So I have been scouring the interwebz looking for information on a decent replacement tire for my '05 HCH. Problem is that all the discussions are years old and very out of date - most are '07 to '10 ~.

I am sure that in the last 6 years newer and better tires have been made available, but every discussion rolls back to the Bridgestone b381's which today cannot be had for less that $140 if at all.

Right now my HCH has two pairs of different tires (Bridgestones and ) and I am getting horrendous mileage (24ish MPG's give or take) and worse yet, I have an 'egg' in one of the tires. So its about time to replace them and I will do all four while I am at it.

So what is a good tire, balancing price and benefit?

 

I have had the following on my HCH2:

Bridgestone Ecopia EP22
Goodyear Integrity

Bridgestones are better, Goodyears are cheaper. Both are LRR.

 

The Ecopia, is it EP22 or EP422?

 

Ep422

 

You know what... I'm pulling my suggestion of the Goodyear Integrity tires.

They're cheaper, but initial results suggest a 3-4mpg drop over the EP422.

 

I belive my only option is the Integritys, since the Bridgestone does not come in the right size for the HCH I.

 

185/70-14?

A search on tirerack.com shows Michelin Defenders for $98 each. And discount tire shows them for $95 in my area. They appear to be one of the few LRR options.

For some reason, the Integrity isn't listed as a LRR anymore. I honestly can't recommend them. It's a struggle to get into the 50s with them where the EP422 took little more than just paying attention.

Steve

 

Replacing the Coopers which were on it when I bought it used (I do not recall the model) with the Defenders resulted in an immediate 2-3 mpg drop. Other than that they have been good tires.

 

Great to check current tire ratings at safercar.gov. Here's link right to tire section: http://www.safercar.gov/tires/pages/tires_buying.html
Or here: http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Tires+Rating

I always go for the highest-rated Michelins and am always happy with ride, safety, wear. I would never mess with less than the best tires because a car isn't worth much without good rubber.

Mine right now are Michelin X-Radials but I bought them in 2009 so time to buy new ones. I have a set of four snow tires and live in Michigan so switch them out twice a year. This means mileage is quite low (they are rated 80,000 miles I believe), but they are aging.

The OEM "low rolling resistant" tires were awful and didn't last much over 30,000 miles so did not and would not ever buy them again. I didn't see much if any reduction in mpgs with the Michelins.

 

I'm revising my Goodyear Integrity opinion and would recommend them. My mpg drops were more associated with weather than tires. Now that it's warming up, I can readily get 52+ mpg on my commute. I don't think they get quite the mileage that the EP422 can, but it's hard to say.

I will say that the Integrity offer a smoother and quieter ride even at 38-40 psi inflation.

I will still likely choose EP422 if these cars make it through another set, but I'm not unhappy with my decision to go with the Integrity this time around.