR reviews.

Lots of all weather choices if you check TR.

The low rolling resistance tires get poor ratings for "would you buy again" , snow etc.

You have to live with her but you also want her to live if she does need to go out. I personally would give up some mileage for better traction in all conditions. How much would you actually save at todays prices for 3mpg more over the life of the tire. 40k/30mpg* $3.60 = $4800. 40k/33mpg* $3.60 = $4363 . Less than my insurance deductible spread out over however many years it takes to get to 40k.

Mine was yelling at me on day 2 of new car ownership because she almost wrecked it in the unpredicted snow while at work. Couldn't start, couldn't stop. AWD Pilot with less than 100 miles on it. She asked why we didn't have snows for it yet and wanted her old truck back.
 
I can see my wife vetoing that--looks like an off-road tire!
The tread design is unorthodox but tell her the late Queen of England had them on her car, maybe that would convincer her? :LOL: There was a picture floating in another thread with CC2's on her majesties personal vehicle IIRC.
 
Back
Top