Ok, so I have over 80,000 miles on my 03 and will probably be needing some new tires here pretty soon. She came stock with the Bridgestones 381's and they have been wearing pretty evenly.

So, the question is, should I stick with the 381's or go to a non-LLR tire? Has anyone noticed any drop in FE when that switched to a non-LLR or is it pretty much the same?

I'm getting around 51 mpg right now, and I really don't want to compromise that.

The 03 HCH I drive at work came with the "Dumblop's" and boy do those tires stink!!!

Howard

 

I replaced my Dunlops with Continental ContiTouringContact CV95 - a "LRR" tire according to Continental's own literature. The whole C?95 line is (CH, CV, etc.). You'll find the CH on the GreanSeal report. I've really enjoyed them. However I went up to a 195/60R15 because I put on custom wheels at the same time (Kosei). I think the handling is profoundly better and the noise is marginally better. As for FE, I'm getting typical marks for this time of year. I won't know if the setup is any better until the summer. I feel pretty good saying it hasn't hurt in any way I can tell.

I knocked myself out over the research - there are very few LRR tires out there to choose from. Continental was the only one I could find that actually bragged about being LRR. Dunlop had their SP20's hidden away from mainstream media - I had to call the company to find out if they even made them and where I could get them. It's not a tire they seem to market to the general public. They didn't offer it in a 195/60/15 so they were out anyway. I also considered Michelin Energy series, but they were too heavy.

I'd warn about tire weight - there could be a 2-3 lb difference in some tires even though they are the same size. I won't start a whole "does 2 lbs of unsprung weight matter" debate. I was just surprised that in a 195/60/15 I found tires ranging from 18-21 lbs.

 

I ordered and replaced the Bridgesone 381s with the same. Mine were showing wear at 50K, and rather than risk a blowout, I replaced them.
They were special ordered by the local tire distributor (STS), in Flemington, NJ. Three days later, they were on my car.

If I remember correctly, the 381s were the best in rolling resisitance, from a list a saw about a year ago. They were a bit pricey, however, and I didn't have time to cost compare.

 

I replaced my '06 HCH's Dunlops with the Sumitomo HTR 200. It's a LRR tire with a max PSI of 51, though I appear to get 1-2 mpg lower than with the stock tires, and I'm running it at 50/48. But the handling is vastly superior so I'm very happy. BTW these are summer tires.

 

Two days after I took delivery of my car, I replaced the Dunlops with Nokian WR's. Nokian does not explicitly say that the WR is LRR, but according to the trip computer on the drive home from the tire dealer, I saw no drop in mileage. The WR's are expensive (just under $500 mounted/balanced for an HCH2) but if you live in an area that gets a decent amount of snow, they're the best all-season tire you'll find.

 

I did this too, 195/60R15 but kept the original rims the handling is very reponsive (Like a sports car) however I did not get the touring tire as the tire shop did not have any in that size. So i put an "H" rated Mastercraft (Firestone) tire on a d boy you can sure hear the tires humm down the road but for $190 for 4 mounted,balance & free rotation for the life of the tire w/ 40,000 warr. I wasn't going to pass it up . Kinda wish I did though "road noise"!

 

I kinda want to keep the same size. My local tire dealer is trying to sell me a set of Michelin X. I doubt they are LRR, but about $290 installed. He told me that as far as he knows, the Prius is the only hybrid that requires "high pressure" tires and that the HCH does not.

Anyone know if that's true?

Howard

 

Where did you find Sumitomo tires? I'm in So. Cal.

Howard

 

Actually in a recent Consumer Reports test, the Michelin X and the Michelin Harmony scored highest in the rolling resistance category (Lowest rolling resistance). About 15 - 20 tires were test IIRC.

 

The Goodyear Integrity's that come on Prius are not LRR tires. The HCH2's tires may be LRR due to the very weird tread (it has two sipeless offset bands - only other tire I've seen that feature is on high performance tires) but I can't find any info about the SP31 on Dunlop's website.