Terrible Tyres

[Cyker]

Yeah I was pleasantly surprised the Mk4 came with a spare as standard (Except on the pano ones) - It makes me feel Toyota have been listening to our complaints about them trying to remove them!

[PeteB]

Just now, Cyker said:

Yeah I was pleasantly surprised the Mk4 came with a spare as standard (Except on the pano ones) - It makes me feel Toyota have been listening to our complaints about them trying to remove them!

If did, until they start deleting spare wheels from other models (like RAV4 Excel had 18" wheels and a space saver, recently changed to 19" wheels and repair kit, Plug-in RAV4 in US and Canada comes with space saver, UK model doesn't.

AFAIK the Prius is the only Toyota model which gives the option of smaller wheels on trim levels that default to 17", with a no cost option of a space saver.

[Xerxes]

I had Michelin CrossClimate's (all season tyres) on my previous car (a Mazda) and was very pleased with them, they have a low noise profile, good efficiency and grip ratings compared to a lot of the competition and I found they certainly provided some extra traction/grip in icy conditions.

Not cheap but worth it in my experience.

Will be looking to have some fitted on my Prius+ before the winter arrives.

[QuantumFireball]

On 6/21/2021 at 9:52 PM, PaulDM said:

I also always thought, with all its electronic aids, it was quite difficult to wheelspin a Prius 🙂 apparently not if the tyres are ….

I used Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance most of the time with my Prius and getting the wheels to spin didn't take much effort at all 😛

I recently switched to Bridgestone Turanza T005 on the front and they seem far superior in that respect so far. Seeing that traction control/VSC light flash a lot less often.

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, QuantumFireball said:

I used Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance most of the time with my Prius and getting the wheels to spin didn't take much effort at all 😛

I recently switched to Bridgestone Turanza T005 on the front and they seem far superior in that respect so far. Seeing that traction control/VSC light flash a lot less often.

That’s a surprise to me, I am using same Goodyear efficient grip performance since 2016 on two different cars and never have any wheel spin at all, both cars are like glued to the road in any conditions except winter but I have different tyres for that season. Currently with egp2 since last March and these are excellent, worn out a bit made them even quieter but still very sticky, maybe size difference play a role, are yours 195/65 R15? 

[QuantumFireball]

Yes, mine are that size. In situations like making right turns on country roads with no visibility where I want to get off the wrong side of the road as quickly as possible, the chances of the tyres losing grip is high (even when dry) - though it's brief and never in an uncontrollable way.

In the wet, going over worn/smooth manhole covers or freshly painted lines (lots of narrow streets around here) would regularly set off the traction control. I haven't driven enough with the Bridgestones yet to see how they compare in that respect.

I also used Bridgestone Weather Control A005 (all-season) for a while and they didn't seem much different to the Goodyears in terms of grip in any conditions, and rolling resistance was probably a bit higher (not certain on that). I've gone back to summer tyres as they didn't really seem to offer any advantage.

[Catlover]

1 hour ago, QuantumFireball said:

Yes, mine are that size. In situations like making right turns on country roads with no visibility where I want to get off the wrong side of the road as quickly as possible, the chances of the tyres losing grip is high (even when dry) - though it's brief and never in an uncontrollable way.

In the wet, going over worn/smooth manhole covers or freshly painted lines (lots of narrow streets around here) would regularly set off the traction control. I haven't driven enough with the Bridgestones yet to see how they compare in that respect.

I also used Bridgestone Weather Control A005 (all-season) for a while and they didn't seem much different to the Goodyears in terms of grip in any conditions, and rolling resistance was probably a bit higher (not certain on that). I've gone back to summer tyres as they didn't really seem to offer any advantage.

Do you have the tyre pressures correctly set???? Your tyres seem to be spinning excessively.  I got the same size tyres on my Prius as you, but Toyo Nanoenergy. Seems a few on here don’t like Toyo but I find them wearing well and the grip ok. Only time I have spun the wheels was starting from rest on loose chipping road.

[PeteB]

It can be surprising how easily wheels can spin when at or near full lock.  In the late 90s I had a 1.8 litre automatic Volvo, where the engine and gearbox were horribly mismatched.  The 16 valve engine was really gutless below 4000 rpm (about 28mph in first gear) above which it was really quite powerful. It's Pirelli tyres had phenomenal grip (but terrible wear) and with the wheels centred on full throttle it seemed to take forever to reach the 28mph when the power cut it.

However, a regular journey included pulling from a narrow, single-track road onto a wide country road with a 60mph limit, but where the average speed was at least 80mph!  I had to start the turn with the steering straight ahead, then apply full lock and gradually increase the throttle to full as I straightened up.

Even with this gutless engine, it was easy to spin the left wheel if too much power was applied too soon, and once that started the rpm quickly reached the magic 4000 and both wheels spun.

When the Gen 3 Prius first arrived (the first version with PWR mode) it easily spun its wheels.  One of my drivers seemed to use PWR mode all the time and came in for new front tyres after just 10,000 miles!

[TonyHSD]

3 hours ago, QuantumFireball said:

Yes, mine are that size. In situations like making right turns on country roads with no visibility where I want to get off the wrong side of the road as quickly as possible, the chances of the tyres losing grip is high (even when dry) - though it's brief and never in an uncontrollable way.

In the wet, going over worn/smooth manhole covers or freshly painted lines (lots of narrow streets around here) would regularly set off the traction control. I haven't driven enough with the Bridgestones yet to see how they compare in that respect.

I also used Bridgestone Weather Control A005 (all-season) for a while and they didn't seem much different to the Goodyears in terms of grip in any conditions, and rolling resistance was probably a bit higher (not certain on that). I've gone back to summer tyres as they didn't really seem to offer any advantage.

The all season no good for you? Are they at least quiet as summer one? 

[MyOpinionIsWorthless]

9 hours ago, QuantumFireball said:

Yes, mine are that size. In situations like making right turns on country roads with no visibility where I want to get off the wrong side of the road as quickly as possible, the chances of the tyres losing grip is high (even when dry) - though it's brief and never in an uncontrollable way.

In the wet, going over worn/smooth manhole covers or freshly painted lines (lots of narrow streets around here) would regularly set off the traction control. I haven't driven enough with the Bridgestones yet to see how they compare in that respect.

I also used Bridgestone Weather Control A005 (all-season) for a while and they didn't seem much different to the Goodyears in terms of grip in any conditions, and rolling resistance was probably a bit higher (not certain on that). I've gone back to summer tyres as they didn't really seem to offer any advantage.

Give the Dunlop’s a try. On my mk 2 had what you experienced with leaping forward when breaking on manhole covers as the tc and abs let go. Stopped when I put the Dunlop’s on. 

[QuantumFireball]

On 8/13/2021 at 1:08 PM, TonyHSD said:

The all season no good for you? Are they at least quiet as summer one? 

They didn't really seem any better than the Goodyears in terms of grip, but cost more. Though saying that we didn't have any substantial snow the past couple of winters and a handful of days with ice, so maybe it's just this climate where it doesn't make much sense (we have a bad winter about once a decade!).

They may have been slightly noisier than the summer tyres, but not enough to be a problem.

On 8/13/2021 at 6:53 PM, PaulDM said:

Give the Dunlop’s a try. On my mk 2 had what you experienced with leaping forward when breaking on manhole covers as the tc and abs let go. Stopped when I put the Dunlop’s on. 

The Bridgestone Turanzas seem very good in this respect so far.

[Phil T]

My 2018 PHV came with Toyo's they would spin up in the dry! I quickly sourced some Goodyear Vector 4season and they are working great, wet or dry, and the last winters have been no problem. and mileage wear and fuel consumption are good too. Cheap too 😗

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, Phil T said:

My 2018 PHV came with Toyo's they would spin up in the dry! I quickly sourced some Goodyear Vector 4season and they are working great, wet or dry, and the last winters have been no problem. and mileage wear and fuel consumption are good too. Cheap too 😗

Great, are they quieter on motorway journeys too?
I currently use efficient grip performance 2 , slightly worn out now (second season) and they had became even quieter and very pleasant on long trips, performance unchanged and  excellent in all conditions except winter but I have a separate set for that time. 
Thanks 

[Cyker]

The traction control on mine has so far prevented me from getting any wheel spin! It's a nice change, as there is a sharp right-turn I have to make from a stand-still on the way home (T-junction emerge), and it's a torture test for tyres - Only the most grippy will not wheel spin on a full-lock hard launch!

 

[1990autoenthu]

I don't have any experience with Dunlop tires. I usually choose Michelin PS4 whenever I need to replace the summer tires on my car. 

[Phil T]

TonyHSD

They are a bit noisey up to 40 MPH then little difference to normal tyres, but very reassuring, good in mud too. But after the Toyo's they seemed very quiet.

I seem to have little in the way of traction control, if it's supposed to have it ,I might have turned it off, and I'm buggered if I can find any way of turning it on.

[Ten Ninety]

On 9/3/2021 at 3:05 PM, Phil T said:

I seem to have little in the way of traction control, if it's supposed to have it ,I might have turned it off, and I'm buggered if I can find any way of turning it on.

I suspect the traction control was never recalibrated for the PHV in EV mode with its very different torque characteristics. I've done full-on smoking burnouts pulling out into traffic when I had the Bridgestones on. The Dunlops have fixed this, and after a few experiments there is no doubt they provide significantly better grip in dry and wet conditions if 'pressing on'.

However, grip is about the only thing the Dunlops are good at. Disappointingly, the unnatural quietness I reported previously has now disappeared after a couple of thousand miles. That's not just my brain recalibrating - there is now a big gap again between road noise in the PHV and the Lexus, which had all but disappeared when the Dunlops were first fitted.

The fuel economy hit remains dire. I'm down at least 5-6 miles on summer EV range and still struggling to see 150mpg on journeys where the Bridgestones would consistently deliver 200+. To put that in context, for my particular weekly drive the Dunlops are currently costing me between 1-2 pence per mile more to run. That relative increase is likely to get worse over winter. At 13000+ miles per year, I really should sack them off and go back to the Bridgestones as I'd recover that additional cost well within the life of the tyres.

[TonyHSD]

Usually tyres get quieter when the tread depth is reduced unless they get tread deformed due to a poor manufacturer quality or suspension issue., they can become uneven with many high spots and start to sound like an old school winter tyres or worn out bearings.,  my Goodyear efficient grip performance 2 has now down to around 5mm after 40k miles of travel and became quieter than new while still provide excellent dynamic characteristics in all conditions. I am planning to use them until very last mm of their life, or at least another summer season. 

[Phil T]

On 9/12/2021 at 7:31 AM, Ten Ninety said:

I suspect the traction control was never recalibrated for the PHV in EV mode with its very different torque characteristics. I've done full-on smoking burnouts pulling out into traffic when I had the Bridgestones on. The Dunlops have fixed this, and after a few experiments there is no doubt they provide significantly better grip in dry and wet conditions if 'pressing on'.

However, grip is about the only thing the Dunlops are good at. Disappointingly, the unnatural quietness I reported previously has now disappeared after a couple of thousand miles. That's not just my brain recalibrating - there is now a big gap again between road noise in the PHV and the Lexus, which had all but disappeared when the Dunlops were first fitted.

The fuel economy hit remains dire. I'm down at least 5-6 miles on summer EV range and still struggling to see 150mpg on journeys where the Bridgestones would consistently deliver 200+. To put that in context, for my particular weekly drive the Dunlops are currently costing me between 1-2 pence per mile more to run. That relative increase is likely to get worse over winter. At 13000+ miles per year, I really should sack them off and go back to the Bridgestones as I'd recover that additional cost well within the life of the tyres.

I'm glad it not me losing my marbles, with the torque of the electric motor I find it difficult to cut wheel spin when I need a quick getaway when pulling out into traffic. I chance a gentle pull out then floor it when the car is straight. With increasing traffic waiting for a gap is often impossible and as for someone letting you out 😱