Potenza RE92 LRR thoughts? - Page 2 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

basjoos · 08-07-2009, 01:05 PM

If you look at the Bridgestone Potenza RE92, the size (165/65/14) used on the Insight was specifically designed for the Insight and has different specs and is much lighter in weight then any other RE92 size. On my own car, my Insight sized RE92's has a lower rolling resistance then any other tire I have ever driven. They corner and brake just as well as the 165/70/13 Sumitomo tires that I had previously on my car that was the OEM tire size for my car. But they don't corner or brake as well as the 175-70-13 Michelin Harmony I had on my car in the past, but these caused a 6mpg drop in my mileage when new. As these RE92 tires are getting broken in, I am finding myself having to extend the distance of my glides to keep from coming in too fast at upcoming stops. They are a worthwhile addition to the high mpg driving arsenal.

bluetwo · 08-07-2009, 05:46 PM

Thanks for confirming that basjoos! I was thinking back from some time ago but I was sure I had read that about the Insight's original tire.

I have 14x5 in. rims on my Civic and I'm thinking about getting Bridgestone Potenza's for it when the time comes for new tires. If the rolling resistance is as good as you say it is I'm definitely game.

newhavenpatriot · 10-12-2009, 04:38 PM

I'm looking on tirerack.com and it says that the 175/65R14 Potenza RE92 tires have a max. PSI of 50. Would this be better than the Insight tires everyone is talking about, or worse, in terms of rolling resistance? I only ask because the Insight tires (165/65/14) won't fit on my Yaris (I don't think they will, at least). My current tires are 185/60R15 Potenza RE92, with a max. psi of 44. Do you guys think it'd be worth it to switch to the smaller sized, higher PSI ones? Would it be possible to get those "Insight tires" on there? I'm really new to this ecomodding thing, and I know next to nothing about cars, so if anyone could explain the difference between these three tires, I'd be grateful.

EDIT: My car is supposed to be able to take either 185/60R15 or 175/65R14, or at least that's what Google tells me.

bluetwo · 10-12-2009, 06:31 PM

Despite a lot of people's perceptions good LRR tires aren't all about high PSI, hard compounds or sizes. Those things come into play on any tire but there are other factors.

You can get those tires from Tirerack.com in the right size for your Yaris, they just change the 14 for a 15 which is the size of your rim in inches of course. It seems like this thread had some more info about LRR's but if not it's in the LRR thread, though I can't remember what the thread title is right off.

newhavenpatriot · 10-12-2009, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluetwo

Despite a lot of people's perceptions good LRR tires aren't all about high PSI, hard compounds or sizes. Those things come into play on any tire but there are other factors.

You can get those tires from Tirerack.com in the right size for your Yaris, they just change the 14 for a 15 which is the size of your rim in inches of course. It seems like this thread had some more info about LRR's but if not it's in the LRR thread, though I can't remember what the thread title is right off.

I have those tires on my Yaris already, albeit in a different size than the "Honda Insight" ones. I don't know how size affects rolling resistance, so I'm not sure if my RR is more or less than with other sizes of that tire or not. What I'd really like to see is some kind of database where you could search by make and model, and the database would show results sorted by fuel efficiency. That doesn't seem to exist yet.

user removed · 10-12-2009, 07:31 PM

After replacing the original Bridgestones on my 94 VX (yes they were made in March of 93, and this was less than a year ago!) with Michelins and watching my average mileage drop by 7 MPG, I was very leery about replacing the original RE 92s on the Insight.

New Re 92s went on 7 thousand miles ago.

They are not quiet.

I have them at 45 PSI and they ride rougher than most tires.

The fuel mileage is the same as with the originals.

I think LRR tires are lighter and have less tread depth than many other tires. In most cases their tread wear ratings are less, sometimes by a significant margin.

The other side of the coin is if a tire cost me 10% in mileage there is a break even point, but it's a long way off.

If I go 65,000 miles on 1000 gallons of gas that 10% would just about pay for the tires.

Fair enough compromise for me, but I can see why the performance oriented driver would reject them.

regards
Mech

newhavenpatriot · 10-12-2009, 07:44 PM

Okay, I have a really stupid question since I don't know anything about cars... I would like to get the Bridgestone B381 tires, but the OE tire sizes for my car don't match any of the available sizes for the B381s. Is it still possible to put new wheels on so that I can get B381 tires, or is it not worth the trouble (or just plain impossible)?

bluetwo · 10-12-2009, 08:03 PM

I don't think I can answer your question specifically. I know the guys at Insight central say there's a difference between the OE Insight tires and a VERY similar tire with the same name and size.... it's all kind of confusing.

Here's a couple of interesting reads though:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...eport-520.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tires-287.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ling-2813.html

user removed · 10-12-2009, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newhavenpatriot

Okay, I have a really stupid question since I don't know anything about cars... I would like to get the Bridgestone B381 tires, but the OE tire sizes for my car don't match any of the available sizes for the B381s. Is it still possible to put new wheels on so that I can get B381 tires, or is it not worth the trouble (or just plain impossible)?

As long as the tires are the right size for your wheels (14 or 15 inch) and the outer diameter of the tire is very close to your originals you should be fine.

I have Michelin Harmony tires on my Echo, but they were on the car when I bought it. It has 14 inch rims.

What is the size of your tires you have on the car now?

regards
Mech

newhavenpatriot · 10-12-2009, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

As long as the tires are the right size for your wheels (14 or 15 inch) and the outer diameter of the tire is very close to your originals you should be fine.

I have Michelin Harmony tires on my Echo, but they were on the car when I bought it. It has 14 inch rims.

What is the size of your tires you have on the car now?

regards
Mech

My current tires are 185/60R15 Potenza RE92, with a max. psi of 44. They have just over 40,000 miles on them, and they came stock on my car from the dealership.