The "what tire do you recommend" question...

I installed Michelin energy XM2 about five years ago
Quite strong and durable tires, pleased with the fuel consumption figures.

 

Google searching in Canada, they seem kind of obscure. Any link from Michelin, showing sizes, where they're available?

 

https://www.mlperformanceusa.com/products/michelin-energy-xm2-185-65-r15-88t-summer-tyre-985806

 

It is possible that they are releasing something newer now.
This site has information to select by ratings, size, season and manufacturer.
Tire reviews & tire ratings for finding the best tires - Tiretest.com

 

If you're only using them in Summer and won't be driving in heavy rains then lowest price tire with best MPG would be the lowest price Bridgestone Ecopias inflated up to 45psi range. They are Low Rolling Resistance (LRR) tires that aren't great for traction in bad weather but are the best you can get at a low price for max MPG.

 

I run the Ecopias all season and they do very well. quiet and LRR...just Rotate every 3 K and dont start fast...I get about 45K out of them.

 

Wondering if you've experimented with standard Ecopias vs. the upgraded 422 Ecopias? The standard ones made long ago are way cheaper and I bought a set last fall to see if this older lower quality design is that much different. But still haven't put them on yet... Thoughts?

 

Tires are heavily discounted as they age since they aren't supposed to be used 6 or 7 years past the date stamped on the sidewall. At least at reputable dealers. The disreputable ones will sell 5 year old tires at full price.

 

Quiet? I find them to be very noisy, and they are only inflated to 35 front / 33 rear like it says on the door sticker. On perfectly smooth surfaces on the highway they are usually tolerable, but OMG, I have encountered some roads that make them sing like a demented Opera diva. They also thump really loudly on expansion joints.

I need to replace mine. The fronts are down to the wear bars and the date code is 1618. Wish I could make a rational choice but in the US it is impossible to find the numeric rolling resistance numbers for tires in order to compare them. Unlike the EU, where it has to be on the sticker, along with some other useful information. Instead we get articles like this:

Tires That Save Gas: Best Fuel Efficient Tires For Your MPG - Tire Agent

where, one will note, there is literally no way to compare the rolling resistance values for any of the tires mentioned!

Go to TireRack and select all the touring tires in 185/65R15 and the Falken Sincera SN250 A/S ties for best in category and they only cost $91. Go to Falken's site and they make noises about 4.5/5 for fuel efficiency - compared to their own tires, in who knows what sort of metric. One might expect a 4.5/5 tire to be LRR, but they don't actually ever call it that. Also at the top of that list are BF Goodrich Advantage Control (nobody claims that it gets good MPG), and General Altimax 365 AW and RT45.

Ah, found a review of "the 5 all-season tires with the lowest rolling resistance". The Altimax 365 AW is on the list.

5 All-Season Tires With the Least Amount of Rolling Resistance

Followed a link in the article to this:

Low-Rolling-Resistance Tires Can Save You Money at the Pump - Consumer Reports

which contains a lot of LRR values, measured by CU. Unfortunately they apparently didn't test the Bridgestone Ecopia EP422. (The motorbiscuit article just listed the top 5 on the list.) The CU article was updated in 2022. It is amazing how few of the tires on the tirerack list are also on the CU list. Also CU's graphic suggests that within the tested range there is hardly any difference, with 28 - 29 MPG being the range correlating to those tires (on some standard vehicle, presumably).

 

I've found tires can start out quiet, progress to noisy-as-heck with a few years. Makes for a lot of "wow, these new tires are so much quieter", with each new tire acquisition. I found Ecopia EP20 thus: when they were getting along. I recall one time had just swapped them back on after snow tire season, actually pulled over, looked them over, thinking something must be wrong.

 

I like Continental truecontact tour. Very quiet, comfortable tire, no MPG sacrifice.

 

+1. I was so impressed with them I installed them on our other Prius, too.

You might not see that exact model, but there will be an equivalent model for the US local conditions. Look at what is on offer in the eco range (Green-X, I believe) and see what's available.

[EDIT] Updated to Green-X, thanks info from Mendel.

 

Green-X is Michelin’s nomenclature, for low rolling resistance. I’d take it with a grain of salt though: I got a set of Primacy MXM4 (in 215/45R17) and saw a precipitous/stubborn drop in mpg. Still digging out of that sink hole. Car delivers better mpg with 15” X-Ice Snow, through winter.

 

That would be the Michelin Energy Saver A/S, I think. Which isn't available in 185/65R15. It looks like it used to be though:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=121

The Continental TrueContact Tour is also not available in that size, at least from TireRack.

These may be available in some closely related size that can fit onto the stock rim. I wonder how many of the reports of large changes in MPG may have resulted from a tire shop silently substituting "close" tire sizes, which not only change the outer diameter, but also perhaps confuse the car's computers which are expecting a slightly different size tire.

 

Lots of good suggestions. I ended up going with the Ecopia EP422+, mostly because when I looked up LRR tires, many brands do not make 15" versions for the Gen2.

I commute 80 miles per day. Can't say that I notice any unusual road noise, but that can vary with different road surfaces.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Are Michelin Defenders available in gen 2 size (185/65R15)? That’d be my all-season choice: you may take some mpg hit but overall a good tire. Costco’s X-Tour is a rebadge, a bit cheaper.

 

I swapped to 205/60r15 and am super happy with how planted my Prius feels now. The speedometer is more accurate as well. 1mph slow at freeway speed The oem 185s felt squirrely at speed and the traction control was frequently triggered from traffic light acceleration. Especially when rain, fog, and colder weather was involved.

The only negative is that i lost 2mpg but from a safety aspect it was completely worth it.

After some research and decision making based on the mild climate my Prius is used in, i decided on lexani lxtr 203s. While budget wasn't a huge concern I also didn't think it was worth spending $100+ per tire + install. We've had some major rain fall in the sf bay over the last couple months and I haven't had any issues or scary moments. I drive pretty aggressively in the dry, our traffic flows between 75-80 mph in the early cold mornings. Along with purposely taking turns above the listed speed. Getting 44mpg with it creeping up as the 40f mornings go away.

My wife's car has 185 ecopedias and she hates them. She commented on my prius feeling more stable when uneven ground or road grooves are involved.

 

Our 2007 loves to follow long paving junctions or grooves which are nearly parallel to the direction of travel. Sometimes it feels like I'm in a slot car when that happens. This is with Ecopia EP422 tires.