Tyre Prices & Life Expectancy

[monya]

Dear friends

The new Auris came with 215/45/R15 Michelin Primacy HP which is very nice as I appreciate decent rubber between me and the road.

However, having had to replace one due to a puncture I was less pleased with the cost at £165 although kwikfit quoted £195 so I guess I wasn't done by Toyota who replaced it.

How many miles can I expect on these before needing new ones cos I'm sure not looking forward to it

I presume Prius owners have similar tyres??

[dwilson]

Dear friends

The new Auris came with 215/45/R15 Michelin Primacy HP which is very nice as I appreciate decent rubber between me and the road.

However, having had to replace one due to a puncture I was less pleased with the cost at £165 although kwikfit quoted £195 so I guess I wasn't done by Toyota who replaced it.

How many miles can I expect on these before needing new ones cos I'm sure not looking forward to it

I presume Prius owners have similar tyres??

My Prius has Bridgestones. Think you will find the Auris is quite heavy on tyres, especially the front ones. and you will probably be looking to change after 20k.

[fuel miser]

I'm due to put a pair of Michelin Energy Savers on the front of mine next week, gen 2 Prius requires 195 x 55 R16. They'll cost me £85 each from an independent tyre dealer I use, had a look on the Kwik-Fit site and they currently list them for £100 each. I have Michelin Energy Savers on my other Prius which are wearing extremely well (plus there's much less road noise than the Bridgestones that were on when I bought it), I'd guess they're good for doing about 30k.

Edit:- just double checked Kwik-Fit's figures as they seemed quite cheap, yes they're listed at £100:62, but there's a £9:50 balance and valve charge, plus £1:50 tyre disposal, so a pair would actually cost me £223:24. I can but two for £170:00 all in!

[Terry953]

Monya

After my bad experience of scraping my [AURIS] alloys the other week, just out of interest I researched the replacement price in case I irreparably damaged a tyre in the future and was gobsmacked to get a price of £142 - Now after reading your experience I am double gobsmacked, thanks for ruining my weekend. [Only joking :shut it: ]

Cheers Terry

[Dave R.]

I'm due to put a pair of Michelin Energy Savers on the front of mine next week, gen 2 Prius requires 195 x 55 R16. They'll cost me £85 each from an independent tyre dealer I use, had a look on the Kwik-Fit site and they currently list them for £100 each. I have Michelin Energy Savers on my other Prius which are wearing extremely well (plus there's much less road noise than the Bridgestones that were on when I bought it), I'd guess they're good for doing about 30k.

My Gen III Prius came with Michelins (I presume Energy Savers) - I've just had to replace the front tyres at 30,000 miles. Down side is that I didn't make sure the new tyres were Energy Savers, so mpg has just plumetted from high 50's to just over 50 mpg

[Grumpy Cabbie]

When looking at a new car always always check the prices of tyre replacements if you do high mileage and have to pay for them yourself! Those lovely shiney alloys with super low profile tyres might look good, but they'll break your wallet if you ever curb them or come to replace the tyres.

Just put two new Bridgestone Turanza ER300 Ecopias on at a cost of £140 all in, all fitted - two tyres for the price of one for the Auris! Yikes.

Got the dealer to price match the local tyre warehouse so even more of a result.

[monya]

Can't see why toyota spec bigger tyres on the Auris than the Prius, which is a larger car

[ashpole]

Dear friends

The new Auris came with 215/45/R15 Michelin Primacy HP which is very nice as I appreciate decent rubber between me and the road.

However, having had to replace one due to a puncture I was less pleased with the cost at £165 although kwikfit quoted £195 so I guess I wasn't done by Toyota who replaced it.

How many miles can I expect on these before needing new ones cos I'm sure not looking forward to it

I presume Prius owners have similar tyres??

I checked Costco's price for the Primacy HP 215/45/17, they want £129 per corner fully fitted. A fair price if you can get access to a store.

[timberwolf]

As well as the distance that the tyres have lasted, I think it would be useful to know what tyre tread depth the old tyres got down to.

[Terry953]

Can't see why toyota spec bigger tyres on the Auris than the Prius, which is a larger car

To appeal to the discerning potential owner = Vanity - Supposed Street Cred - Egotism - One Upmanship et al and IMHO I think they look better. B)

Hey come on guys n'girls, you have to specify them in the first place, so how many out there have 17"s ?

[Ancient Nerd]

A bit more information on tyre life for both Gen II and Gen III.

After the miraculous performance of my Gen III tyres (Michelin, 17 inch) for the first 20,000 miles (See Gen Iii Tyre Wear Is it really this good ), tyre wear is closer to something sensible. The following figures are those recorded during the safety report by the servicing Toyota dealer:

    * 10,000 mile service. Tread depth   All tyres 6/6/6 mm  
    * 17,000 miles. Brakes reprogrammed. All tyres 6/6/6 mm  
    * 20,000 mile service. Tread depth   All tyres 7/7/7 mm  
    * 30,000 mile service. Tread depth - Front     4/4/4 mm 
                                         Rear left 4/4/4 mm 
                                             right 5/5/6 mm 

As you can see, doing it this way provides a consistent, professionally measured set of figures. :P

The previous Gen II Prius stayed in the family. When I passed it on at 40,000 miles, there was 3mm tread left on the front and 4-5 mm on the rear. The tyres were eventually replaced at around 47,000 (front) and 55,000 (rear). Still legal, but not by a lot.

The original tyres were Bridgestone Potenzas. These were replaced with Michelin Energy Savers. These were significantly quieter. I haven't measured the tread depth, but they look likely to last at least as long, as there is minimal wear, coming up to 80,000.

[Doesn'tExist]

Can't see why toyota spec bigger tyres on the Auris than the Prius, which is a larger car

To appeal to the discerning potential owner = Vanity - Supposed Street Cred - Egotism - One Upmanship et al and IMHO I think they look better. B)

Hey come on guys n'girls, you have to specify them in the first place, so how many out there have 17"s ?

Prius T-Spirit has 17's as standard. How do you think the Auris got bigger tyres?

15" just looks wrong, and makes it rather unstable in my opinion. Then again it is all what you are used to, if you moved down in size/class to get the prius you are used to better, if you are moving up you might think it is great....

[timberwolf]

A bit more information on tyre life for both Gen II and Gen III.

After the miraculous performance of my Gen III tyres (Michelin, 17 inch) for the first 20,000 miles (See Gen Iii Tyre Wear Is it really this good ), tyre wear is closer to something sensible. The following figures are those recorded during the safety report by the servicing Toyota dealer:

    * 10,000 mile service. Tread depth   All tyres 6/6/6 mm  
    * 17,000 miles. Brakes reprogrammed. All tyres 6/6/6 mm  
    * 20,000 mile service. Tread depth   All tyres 7/7/7 mm  
    * 30,000 mile service. Tread depth - Front     4/4/4 mm 
                                         Rear left 4/4/4 mm 
                                             right 5/5/6 mm 

As you can see, doing it this way provides a consistent, professionally measured set of figures. :P

Cool, I wonder if my tread depth will also improve around 20,000 miles? :)

The previous Gen II Prius stayed in the family. When I passed it on at 40,000 miles, there was 3mm tread left on the front and 4-5 mm on the rear. The tyres were eventually replaced at around 47,000 (front) and 55,000 (rear). Still legal, but not by a lot.

The original tyres were Bridgestone Potenzas. These were replaced with Michelin Energy Savers. These were significantly quieter. I haven't measured the tread depth, but they look likely to last at least as long, as there is minimal wear, coming up to 80,000.

Thanks a really useful post. Personally, I tend to have my tyres changed when they are getting close to 3mm. I was looking through the few bits of paper I got back with my first service, I don't have anything with the tread depths.

[dwilson]

[

Thanks a really useful post. Personally, I tend to have my tyres changed when they are getting close to 3mm. I was looking through the few bits of paper I got back with my first service, I don't have anything with the tread depths.

I change mine when they are getting close to 3mm too - improved braking distance in the wet seems well worth spending afew extra pounds.

I check my tread deepths regularly along with the pressures. When I have had these recorded at a service I have noticed they are not as thorough as mine - but give an indication.

[Ancient Nerd]

I agree completely about changing tyres at 3mm. They were about that when I passed the car on at 40,000. I offered to pay for the new tyres. But the new owner, encouraged by servicing Toyota dealer, decided to wait. I still paid, but a few thousand miles later.

My feeling is that grip starts dropping off rapidly at around that point. The legal minimum is just that, it gives some leeway before you get prosecuted for driving on something dangerous.

As a separate point, I find it strange that the 17" wheels are fitted with Michelin Primacy, rather than Energy Savers. I know Energy Savers aren't made in that size, but I guess that probably accounts for the lower mpg of the T-Spirit and T4. It would have been more sensible to find a wheel size that takes low energy tyres.

[Doesn'tExist]

There's been some interesting tests by ADAC and ANWB regarding the so called eco tyres, I'd rather have the extra grip and stopping power of normal ones thank you very much. Besides I get low 70's in mpg in my T-Spirit on my commute from Whipsnade to Farnborough, seems good enough to me.

Next I'll be trying a set of Vredestein Sesenta tyres, absolute brilliant wet weather tyre. Safety first for me.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Talking tyres and problems.

I got two new Bridgestone ER300 Ecopias to replace two on the front. Trouble is after getting the tyres fitted the car pulled to the left quite badly and my mpg's went down! Hmmm. I checked the tyres incase a non low rolling resistance tyre had been fitted by mistake, but they were correct. I then checked the pressures, which again were correct. So I guessed the tracking must have been out so booked it in with the dealers for checking. After a couple hours and a couple test drives later they advised the tracking is fine and the tyres are fine. Odd.

Just filled up for the second time since the new tyres and I'm struggling to get anywhere near 50 mpg! Even after a few long trips where I know from past experience that I could get mid 60's easily. I've inspected the tyres closely and note that one of the new ones is made in Italy and the rest are from France. All the loadings, ratings and the type are the same, just made in a different factory and it is a slightly lighter colour compared to the French ones.

Surely this can't be the cause of my mpg drop? The last time I fitted ER300 Ecopias I fitted them all round and didn't have any mpg hit or need to bed them in. How does tyre manufacturing work? Do Bridgestone outsource the work to Michelin in France and Pirelli in Italy or do they have their own factory in each country? I know I'd be more likely to trust the French tyres as they worked fine for me previously.

Also, what are my chances of trying to convince Bridgestone that their Italian tyres are sh**e and can I swap it to a French one?

[Doesn'tExist]

I think that at the very least when you get 4 news tyres they should be from the same batch. Exactly to avoid problems like those.

[ashpole]

Talking tyres and problems.

I got two new Bridgestone ER300 Ecopias to replace two on the front. Trouble is after getting the tyres fitted the car pulled to the left quite badly and my mpg's went down! Hmmm. I checked the tyres incase a non low rolling resistance tyre had been fitted by mistake, but they were correct. I then checked the pressures, which again were correct. So I guessed the tracking must have been out so booked it in with the dealers for checking. After a couple hours and a couple test drives later they advised the tracking is fine and the tyres are fine. Odd.

Just filled up for the second time since the new tyres and I'm struggling to get anywhere near 50 mpg! Even after a few long trips where I know from past experience that I could get mid 60's easily. I've inspected the tyres closely and note that one of the new ones is made in Italy and the rest are from France. All the loadings, ratings and the type are the same, just made in a different factory and it is a slightly lighter colour compared to the French ones.

Surely this can't be the cause of my mpg drop? The last time I fitted ER300 Ecopias I fitted them all round and didn't have any mpg hit or need to bed them in. How does tyre manufacturing work? Do Bridgestone outsource the work to Michelin in France and Pirelli in Italy or do they have their own factory in each country? I know I'd be more likely to trust the French tyres as they worked fine for me previously.

Also, what are my chances of trying to convince Bridgestone that their Italian tyres are sh**e and can I swap it to a French one?

Tyres are like most other goods and can be faulty (though rare) or of variable quality but within specification. Getting tyres from two different factories, let alone countries, could certainly result in variable specification or quality. Your contract is with whoever you paid for the tyres, not Bridgestone, and if you paid by credit card the issuing bank is jointly liable.

Given the extensive checks you've carried out (by extensive, beyond what I think was necessary/reasonable), I'd approach the supplier and inform them that the two tyres are faulty - it's not for you to determine which is and which is not - and would like them repaired or replaced. As there is no chance of the former then they should offer to replace them. Because the goods are now used you cannot ask for a full refund at this point. If the supplier declines your request then put it in writing to them and your credit card's issuing bank. At the same time inform your issuing bank that you're disputing the transaction due to faulty goods, they too will then pursue the matter.

Some info on the Sale of Goods Act is here. Or an easier to read version is here.

[johalareewi]

What size tyres does the gen3 17" require?

The 15" takes a 195/65R15 which are around £68 each.

[Doesn'tExist]

215/45R17

[johalareewi]

Wow. Have just done a price comparison.

They are a lot more expensive than 15".

Bridgestone Ecopia doesn't seem to be available either.

Interesting review on the Michelin Primacy HP...

While Primacy HP tyres are designed to offer reliable traction in dry and wet conditions for drivers of luxury sport sedans, they are not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.

[Doesn'tExist]

They also corner a lot better, and provide a much more relaxing motorway drive than the 15" wheels/tyres :-)

I've had the Primacy HP's on my BMW 750 but I put the bad snow/ice performance down to rear wheel drive and 315'ish HP on them. It'll be interesting to see the snow performance on a light, narrow tyred, front wheel drive vehicle with limited power. I think it will be just fine.