Yesterday I ordered 4 Michelin Energy Saver (AS) tires from Costco. I plan on replacing the Yokohama Avid with the Michelin. My 2003 Jetta TDI needs tires and I will place the Yokohama's on the Jetta, same size. I believe the Michelin Web site states that that these tires can increase your MPG by up to 8%. Costco told me there is a 30 day money back gurarantee on Michelin tires. I am curious to know if they will get better MPG's than the factory equiped Yokohama Avid 33. If they don't, I may take them up on that guarantee. alfon
Pay attention to the 'up to 8%'. That is compared to the worst performing tires out there. Assuming the Avid's already have pretty low rolling resistance, expect much less savings. I am curious about your results. Post them if you have them.
I will. I am going on vacation tomorrow for 4 days at Walowa Lake near Joseph Oregon, this in the extreme Northeast section of Oregon. I told my wife, the place is so beautiful that this is were god goes on vacation. Plan on taking the Prius with the wife, our son, and all kinds of fishing gear etc. Now, getting back to the tires they should be at Costco by Friday next week. I am also interested how much or any increase in MPG those Michelin tires will give me. alfon
If you read the footnote: "Compared to Bridgestone® Turanza™ EL400, P185/65R15 size" CR rated the Turanza 2 of 5 in rolling resistance. The Avid was rated 4 of 5. The Michelin Harmony and MVX 4 Plus were rated 5 out of 5. I hope you see some benefit but I doubt it will be close to 8%. Please let us know.
I had to cancel the order for now. I had some unexpected expenses that came up and I will have to put off the tires for probably a couple of months or so. alfon
An update for anyone who is curious. I've had a set of Michelin Energy A/S tires on my Prius for about 1200 miles. Right away I gained 4MPG and that has held steady. I have them inflated to 42/40. I've not changed anything about my driving habits, although I do drive a Prius to actively exploit it's electric and glide capabilities. Holding 62 MPG since I got the tires. They are a noticeable improvement over the stock Integretys in every way; ride, cornering, steering, braking, and even noise.
Were these $120/each? I'm thinking of Sumitomo T4, 195/65R15, at ~$60/each. I've been running Sumitomo on our NHW11 and been pleased with their performance. The OEM tires on our 2010 are 'not a problem' but I'm not sure they really roll all that well ... just a perception. What bothers me is we don't yet have a good way to measure tire rolling resistance, a consumer approach. We're still stuck with Consumer Reports and other random testing. Bob Wilson
This Michelin AS Energy Saver Tire will be the next tire I will be using on our Prius. I am pretty sure that the current Yoko / AVID tires are not has fuel efficient as the Michelin Energy Saver tire. Costco has $70.00 off for a set of four right now. alfon
Just replaced the Yoko Avid tires with brand new Michelin Energy Saver AS tires, 195 X 65 X 15, at Costco. Price for all 4 tires mounted, balanced, etc. was $465.00. The Yoko Avid tires are still good, had 11,000 miles on them and will place them on my 2003 VW Jetta TDI Wagon when my Jetta needs new tires propbably in 10,000 miles or so, the same size tire. On the way home from Warrenton Oregon Costco to Seaside Oregon, about 13 miles, they seem to ride real nice. Note: per my request 44 PSI of Nitrogen in all 4 tires. They also seem to roll very easy. As far as MPG I believe they will give maybe 1 or 2 or more MPG, than the Yoko Avid tires. I will keep you updated. Also I believe I am the only 2010 Prius owner to have these tires. alfon
Whats a coast down test, is it done in neutral? Also I believe that in other fuel efficient tires the Michelin Energy Saver was #1 in fuel efficiency. alfon
If all you're looking to do is to compare two setups to find out what is better/worse all you need to do is: 1. Find a suitable road (preferably closed). 2. Reach a set start speed, then put the car in neutral. 3. See how far you coast before you either reach a stop speed or come to a stop. The farther you coast, the lower your rolling resistance. Repeat at least 3 times to make sure you have good data, and your testing should always be done in the same weather conditions to compare.
Compare Costco prices with Discount Tires. Got my tires there (for the Subaru) and no issue in years. Costco does have $70 off but here in Seattle, it's still more expensive even after the "promo". Right now we have brand new Bridgestone Ecopia EP20. They are supposed to be highly efficient but we've only had the car for 10 days and live at the top of a steep hilll, so averaging 41MPG so far on first tank with no particular effort to 'hyper-mile'. Tires are quiet and comfortable and hold well on dry. No chance to test on wet, ice or snow yet. It is advertised as capable of handling light snow, but given the Subaru barely made it up the hill last year with All Season's, I'll likely get 4 winter wheel/tire sets in mid November for peace of mind (even if that also comes at the expense of MPG). Congrats on the 62MPG. I hope we get there some day too.
I see on You Tube they did a comparision test and the Michelin Energy Saver AS tires won. Well now that I have those tires I will give them a real world driving test comparing them to factory equiped Yokohama Avid tires. alfon