Lupo 3L tyres
 

I am looking for replacement tyres for our Lupo 3L. They have to be 155/65 R14.

The tyres that seem to have the best rating are (rolling/wet/noise in dB, and listed from cheapest to most expensive):
- Kumho KH27: C/B/68
- Goodyear Efficient Grip Compact: C/B/68
- Pirelli Cinturato P1 Verde: C/B/68

Are there other tyres that I should consider?

Tyres that I have seen recommended, but have lower ratings than the above are: Toyo NanoEnergy 3 (C/C/69), Continental PremiumContact 2 (C/C/70), Michelin Energy E3B (E/B/69), Continental EcoContact 3 (E/B/70), Fulda EcoControl (E/C/67).

That's pretty close to the Insight's tire size, which is 165/65/14. Potenza RE92's are considered the champion in that size (possibly any size) as far as raw MPG but are known for high road noise.

What do you want out of the tire? Grip, smoothness of ride, low noise, low rolling resistance?

Michelin Energy Savers have much lower noise and a better ride than the Potenzas, but cause a loss of as much as 5% MPG. Dunlop Enasaves are pretty well reviewed as a Potenza alternative. Non-LRR tires will cause 15-20% loss in MPG in my car.

EDITED. In terms of LRR, of the 3 I mentioned I believe they are Potenza > Ensave > Energy Saver > all other tires available in this size. The Dunlops are probably the most well rounded tire (hurr hurr).

I would rate the parameters: Low rolling resistance, grip, low noise, smoothness of ride.

So low rolling resistance is of highest priority.

As far as I can tell from threads on Insight central, the Dunlops might be slightly less grippy than the Potenzas but the differences are minute in these 3 tires as far as that's concerned.

Which Dunlop tyres are you talking about? I didn't mention Dunlop anywhere :)

From my first post, I went back and edited it. Here's the thread where I read about them:

165/65/14 Dunlop Enasave:
New 165/65 r14 Dunlop Enasave - Insight Central: Honda Insight Forum

They're the stock tires for the Mitsubishi iMiEV and Mirage.

145/80R14 bridgestone B381 ecopias are the best tire I found in my tests...

I ended up getting Pirelli Cinturato P1 Verde based on various reviews and tests. It was important for use that the tires are usable in wet weather, since my girl friend uses the car for commuting around 50k km/year.

According to the specs that tire is in energy class C.

I have been looking for low rolling resistance tires in 14 inch, and found this one:
Toyo NanoEnergy2 175/65R14, which is in energy class A. Have you / anyone tried those tires?

How to interpret these energy classes?
Most A-tires are in the area of 205mm wide. Do they roll better than a 145mm class C?
Or are the classes a relative other tires in the same dimension? So a 205mm A tire might roll worse than a 145mm class C?

The energy efficiency rating in the EU tyre label is a function of the Rolling Resistance Coefficient (RRC), defined in the attached table.

Source: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conte...9R1222&from=EN