Fuel Efficient Tires
 

Is anyone here familiar with Toyo Tires' Versado Eco? Does it really improve the fuel efficiency of hybrid cars? I am planning to a set for my 2015 Toyota Prius.

I don't. Unfortunately, there also is no good public source of data on such things as the fuel efficiency of specific tire brands. One thing you might do is check to see if any OEMs use them for their fuel efficient vehicles. But if you find none, that does not prove they are not good fuel economy tires, of course.

Compared to the OE tire (the one that came on the car from the factory), those Toyo's are probably worse for fuel economy - but they will probably be better for wear and traction.

Just an FYI: Tires have a technology triangle involving treadwear, traction, and fuel economy. In order to get gains in one area, one or both of the other areas has to be sacrificed.

Car manufacturers generally specify low levels of rolling resistance, so OE tires generally don't wear well, and sometimes have poor traction.

Beware of tires labeled LRR (or something similar - in this case Eco). That means better fuel economy compared to tires with similar wear and traction levels. It does NOT mean low levels of RR.

And lastly, expect to take a hit in fuel economy when you replace wornout tires. New tires have worse fuel economy that the same tire when it is worn out. It has to do with the volume of tread rubber, new vs worn.

"Robbing the rubber Peter to pay the performance Paul"!

I am about to put some Yokohama avid ascend tires on my leaf. I have had that tire on 2 other cars.
They are made in the USA in Roanoke VA and they are cheaper than the big name brands low rolling resistance tires by about $20 per tire.

I have a set of 205/60/16 Bridgestone ecopia EP422+ tires that roll noticeably better than my previous mixed set of 2 Goodyear assurance fuel max and 2 Yokohama YK580s in 215/50/17.

The Ecopia EP422+ is the OEM tire on new Mazda 3.

My leaf has those ecopia tires now and they are about warn out.
The ecopia tires were $40 to $50 more per tire than the yokos.

Are they any good ?
I replaced the stock Bridgestone Ecopia 25 on the GasDwarf almost immediately - instant dislike as to their handling.

The Dwarf is a powerless cart that needs to be kept @ speed as it doesn't really accelerate - 0-60 (100kph) in 16s is otherworldy these days.

(the Ecopias went onto my sister's car - she had some really horrible tyres on it)

My winter tyres are C-rated , 175 wide
But I have a hard time matching their numbers on my 185 wide , B-rated summer tyres, despite these being 3% oversized and having the better FE rating

All are worn in, running similar inflation


The Nokian eLine2 is a summer tyre

A rated tyres for FE are still quite rare
A-A (additional A rating for braking) even more so


If you want to browse through tyres in the EU:
https://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk...95-65-15.html#


Kumho Ecowing ES01 KH27
195/65 R15 91 H

Hankook Kinergy Eco K425
195/65 R15 95 H
XL

Nokian eLine 2
195/65 R15 95 H
XL

Those tires do really good in the rain.
I didn't think they did very well in the snow and ice but I have only have about 1 day a year of snow and ice that I have to drive in so not really a problem.
They last a long time.
I put a set on my wifes car about 2 years ago. Probably got about 30,000 miles on them not even half worn out.

Most all season tires, with steel braids are economic in nature.
Most Chinese <$80/tire tires, are very bad for fuel economy.
The worst offender would probably be from the company 'Milestar'.
They wanted to create cheap tires, by infusing them with silicon.
They fail safety scores of impact, MPG and power (rob a lot of power).
On the other hand, they're very soft and comfortable tires, that have awesome grip (when the thread is still good); and outperform most other brands in terms of grip, on the tarmac, in dry weather, when the thread is worn.

I have Hankook Kinergy PT's in a rather large 235/75/15 on my Ranger. So far I'm very happy with them. Not sure how they will be in the snow so I may be in the market for some dedicated winter tires. Only time will tell. As far as I know, the PT's (and maybe the ST's) are the only Hankook's being made in the USA at a plant in Tennessee.

Any feedback so far on those tires hat man? I'm considering them for my next set for either my Prius or Mirage. Both need tires and the Kinergy STs are all too reasonably priced.

A local shop has a set of four used "90%" Classic AS for $200. I think it's these ones:

/duckduckgo.com/?q=Multi-mile+Classic+All+Season+-+155%2F80r12

Any thoughts on rolling resistance, etc.?

Nothing comes up for searching about them regarding fuel efficiency. I take that as meaning they're just plain old all season tires that aren't gonna save ya anything in the RR department.

After seeing the tread pattern shown by the tire tracks left after coming in from the rain, I think I see part of why I was getting good gas mileage on my Metro vert...I think I still have those wheels and tires...kept them because they were a hard to find size...too bad there's a border between us, or you could have 'em.

This reminds me of a PM exchange in November.

Funny, Tire Rack lists a Classic All Season as the only tire available in 155/80R12 - and "Classic" is the brand! They don't list a UTQG rating for the tire because 12" and smaller are not required to have one - but Tire Rack says they have one other size available - a 165/80R15 and the UTQG for that is 280BB - the opposite of impressive.

BTW, both sizes come from China.

My best guess is that these tires are very poor for fuel economy and are only available because there are a few vehicle that need these sizes.

That is a truly awful tire rating

I'm using the 90%-used price point to compare to Michelins or Bridgeports. I'm looking at having the shop that's selling me the car order some in so I can mount the tires and then paint the rims before inflation. I've already got the rattle cans but I don't want to that it to a tire shop with new/soft paint.

If you go to 13" wheels, for whatever reason, you'll find the ones with the same diameter as your 12's are hard to find (that's what the ones I mentioned having are), and if you go for the 155/80r13's of the later models, your speedo will be out...but you can switch the speedo gear to correct it. Will give you slightly taller gearing, though I'd assume the 13's weigh more than 12's, so the gains might be a wash.

There was a Metro for sale at the Chevron station but I didn't have a camera. I asked him if the wheels were 14s and he said yes (for what that's worth). Example pic:

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_..._large.jpg?v=0
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_..._large.jpg?v=0

I got a battery in the camera now, maybe I should drive by. It was a nice blue 3-door for $850.

I've got 14" Ronal R-8s on the Dasher, but the wheel PCI is different 110mm vs 114.3mm.