This weekend I upgraded my 08 TCH from the stock Bridgestones to Michelin Primacy tires. Somewhere in the process I found a totally different car! It is hard to believe what a major improvement in road noise, ride and handling the Michelin's are over the OEM Bridgestone rim protectors. My wife, who usually pays very little attention to "car stuff", drove the car afterwards and commented on how much better it rode and handled.

After researching here and on other forums I decided to skip over the OEM Michelin Energy tires and purchased the Primacy P215/60R16 95H 620AA tires. I went with a H speed rating (130MPH) versus the OEM tire V speed rating (149 miles per hour) as both speed rating are over the speed capability (118 miles per hour Computer Governed) of a TCH. The difference in price between H rating ($127) to V rating ($172) is $45 a tire for something I can't use. The load rating on both the H and V Primacy tires is a 95 so they are equally matched in load carrying capacity. FYI, the Kauffman Tire store manager confirmed the Energy series tires are being phased out by the Primacy line...

As for any hit on gas mileage for converting from "Energy" LRR tires to "Touring" tires time will tell. I filled up this morning with at a 34.1 MPG average and that was roughly half on the Bridgestones and half Michelin. That gas mileage is in my normal MPG range. Even if I do see a slightly lower average MPG it will be worth it for the improvements the Michelin's added to my TCH...

Wayne

2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid, Magnetic Grey, XM Radio, Body Side Moldings, Splash Guards, Formula 1 Pinnacle 35 Ceramic Window Tint, PadsPlus Neoprene Rubber Insert Set, Putco Chrome Door Handles and Trunk Trim, Michelin Primacy P215/60R16 95H Tires, SE Rear Spoiler

I don't think you will see much of a mileage hit. The Primacy is an LRR tire and has a ratio that is very close to the energy. I bought the Primacy Alpin for my winter tires, and my FE did not take a hit compared to the energys. (It did take the usual winter hits due to cold weater later in the season.)

It is the ignorant among us that will eventually destroy us all.

I will be interested in your results after a few tankfulls. Please keep us posted!

I will... I am also in the real Hybrid Mileage Database so you can just click the logo in my signature to check it out any time. I filled up this morning so anything after "Tank 20" is on the Primacys... I managed a Eco Drive Level 3 on my commute to and from work today so that is good sign...

Wayne

2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid, Magnetic Grey, XM Radio, Body Side Moldings, Splash Guards, Formula 1 Pinnacle 35 Ceramic Window Tint, PadsPlus Neoprene Rubber Insert Set, Putco Chrome Door Handles and Trunk Trim, Michelin Primacy P215/60R16 95H Tires, SE Rear Spoiler

Update:

After a two thousand mile road trip, Atlanta to Houston, running around in Houston, back to Atlanta, plus around five hundred miles of local commuting here’s my initial impressions of the Michelin Primacy tires:

Noise: Generally this is a very quiet tire. The Michelin's are noisy on old concrete interstates with lots of expansion joints. No worse than other tires, but no better either… The OEM Bridgestone’s seemed louder, with more droning, on interstate highways than the Michelin's. I say seemed louder as I do not have a db meter to truly measure the results, this is just my opinion.

Rain Performance: The Primacy’s are a major improvement over the OEM Bridgestone’s. I had ample heavy rain testing on I-10 / I-12 in Louisiana and the Michelin's felt much better on wet highways. I did not detect any hydroplaning and had very good road feel and grip in the rain.

Handling: The Primacy’s improved the handling performance of my TCH out of the box. I have several down hill corners and turns I like to go through at as a high of speed as safely possible in my commute. The Primacy’s added 5MPH to those corners and turns before I hear the tires squealing… Plus they are much more responsive in road feel….

MPG Change: No changes that I can detect. I am seeing the same MPG range in my commuting as I did with the OEM Bridgestone’s. My best mileage on the road trip was 42.4MPG and that is with around a 650 pound load of passengers and luggage…I really do need to get serious on my diet!

I suspect the Primacy is a little shorter than the OEMs even though the same height is specified. My speedometer error is now only about 1.5 MPH instead of the 2.5 MPH I saw before the change. This observation is based on both radar displays and GPS readings being compared to the speedometer.

Note: The tire pressure was set at 36 PSI all around on both brands.

Wayne

2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid, Magnetic Grey, XM Radio, Body Side Moldings, Splash Guards, Formula 1 Pinnacle 35 Ceramic Window Tint, PadsPlus Neoprene Rubber Insert Set, Putco Chrome Door Handles and Trunk Trim, Michelin Primacy P215/60R16 95H Tires, SE Rear Spoiler

Very comprehensive, thanks!

(It's actually an '09!)

Below is reply I received from Michelin customer care in response to my ? pertaining to Primacy construction, as you can see they say it is NOT a LRR tire:

"Robert,

Thank you for your interest in Michelin tires and for sending us your email.
We welcome the opportunity to serve you.

The Primacy does not have the same Energy construction as the S8. The
Mileage on the Primacy MXV4 will not be as good as the S8. However, the
Primacy MXV4 offers a 60,000 mile warranty where as the S8 does not offer a
mileage warranty."

Also, per their web site the diameter of the Primacy is .06 shorter than the S8 but somehow has 1/32 deeper tread!

Interesting, ... especially since I ran the Primacy Alpin over the winter instead of my S8s, ... and got no immediate mileage hit just after the change, and no big increase when I put the S8s back on this spring. My FE did drop over the winter cold, but that was expected. I just did not take a noticable hit from the tire change from tank to tank.

I plan to use them again this winter ... we will see.

It is the ignorant among us that will eventually destroy us all.