For our HCHII driving cycle, the environment simply does not allow driving conditions to get higher mileage than what I currently get.

For my situation, the Pilot Exaltos are delivering significantly better mileage than the Bridgetones that the Michelins replaced. Again I have to reiterate that the tires took about 2000 miles to achieve that number.

I think that when looking at the total picture of MPG costs plus tire/cost mile plus comfort, handling and quietness make the Michelin the better choice.

 

I bought the Michelin Hydroedge at Costco (the OEM Dunlops lasted 50,000 miles). No change in mpg (44.2) but a lot smoother & quieter ride plus improved handling over the SP-31's.
2006 Civic Hybrid with 52,500 miles

 

I just got a set of Falken ZE329's at Big O Tires for my TCH last week. The silica compound provides excellent grip in wet conditions and is adapted to minimise rolling resistance to enhance fuel economy. Here is a news release translated from Japanese.

Here is a mini tire review of the Falken ZE329. So far I can say they are delivering the same mpg, and are quieter and better riding than the OEM Bridgestone EL400-02 tires. I was very happy to pull 49mpg on a 40 mile drive! So far I've gone about 600 miles on the current tank and the display shows 44.5mpg. This includes running the AC in the afternoon - we have had temps in the 90s the past week from the hot "Santa Ana" winds. My last tank (with the Bridgestones) displayed 45mpg when I filled up. The tires are at at 42psi front and 40psi rear (the same pressures I ran the OEM Bridgestones at for 47K miles.) They are H rated, 51psi max, and 480-A-A on treadwear (60K warranty).

Consumer Reports had the Falken ZE512 as the top pick all season tire in 2005, and the Falken ZE912 as the one of the top all season UHP tires in Nov 2007. From what I can tell the ZE329 is an improvement on the ZE512, designed for lower rolling resistance, quieter, and better wet traction.

 

Thanks I'm still leaning towards these tires, but I'm going to milk every mile i can out of the OEMs.

 

Here's an update to my tire situation. I was getting 55-58mpg pretty easily on the OEM Dunlops. Bought new Michelin Exalto's and started getting 46-50mpg. I did like the quality of these tires, lower noise, smooth and better handling BUT I bought this car to get super HIGH mileage. I really had to work hard to get higher MPG numbers out of the Michelins. So I decided to return them using the 30 day total satisfaction guarantee from Michelin.

Already two tanks on my NEW OEM Dunlops and I'm already getting 54-55mpg (and still climbing! I'll be getting 57-60mpg in no time.). For mild climates like Southern California, these tires aren't bad. Heck, I went 64000 miles on my first set! One thing I did notice right away is that these tires roll like crazy! I can coast much farther on the Dunlops and maintain speed with much less accelerator input. I'll be sticking with OEM tires!

Ultimately, your tire choice depends on what YOU want from your car. I'm satisfied with my choice - I want HIGH mileage!

 

Right. With present technology, oem is the only way to go if fe is your main concern. I read a study that said high traction and treadwear in tires=high rr,=low fe. Notice how the treadwear number on the stockers is so low(320-380)? You can't have high treadwear, traction and fe all in one tire, yet. Weight is important, too. Not too many 18# a/m tires out there. The best chance we have in the aftermarket is to find an all-season tire with specs that closely match oem.
I just replaced my worn-out oem dunlops after 33k with oem bridgestones; fe is practically the same right away, and will continue to improve as tread wears down.

 

I've been running Michelin Harmony's for around 40,000 miles now and I have loved them every mile. Im hopping to get another 30k-40k out of them because the tread is still looking decent. I run them at 45psi and rotate every oil change. Mpg is in sig...

Harmony TireRack link;
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....nSpeedRating=S

My next set I will be buying;
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....nSpeedRating=S

 

I just replaced my tires this weekend on my 2006 HCH II. I had 46K on the original Dunlops and needed to replace them. To be honest I drive in LA and average about 42-44 MPG per tank. I could probably drive the car better and get better mileage, but it is what it is.

I almost replaced the Dunlops about 3 months after I bought the car. I had a blow-out on the freeway and had to replace a tire. I never really felt too safe on those Dunlops.

I opted for the Michelin HydroEdge ($540 out the door) because of the quality and safety of the Michelin brand and the fact that these tires are rated for 90K miles. If I take care of them, I should be able to get 100K out of them. If I lose a little in gas mileage, I can live with that. The bottom line is I feel safer, will not have to replace them for quite a while.

 

In looking through this whole string quickly and from recent personal experience, I think I've made the assessment that it's best to stick with the two original OEM tires (Dunlop and Bridgestone B381) if you want to get the maximum MPG (which is what the car is really meant for). If I want power, handling, snow/rain support, I'll drive my 04' Subauru STI.

Anyway, that said, I just thought I should share a personal experience. This is my wife's car and I let her go out to tirerack.com and do all the research on how best to replace the tires, she was looking for a good all weather performance tire and came to the conclusion to use the Goodyear Assurance Tripletrends. However, our local dealer tried to hose her over and gave her an 'equivalent' Cooper tire, which happens to be one of the ones mentioned in this thread -- the Cooper CS4 Touring T. When I found out what they had done to her, I was furious and went back in with a vengeance, they told me to figure out what we want to do and they'll do whatever it takes to make us happy, so I think we're going to go back in and get the Bridgestone B381 OEMs. But a few comments...

We're about a week in on these tires and they are LOUD, you feel every little road bump, and the mileage is down about 33%, down from high 40's, low 50's to LOW 30's!!!! I saw a lot of posts about running 5k+, etc., and I understand that as you wear in the tires, this will get better, but there is NO way you'll make up that kind of percentage MPG, so seeing as the car was meant for MPG, we're going back to the Bridgestones. And I would do everything in your power to avoid the Cooper's (at least on this car). I really wish we had gotten the original tire we were after (the Goodyear's) so I could at least see if they were everything everyone said they were, but based on some other reviews I've read, even those will result in an 5-15MPG loss, even if it's gained back over time, that's just unacceptable....if I want bad mileage I'll roll in my track, trail, and snow eating STI, no reason to try to make the hybrid our one size fits all car.

 

ngeier, you might be glad you didn't get the Goodyear Assurance Tripletreads. Had a set on my Camry and loved them, but they are very noisy around 55 mph in the Civic size. Otherwise excellent for handling, rain and snow, and fuel mileage is satisfactory...