Changed Tyres To Michelin Energy - Now Low Mpg?

[ProfZarkov]

Hi

Just changed the front tyres from new.

The Prius came with good Bridgestone ones but these were showing signs of wear (16k).

I opted for the Michelin Energy ones, well, for obvious reasons and also they did a good price plus Michelin give you £10 back in the form of a fuel voucher.

We noticed that the tracking was ou, it veered to the leftt and the mpg was down by 10% - so took it back.

Tracking fixed but mpg still -10%.

Not what I expected from "Energy" tyres.

The only other variable was a tankful of fuel from a different station but this doesn't usually have much bearing on the mpg.

There could be something up with the motor but has anyone had mpg concerns over these tyres?

Steve

[Mike169]

Hi, just a thought, why not swop your wheels/tyres front to rear and see what happens?

Regards Mike169

[ProfZarkov]

would that really make a difference?

off into town (Bristol) today - so it'll get a decent run - will examine mpg's then

the steering does feel a lot heavier with these tyres but then they are quite different to the Bridgestone which almost had no tread (by design)

[FROSTYBALLS]

Where Which? has included the Michelin Energy Saver in their tyre tests, they have only been awarded 4/5 stars for fuel economy, which is on a par with several tyres from other manufacturers.

The Energy Saver + though scored the full 5 stars.

Industry recommendations are to rotate rear tyres to the front, and to put new tyres on the rear as it provides safer handling.

[Mike169]

I was thinking it would put your original make of tyres, Bridgestones back on the front if you don't like the Michelin's.

Mike.

[ProfZarkov]

OK

I'll give it a trial today and see how it goes - maybe then I'll swap the tyres around.

Thanks for your suggestions.

[ProfZarkov]

Hello again

Managed 57.4 on a good round trip - so def 10% down.

Michelin did reply to my query:

Thank
you for your enquiry about Fuel Consumption.

Fuel consumption, tyre wear rate and rolling resistance, improves as the remaining
tread depth of a tyre decreases. This is a result of less tread
distortion/flexing, resulting in less energy absorption. A new set of tyres may increase the fuel
consumption slightly, compared to your recent worn set. But comparisons can only
be drawn over the whole life of the tyre.

Right. Hmm, Thanks for that.

If it doesn't improve, I'll change the tyres around and see what that does.

Kind
Regards

Julie

Consumer
Contact Team

[Mike169]

My best comment is a new tyre has 9mm of tread on it so therefore an older worn one may have only 2mm of tread so that effectively changes the overall diameter of the tyre by 14mm which will effectively change the gear ratio.

If you want you 10% back try swopping F-R and see what results you get?

Mike.

[Bibsy]

To a certain extent over inflating results in better mpg. If they are heavy, perhaps the fitters have under inflated a bit? That could make the mpg worse.

For what it's worth I normally run mine at 36 all round, and every time the garage do anything it comes back set to manufacturer's settings, which is about 32 I think from memory.

I also have Michelin Energy, btw.

[Mike169]

I personally rate Michelin tyres, i have bought 4 recently for my wife's Mercedes (Sorry!) so am sorry to read you are not happy with them..............Good Year and Continental are good too. a very close 2nd, Continental are #1 when it comes to winter tyres, Nokian WRD3 are arguably better but mainly because they are around 15% cheaper, they are Scandinavian tyres.

Mike

[ProfZarkov]

Early days - just a bit shocked at the difference - like steering thru porage!

To be honest the old ones had done 21k - I just checked, so they were pretty worn down but why should they give 62 + mpg when these new "Energy Savers" return 54-

I'll give em some more miles but will thendo what folk suggest - swap them with the rear ones.

The originals were Bridgestone B250's.

Thanks for all your advice.

[Peter2673]

Agree with above comments re pressure- you don't mention if you have checked the pressures, but if under inflated even slightly the steering feels heavy and consumption goes up. Some mpg enthusiasts inflate above the manufacturer's recommended pressure which gives a slight gain in consumption at the expense of a jiggly ride

[kithmo]

I agree, pressures, up em 4-5 psi. If you're experiencing heavy steering at the correct pressures then I'd suspect the front wheels are toeing out too much. Were the old tyres worn more on the inside.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I found this very issues years ago. The Prius is VERY susceptible economy differences if the very best low rolling resistance tyres are not used. I had Ecopia's on my car from stock and the garage ordered the wrong replacements - same tyre name BUT without the Ecopia at the end denoting low rolling resistance. My fuel economy collapsed in the way you describe.

As I'd actually asked for Ecopia's the garage accepted their mistake and replaced them with the correct ones. Economy immediately went back up.

It is now much easier to check which tyres give the best economy, with those rated at B or above. I've checked blackcircles website and it appears the Micheline Enery tyres have 6 different tyres to choose from, rated from B (good) to E (shocking) for fuel economy. To add confusion, the E rated tyres cost the same as the B rated ones.

I fear you've learnt an expensive lesson. Next time double and tripple check the tyre you're getting is a low rolling resistant tyre offering good fuel economy. A 10% loss in fuel economy on a car doing 35 mpg is barely noticable, but 10% loss on a car doing 55 mpg average is.

I've got the crappy 15 inch wheels and have stuck with the Bridgestone Ecopia's all the way through. I've been through fronts every 20k miles due to the town taxi use.

I used to use the ER300 Ecopia tyre but that is no longer sold so will get the EP150 Ecopia next time. That is rated a B for fuel economy - the same as the ER300 was. They cost £60.00 fully fitted and are also very quietly rated. Think the 16 inch wheels are more expensive though.

[duncanda]

I'm about to get 2 new front tyres for my Prius and I currently have Bridgestone B250's and was surpirsed to see that they're only rated F for economy and C for wet grip, whereas Bridgestone Ecopia EP001S BSW are rated as A for economy and A for wet grip. Should I get a couple of Ecopia and change the remaining B250's when they wear out?

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I'm about to get 2 new front tyres for my Prius and I currently have Bridgestone B250's and was surpirsed to see that they're only rated F for economy and C for wet grip, whereas Bridgestone Ecopia EP001S BSW are rated as A for economy and A for wet grip. Should I get a couple of Ecopia and change the remaining B250's when they wear out?

You nearly fell for the mistake my garage made - expensive mistake for them. The Bridgestone B250's on your car are not a UK tyre. They're the stock tyre used on the Prius. There are not the same as the B250 sold in the UK (clear as mud eh?). The stock tyre on your car is a low rolling resistance tyre, but the B250 sold in the UK most certainly is not (as you rightly pointed out).

I'd go for whatever gives the best fuel economy and grip for the price. It used to be the ER300 Ecopia but I believe it is changed to something else. If the EP100S is double A rated, then I'd go for that and let us all know how it is.

[johalareewi]

New tyre time for me soon. The old Michelin Energy Savers have been great but there seems to be a whole bunch of them now. Some with better ratings than others. For a 195/65/R15 I have found

Michelin ENERGY SAVER MO GRNX

Hankook Ventus Prime 2 K115

Hankook Kinergy Eco K425

Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance

Dunlop Sport BluResponse

Continental Eco Contact 5

Toyo nanoenergy 2

Kuhmo KH27

The Bridgestone Ecopia EP001S is available in an H rating, but not a V.

Should be OK but it isn't cheap.

Any thoughts on the above?

[Thunderbolt]

Hi Steve, I bought four Michelin Energy last autumn and am getting higher MPG than on the Bridgestone tyres the car had from new. I have a 2008 series 2 Prius . The computer was showing 56.5 MPG before and now hovers around the 60 MPG. My Bridgestones lasted 32000 miles. I saw 63.3 MPG on the M3 the other evening coming home in heavy traffic and I stayed in the inside lane at 65 MPH on cruise

Thunderbolt.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

But WHICH Mitchelin Energies did you buy? There are 6 or 7 different types of Michelin Energies coming up for my car rated from A to F for fuel economy.

It's almost like saying you bought a Toyota and get marvelous fuel economy. Which Toyota? The V8 Amazon or a Prius? ;)

[Thunderbolt]

Hello Grumpy, I bought the tyres from Black Circles they are called Energy saver G1 and cost one hundred and eight pounds forty seven pence each. Only 3 types were shown for my car so I presume your tyre size is different to mine. The rating was C for fuel economy, there were none with a better rating.

It's Prius V8 by the way !!

Thunderbolt

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Hello Grumpy, I bought the tyres from Black Circles they are called Energy saver G1 and cost one hundred and eight pounds forty seven pence each. Only 3 types were shown for my car so I presume your tyre size is different to mine. The rating was C for fuel economy, there were none with a better rating.

It's Prius V8 by the way !!

Thunderbolt

£108? Crikey I'm glad I got the naff 15 inchers. They're about £60 fitted for an 'A' economy rated tyre.

A V8 Prius? We laugh but I recon some of our Amercan friends might think it a great idea. You should see the US forum. Some of them moan the Prius is too slow, too small, doesn't accelerate fast enough and wouldn't it be a btter trade off to get less economy and go quicker. Most of them 'get it', but some don't it would seem :)

[Duffryn]

Had my car in for the recall last week, and as is usual the dealer performed a 'safety check' on it. One of the tyres is showing some wear now, so dealer quoted £136 for a 'Michelin', £98 for Avon (but not in stock), and £55 for a Landsail!

No idea at all what a Landsail is (probably take an educated guess though!), and they had them in stock, but I'm very surprised that a Toyota dealer would list something of this ilk as a viable option.

Hmm - think I'll stick with my usual Michelin when the time comes.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

A Landsail? lol, sounds ominous already and I've never seen one. I can't imagine it being any good.

The way I look at it is that we have a car that has cost us a significant amount of money. The tyres will generally last from 20k to 40k miles (front/rear) which is probably a good 3 or 4 years for the average person. The saving of £200 over having quality, named tyres is not worth it. I'd personally rather pay £200 more (or £50 on my cheaper 15 inchers) for the peace of mind of having quality rubber on my car.

The old cliche of them being your only contact with the road is so true. Cheap tyres for a cheap car. I've seen drivers who've scrimped on cheap tyres or even part worn tyres and ended up in a ditch at 2am on a rainy night. When I was young and foolish I'd get the cheapest tyre but with hindsight many of them were useless. Stick with Michelin or Avon or Bridgestone or Dunlop etc. Leave Landsail and other bizarre offerings for someone else.

[Mike169]

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Landsail/LS288.htm

Hhhhmmmmmmm

Mike

[MLW2233]

(GEN 2, 16 inch wheels)

You may need 4 tyres for a fair comparison.

I bought 4 Michelin Energy+ tyres last year to replace the original Bridgestone's (44K on the rear, and two cheap Chinese tyres on the front).

I can't really say I have noticed a difference really over nearly a year. 66 mph on a nice easy summer run, and about 55 mph now in mixed townish driving.

Use to like Goodyear NCT's before, but went for Michelins for the claimed fuel economy.

I suspect (given previous experience) that these tyres will last and last. Michelins do.

In the end I find tyres a really subjective thing. Over 40 years of driving without looking, all the top makes feel much the same.

What did make a big difference was having it tracked on a Hamilton machine. Goes down the road like a bullet now, dead straight and very stable.

If I was offered a free set.....I'd always choose Michelin.