So the 17 inch Toyo tires that came on my 2012 Prius v 5 had 3 plugged punctures, the last one 1/2 an inch from the edge. I figured that the worst that could come of the edge plug was a slow leak, but I could not deal with the poor winter handling on the stock tires. When it took 2 minutes to crawl up a 15 foot snow covered slight incline I looked for new tires and chose the Michelin Premier A/S tires and here are my observations after approximately two years with them. Handling; I don't drive aggressively enough to feel any change in cornering. Wet handling proved to be superior when I unexpectedly hit a 10 foot pond going 55 MPH on the freeway and Premier tires grabbed the asphalt so hard and expelled the water so efficiently that it felt like I had hit the brakes hard, but I remained in full control. Snow handling was equally impressive. I found myself driving in Syracuse winter storm weather on two occasions that I would never have dared driving in on the old Toyo tires. I drove in an active blizzard that the snow plows could not keep up with. Cars were spinning out on the freeway and I made it up a hill with cars in the ditch on both sides, but I made it to my (indoor) tennis match and the snow plows had cleared the roads by the time I drove home. The other time I drove while it was snowing, I pulled out of a parking lot and briskly drove up a hill covered in 2 inches of slush that had previously forced the Toyos to a 5MPH traction control crawl. Comfort; I did not take before and after vibration readings, but I feel like they have softened the bumps from the road and made a noticeable improvement in ride comfort. Coming from a Lexus RX 300, my new Prius v felt downright jarring on moderate and severe bumps. The Primier A/S tires got me at least halfway back to the luxurious smooth ride I remember from the RX 300. Noise; I did take sound level readings on my smartphone app called Sound Meter. It showed a modest %5 reduction in decibels for the Premier A/S tires on the same route, same PSI, same weather conditions. It also showed how poorly the Prius v is insulated against sound. Other cars driving by would cause sound levels higher than driving with either new or old tires without traffic noise. MPG; I exported all my Fuelly data and compared 12 months on the new tires and compared it to the same months on the old tires. So I started with first fillup in April of each year to the last fillup in March. This allowed for close to 2000 miles of break-in for the new Premiers and 5 months of break-in for the then brand new 2012 Prius v. I was prepared to take up to %5 reduction in MPG and told myself to just enjoy the extra comfort, lower sound levels, and safer driving. I paid less attention to the air pressure in the new tires and they been allowed to creep down to 35F 35R in the winter from my target pressure of 40F 38R. I have been driving faster (70-ish MPH) on monthly 100 mile trips and two 600 mile trips on the new Premiers. So I was surprised to see that I was only getting a small decrease in MPG on the new Premier A/S tires. The average decrease for the 3 OEM Toyo years vs new Premier is the same as the decrease between the first year and the 2nd and 3rd year (first 3 years on OEM tires) Year Avg MPG Fillups Miles % Increase in MPG 1 2015 41.1815625 32 13119 New Michelin Premier A/S 2 2014 41.80689655 29 12194 % 1.4957677 3 2013 41.73681818 22 9318 % 1.3303738 4 2012 42.60321429 28 11839 % 3.336959 UPDATE: I’m just 2-4 fill-ups (1.5 months) from a second 12 month series of data, so I’ll go ahead and report on it. First note that I pre-warmed-up my Prius v approximately 7 times this winter, normally once at most. We did not take any out of state trips 2016, normally one. We did take three +100 mile highway trips and I normally take closer to 6 such trips in a year. So with some wasteful pre-warming and less highway miles, I am happy to report 2016 MPG of 42.7 which is a virtual tie with my best year with the OEM Toyos. 2016 numbers beat 2012 numbers, but if I take March data out of 2012 data it edges out 2016 average. So a virtual tie. Year Avg MPG Fillups Miles % Increase in MPG 1 2016* 42.70348 23 9920 New High Score? 2 2012 42.60321429 28 11839 % -0.2353427 3 2012* 42.85154 26 11026 % 0.3336959 *without March data And here is all data for both tires after break-in mentioned earlier. 17” Tire Avg MPG Fillups Miles % Increase in MPG 1 Michelin Premier A/S 41.818 55 23039 Baseline 2 OEM Toyo 42.16649 97 40813 % 0.8265 Note: Less than one percent difference. Bottom line; I would recommend the Michelin Premier A/S tires.
Two thoughts Were the tire pressures consistent with the two tires? What pressures were you using? 5% lower db is a big difference. 10db is a doubling of loudness but a 10 times increase in intensity/power. It is intensity that kills your ears.
Great attention to detail. On my 08 I sold the Toyos right off the then new car and bought Michelins. Immediate improvement in ride and noise. Those Michelins lasted 100,000 miles which is another significant cost benefit. My 2012 v came with Bridgestones which were close to Michelins in ride and durability. Changed those at 103,000 with Michelin gaining a slight improvement in ride probably because the Bridgestones were worn out. Much better handling. I recently bought a Honda with Hankooks. They are gone and Michelin Premiers are providing a better ride and much lower noise on the Honda, which does have sound proofing and even active noise suppression. Sold both new sets on Craigslist.
we put premiers on our hycam. smoother, quieter and same mpg's as oem's. feels like your floating on air compared to the goodyears.
Awesome details. Now I know what tires to purchase when I'm ready to replace mine. Thanks for sharing.
That is an excellent, outstanding report with data! Does he work for Michelin? I'm surprised he didn't get more replies. I have the 15 inch Michelin premier "total performance" tires. I've only had them a month, and about 1500 miles driven. So far, they feel and perform much better compared to my OEM Toyo tires. I've also noticed that when I increased the tire pressure above the recommended specs, the Michelins do not give me that harsh jarring ride that I got with the Toyo's. I do not as of yet, have any wet handling experience with the Michelin's. (And there is never any snow in my area.) i'm looking forward to a hopefully wet winter, so I can see how they perform. With regards to tire noise, well, my Prius is noisy overall to begin with. Sound insulation did not seem to be a priority in my 2016 Three trim. Traffic noise from outside infiltrates the cabin. I would say the Michelin premier's are slightly quieter than the Toyo's were. Thats fine, because they corner and handle so much better. They seem to absorb bumps and potholes far better. During a one-time high speed test run, they track true and straight, even on the freeway with the rain grooves cut into the concrete. The ride was very smooth and stable at 90 mph. Great tires. The indicated MPG on the display screen, did decrease by about 3 or 4. But hey, I'm driving a Prius! Gas mileage is the least of my worries with this car. .
I have 15" Michelin Premier A/S on my 2 Prius models (2010 & 2015 PiP) and they are a noticeable improvement over the Yokohama AVID S33D on my PiP and the Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max on my 2010. There is less road noise and my mileage has only decreased ~ 2%. However, what I have noticed is handling is noticeably improved, even in dry conditions. My wife even commented on this after she drove the car and asked "Did you do something to it - it drives much better now?!" I didn't tell her I replaced the tires. I noticed a larger improvement in handling with eh PiP, but that could be a result of its battery weight distribution more-so than the Goodyear tires being better than the Yokohama (though I do prefer the GY to the Yokos). I wish I could get the Michelins installed at the factory for my next car...
Tire pressure was consistent with both sets of tires. I set them (38 F, 36 R) at gas same gas station and dove the same route home, same time of day, and very similar weather. I like your observation regarding decibels being logarithmic (exponential) scale. I was hoping for a bigger number and more noticeable noise reduction, but that thin skin of the Prius Gen 3 (and lower) just lets too much sound in the cabin. Thank you for the complement. I'm retired and have too much time on my hands. Worked in programming and IT when I was working.
Greetings Chazz8 - Just a quick "Shout Out Hello" to you. I have been following you and your "Clear Sky" Prius v5 w/ATP since you acquired her. For the record, I am a COMM-ELEX & IT "Water Walker," now a "Gray Beard Denizen-Of-The-Web" operating out of my Cyber Sanctum Sanctorum who knows where all the Techno-Bodies are buried. We both are, and have been, driving the same New Model Year 2012 Prius v5 w/ATP machines. Mine is cloaked in stealth "Magnetic Gray." I put mine on the road on 12/27/11. My "Caddie In A Kimono, Vunder Vagon" has been flawless in operation with no, nada, zero problems of any kind. I have only been into my Toyota Dealer for the 10K oil change services, and to enjoy the complimentary coffee and donuts while waiting. My stealth "Whisper-Sipper" is at 67,000+ miles on the odometer, and is currently displaying 49.1 MPG-FE "Indicated/Displayed" Lifetime Fuel Economy. I replaced the OEM Toyos with 215/70R15 Michelin Premier A/S tires at 45,000+ miles. I was running the OEM Toyos @ 51F/50R, and now am, and have been, running the replacement Premier A/S tires @44F/43R. Last summer, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed issued the edict, "Joe, you cannot put the new Michelin Premier A/S tire pressures up at the high up-pressured PSI you had for the other tires...I do not like the hard ride." I, who just celebrated 55-Emerald "Double Nickel" years of wedded bliss this past June, of course, obeyed. Her Royal Nibs wanted Toyota "Door Post PSI," but her Chauffeur-Bodyguard was able to "Sweet Talk" her into compromising @ 44F/43R PSI. I, since, have experienced a "Hit" in my running average Per-Tank-Full "Indicated" MPGs, as well as in my overall Lifetime "Indicated/Displayed" MPG. At "End Of Life/Replacement Time" on the OEM Toyos I was running at 50.8 MPG Lifetime "Indicated/Displayed" Fuel Economy. Now, in the 14-months since I have had the replacement 215/70R15 Michelin Premier A/S mounted-installed, I am running at a descending 49.1 MPG "Indicated/Displayed" Lifetime Fuel Economy...Phew-w-w-w... it has been an, especially, hot summer here in Florida. [MPG NOTE: My previous driving profile over the first 45.000-miles of running on the OEM Toyos Up-Pressured @ 51F/50R was 90% CITY/AROUND TOWN & 10% AT SPEED HIGHWAY. The over 20,000+ miles driven over the last 14-months on the new 215/70R15 Michelin Premier A/S tires up-pressured @ 44F/43R PSI is, and has been approximately 60% CITY/AROUND TOWN & 40% AT SPEED HIGHWAY. Happy Fuel-Sipping & Pseudo-Hypermiling.
That's a very good report on these tires. I share the same observations on my 2017 Prius 2 until fuel economy. My driving conditions are 50/50 town (25 to 45 mph) and highway (65-75 mph) with the pressure at 35. My factory Toyo tires were averaging 55+ mpg in these conditions. I've had my Premiers for nearly 3000 miles and only average about 46 mpg in the same conditions. I try my best to accelerate and decelerate as best as possible to improve efficiency as well. I know 46 mpg is still amazing, but 55+ is even better. I'm at a loss
