Just wondering, is there a general consensus on the best replacement tires for a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid, or is it still out for debate?

 

I am planning on replacing my Bridgestone Insignia SE200-02 with the exact same tires when the time comes.

I may consider the Sumitomo HTR 200s but they seem to be somewhat hard to find.

 

People here have experimented and "generally" their mileage has gone down. The HTR200 has received positive reviews here, but is a dedicated summer tire. Only consider it if you have no snow or will use snow tires.

The safe bet is to stick with OE until more folks have tested more tires.

Good luck!

 

These ratings are 2 years old, so I'm sure they've been posted before, but here goes (from Consumer Reports):

Tires with an "Excellent" rating for rolling resistance are the Michelin X Radial DT, Michelin Agility Touring, Michelin Harmony, Hankook Mileage Plus GT H707, Kumho Touring 795 A/S, Toyo 800 Ultra, and Sumitomo HTR T4. Only the Michelin X Radial DT (found only at clubs like Costco, BJ's, etc.; Costco currently has a sale going for Michelins, and all the clubs typically already have mounting and lifetime rotations included in pricing) gets their "Quick Pick" recommendation and is the 2nd best all-season tire overall.

Tires with a "Very Good" rating are the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred, Hankook Mileage Plus II H725, Yokohama Avid TRZ, Michelin HydroEdge, Dayton Grenadier PLE, Kelly Navigator Platinum TE, Goodyear Assurance ComforTred, Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP, and Goodyear WeatherHandler LS. Of these, the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred, Hankook Mileage Plus II H725, Yokohama Avid TRZ, Michelin HydroEdge, and Dayton Grenadier PLE are recommended picks (they're the #1, 3, 4, 5, and 8th best rated tires respectively).

All the top rated tires have overall good wet/snow performance, tread life, noise, etc. so from that I'd probably just look at price and get a good deal.

They tested rolling resistance the same was as GreenSeal does, as far as I can tell, using a dynamometer.

 

Thanks for the list.

Do you know how the tested for LRR?

 

All they say is this:
"Rolling resistance denotes our measurements on a dynamometer."

Reading up on what a dynamometer is, I can maybe guess as to how they'd use it. Like maybe run the tire on a treadmill while the tire is attached to a dynamometer.

 

I have the Sumitomo HTR 200, but I also have a dedicated winter set for the winter months. Overall the Sumitomo are a better tire than OEM. And they are easy to find at tirerack.com... plus they are cheaper than OEM.

 

I've never really bought a seperate set of tires for the winter - living in VA the past few winters have been rather mild, but you never know here really.

In any case, do people that buy winter tires buy another set of wheels too so they can flip them themselves when needed, or do they just take the car to a tire place to get the non-winter tires taken off the wheels and the winter tires put on at the beginning of the season (or before the first projected storm), then do the same after the winter is over?

 

Yes... I have 2 sets of alloy rims... The OEM ones with the Sumitomo and I bought a set of Civic HX alloy rims (very light weight and they look great and are OEM sized) that have the Blizzaks on.

If it hardly snows and you don't drive in the snow and wait for the roads to clear, then Sumitomo can handle that. If on the other hand you find yourself driving in lots of snow... don't think twice. They are a handful in the snow.

 

Yup, extra set of rims from the tire rack. They have some pretty affordable and lightweight ones.