Replacing the standard '04 tires
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Re: Tire Replacement - Michelin or ?
You didn't say what the speed was. I know some who think "driveway speed" is anything less than 70 mph. Also, a lot of people underestimate the speed they were travelling when they hit something. That's why cops sometimes do skidmark analysis at accident scenes.
Just glad you're okay. Good luck with the tire. As Michelle says, you have a road hazard thingee in your owner's paperwork. If for some strange reason you can't get the same one, you'll need to buy at least two of the same type, so you have the same type on each axle. Sell one of the OEMs, or toss the "extra" OEM tire aside for the next 2X4 that decides to attack your Prius.
I try not to hit anything at any speed. In all of my cars, I've picked up nails, screws, pieces of wire, you name it. All of these things can and do cause tire failure. I'd imagine 2X4's fall into the same "don't hit if you can help it" category.baumgrenze said:...I drove over a 2x4 scrap cut diagonally from the end of a stud at driveway speed...
You didn't say what the speed was. I know some who think "driveway speed" is anything less than 70 mph. Also, a lot of people underestimate the speed they were travelling when they hit something. That's why cops sometimes do skidmark analysis at accident scenes.
Just glad you're okay. Good luck with the tire. As Michelle says, you have a road hazard thingee in your owner's paperwork. If for some strange reason you can't get the same one, you'll need to buy at least two of the same type, so you have the same type on each axle. Sell one of the OEMs, or toss the "extra" OEM tire aside for the next 2X4 that decides to attack your Prius.
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4 Posts
Prius Tires
Thank you Michelle for the heads-up!
My dealership has Saturday service department hours. I called late in the day and spoke with a service representative who must have been quoting from the Goodyear Limited Warranty brochure. Goodyear does not cover 'road hazards.'
We will get this all straightened out tomorrow morning, Monday.
Thank you Michelle for the heads-up!
My dealership has Saturday service department hours. I called late in the day and spoke with a service representative who must have been quoting from the Goodyear Limited Warranty brochure. Goodyear does not cover 'road hazards.'
We will get this all straightened out tomorrow morning, Monday.
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4 Posts
Prius Tires
Hello BIF,
This really happened in a driveway at an undetectably slow speed as I crept forward to finish parking. The block must have flipped up and presented one of the acute angles to the sidewall edge on. There is a ~1" gash in the sidewall. It suggests that the sidewalls are pretty vulnerable.
As I began reading about tires this morning I was led to understand that 'low rolling resistance' tires have no belts in the sidewall at all. They apparently have a reputation for poor treadware. Their 'virtue' is that they apparently increase mileage incrementally thus allowing the manufacturer a slight advantage for advertising purposes.
If anyone has expertise to counter these understandings, please let me know.
Hello BIF,
This really happened in a driveway at an undetectably slow speed as I crept forward to finish parking. The block must have flipped up and presented one of the acute angles to the sidewall edge on. There is a ~1" gash in the sidewall. It suggests that the sidewalls are pretty vulnerable.
As I began reading about tires this morning I was led to understand that 'low rolling resistance' tires have no belts in the sidewall at all. They apparently have a reputation for poor treadware. Their 'virtue' is that they apparently increase mileage incrementally thus allowing the manufacturer a slight advantage for advertising purposes.
If anyone has expertise to counter these understandings, please let me know.
Re: Prius Tires
I'm curious. What type of "belts" are supposed to be in sidewalls?
You could find this out for all of us. When they take that tire off your rim, get a knife and cut that sidewall away, see if there are belts in it.baumgrenze said:...As I began reading about tires this morning I was led to understand that 'low rolling resistance' tires have no belts in the sidewall at all....
I'm curious. What type of "belts" are supposed to be in sidewalls?
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4 Posts
Prius tires
More careful reading about tire construction taught me that the steel belts are placed only under the tread portion of the tire, so that word was not appropriate when talking about sidewalls. Radial tires have plies of fabric which run at right angles to the tread from bead to bead (or wheel rim to wheel rim.) There may be differences in the number of plies and the strength of the fabric used in constructing the tire.
Earlier I was writing from memory. As I took the tire in for repair I observed that the cut was perpendicular to the tread and ran from the shoulder up into the sidewall. I now suspect that the scrap was oriented so that it was on one of its larger surfaces with one of the acute angles oriented so that the tire ran over it at right angles to the tread. Perhaps it fit into one of the perpendicular grooves which are part of the shoulder construction and was guided into the sidewall.
I elected not to ask for the tire back. After all, I paid $5 towards the disposal of all of the tires on the car, it is California law, and old tires are hard to throw away.
My conclusion is that the Goodyear Integrity is pretty vulnerable to unintentional slashes in the sidewall.[/i]
More careful reading about tire construction taught me that the steel belts are placed only under the tread portion of the tire, so that word was not appropriate when talking about sidewalls. Radial tires have plies of fabric which run at right angles to the tread from bead to bead (or wheel rim to wheel rim.) There may be differences in the number of plies and the strength of the fabric used in constructing the tire.
Earlier I was writing from memory. As I took the tire in for repair I observed that the cut was perpendicular to the tread and ran from the shoulder up into the sidewall. I now suspect that the scrap was oriented so that it was on one of its larger surfaces with one of the acute angles oriented so that the tire ran over it at right angles to the tread. Perhaps it fit into one of the perpendicular grooves which are part of the shoulder construction and was guided into the sidewall.
I elected not to ask for the tire back. After all, I paid $5 towards the disposal of all of the tires on the car, it is California law, and old tires are hard to throw away.
My conclusion is that the Goodyear Integrity is pretty vulnerable to unintentional slashes in the sidewall.[/i]
I would not recommend the Michelin HydroEdge tires. Had them one day and told them to take them back. They are a bad fit for the Prius. Why? Because the tires tread produces a noise as if you are driving on a rough asphalt road with pebbles, all the time. The noise never goes way no mater what surface you are actually driving on. I noticed the difference right away. Gone was my quite ride in the Prius. It really bugged my. I got the dealer to put the originals back on; fortunately he still had them (the Goodyear Integrity).
My Prius is new I only had 250 miles on the car. The problem is that Michelin would not take the tires back. I only had them one day. They would trade them for another Michelin tire. The Michelin rep said the Harmony version would be a better fit. It is also an 80,000 mile tire. The HydroEdge has a quiet ride rating of 10 (thats their own number). The Harmony had a quiet ride rating of 8. From that it would seem like the noise would be higher in the Harmony. I told my dealer that I would not try those and yet end up with a third set of tires I had no use for. He is going to sell the HydroEdge and give me the proceeds. He wished he had kept the stickers, because he would have just cleaned them up and sent them back Problem is that the tire size is not a very popular size. Its a non mover. I have used the dealer for a long time and is reputable so I trust him get most of my money back. I also have bought Michelins and have always been happy with them in the past on my other cars (XW4s).
What I did like about the HydroEdge is that I could get by without as much wheel corrections at speed as the Integrity and cornering was a little more responsive.
I will not experiment anymore until the Goodyear tires wears out. Maybe by then there will be enough evidence from owners as to what really worked well for them. Also one must be careful of the ratings that users write in on the tire web sites. Unless the report is for the exact same tire size that you are interested in it might be providing you with the wrong information. Even tires for the same tread pattern can act differently with different widths and aspect ratios.
My Prius is new I only had 250 miles on the car. The problem is that Michelin would not take the tires back. I only had them one day. They would trade them for another Michelin tire. The Michelin rep said the Harmony version would be a better fit. It is also an 80,000 mile tire. The HydroEdge has a quiet ride rating of 10 (thats their own number). The Harmony had a quiet ride rating of 8. From that it would seem like the noise would be higher in the Harmony. I told my dealer that I would not try those and yet end up with a third set of tires I had no use for. He is going to sell the HydroEdge and give me the proceeds. He wished he had kept the stickers, because he would have just cleaned them up and sent them back Problem is that the tire size is not a very popular size. Its a non mover. I have used the dealer for a long time and is reputable so I trust him get most of my money back. I also have bought Michelins and have always been happy with them in the past on my other cars (XW4s).
What I did like about the HydroEdge is that I could get by without as much wheel corrections at speed as the Integrity and cornering was a little more responsive.
I will not experiment anymore until the Goodyear tires wears out. Maybe by then there will be enough evidence from owners as to what really worked well for them. Also one must be careful of the ratings that users write in on the tire web sites. Unless the report is for the exact same tire size that you are interested in it might be providing you with the wrong information. Even tires for the same tread pattern can act differently with different widths and aspect ratios.
Costco installation
Can anyone recommend an alternative? There's no shortage of places that will do the work, but they seem to want upwards of $20 per tire to do it.
Arg. That's what I tried to do but it seems Costco will no longer install tires that were not purchased at Costco. (Or is it Cosco?) This is evidently a new policy enacted in the last few days. My local Costco had told me two weeks ago that it would be fine.DavidNJ said:Get the Falkens from edgeracing.com and have Costco install them.
Can anyone recommend an alternative? There's no shortage of places that will do the work, but they seem to want upwards of $20 per tire to do it.
Does anyone have any experience with Bridgestone MZ-02 winter tires?
I live in a foot hill area that gets alot of wet snow and rain, not much ice.
Someone at work is selling a set of 4 of these (P185/65-14) on rims for only 125.00. 8000 miles on them.
Although I would take a mileage hit on them, seems like a good deal for a few months of the winter.
I live in a foot hill area that gets alot of wet snow and rain, not much ice.
Someone at work is selling a set of 4 of these (P185/65-14) on rims for only 125.00. 8000 miles on them.
Although I would take a mileage hit on them, seems like a good deal for a few months of the winter.
I have had Michelin Hydroedge on my car for 5000 miles. The car handles much better than with the OEM tires. The fuel penalty is very small and they will stop on a dime on a flooded street at 55mph (I have done this) and they stick to the road like glue on dry pavement but MICHELIN TIRES HAVE A BREAK IN PERIOD. You have to give the tire about 1500 miles before they get as quiet as the OEM tires.
Re: Costco installation
Tire Rack (which sells many different tires, but not Falkens) has a list of affiliated local shops for installation that you can arrange tires ordered from them to be sent to and installed on your car at.
If you are looking for the Falken ZE-512, http://www.discounttiredirect.com has them. They appear to be affiliated with the Discount Tire / America's Tire chain, so you may want to ask if you can order from the on-line shop and have them delivered to and installed at the brick and mortar tire store.tuc said:Arg. That's what I tried to do but it seems Costco will no longer install tires that were not purchased at Costco. (Or is it Cosco?) This is evidently a new policy enacted in the last few days. My local Costco had told me two weeks ago that it would be fine.DavidNJ said:Get the Falkens from edgeracing.com and have Costco install them.
Can anyone recommend an alternative? There's no shortage of places that will do the work, but they seem to want upwards of $20 per tire to do it.
Tire Rack (which sells many different tires, but not Falkens) has a list of affiliated local shops for installation that you can arrange tires ordered from them to be sent to and installed on your car at.
Re: Costco installation
You can hardly expect anyone to mount tires for free. It's a lot of work, and you'll want them balanced as well.tuc said:Arg. That's what I tried to do but it seems Costco will no longer install tires that were not purchased at Costco. (Or is it Cosco?) This is evidently a new policy enacted in the last few days. My local Costco had told me two weeks ago that it would be fine.DavidNJ said:Get the Falkens from edgeracing.com and have Costco install them.
Can anyone recommend an alternative? There's no shortage of places that will do the work, but they seem to want upwards of $20 per tire to do it.
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73 Posts
hydroplaning
I imagine that the hydroplaning is somewhat dependent on road engineering.
I do know that with 9,000 kilometres on my Prius, travelling south from Chetwynd, BC, at the speedlimit of 100 kmh I experienced major hydroplaning. It was raining very heavily at the time and I didn't feel comfortable with the handling until I had reduced speed to 80 kmh (50 mph). It happened at several other points on that stretch of highway to Prince George, BC (300 kilometres) when there was heavy rainfall.
We purchased the ECP that provides Road Hazard Protection for 36 mths/ 50,000 kms (30,000 miles) with 100% reimbursement no pro-rating.
Strikes me that I'm going to be getting good gas mileage on my Prius for the warranty period of the tires since we live in Victoria, BC, sometimes referred to as the "WET" Coast of Canada. :wink:
Anybody buying a new Prius who is likely to experience heavy rain is strongly advised to change the tires immediately. What I experienced is not worth the few bucks it is likely to cost for the changeover.
I did mention this hydroplaning to the Toyota dealer in Prince George, BC and was informed that my complaint would have to be addressed by the tire manufacturer.
Duncan
I imagine that the hydroplaning is somewhat dependent on road engineering.
I do know that with 9,000 kilometres on my Prius, travelling south from Chetwynd, BC, at the speedlimit of 100 kmh I experienced major hydroplaning. It was raining very heavily at the time and I didn't feel comfortable with the handling until I had reduced speed to 80 kmh (50 mph). It happened at several other points on that stretch of highway to Prince George, BC (300 kilometres) when there was heavy rainfall.
We purchased the ECP that provides Road Hazard Protection for 36 mths/ 50,000 kms (30,000 miles) with 100% reimbursement no pro-rating.
Strikes me that I'm going to be getting good gas mileage on my Prius for the warranty period of the tires since we live in Victoria, BC, sometimes referred to as the "WET" Coast of Canada. :wink:
Anybody buying a new Prius who is likely to experience heavy rain is strongly advised to change the tires immediately. What I experienced is not worth the few bucks it is likely to cost for the changeover.
I did mention this hydroplaning to the Toyota dealer in Prince George, BC and was informed that my complaint would have to be addressed by the tire manufacturer.
Duncan
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