I recently bought a used 2003 HCH with 59K miles on it. I love it. :-) I have been getting 43-47mpg, never below 43 when I tank up, even in city driving.

My car does not have the original tires or tires designed for hybrids...instead it just has regular tires. When I had a mechanic (non dealer but experienced working on that type of car) check out the car before buying it, he said that he would recommend me to buy better tires, and that it would impact the mileage.

What are your thoughts and experiences on this matter? And should I just wait for my current tires to wear out before replacing them (that was what the mechanic recommended)?

Inflate them to the max sidewall psi and run them until they're bald in the middle.

The OEM Bridgestone B381's are definitely the tire you want for the best mileage. I lost about 5MPG when I replaced the OEM tires with something else. I went back to the Bridgestones for the 3rd set. Now I have a couple of cheapies I'm gonna throw on the front for the summer then buy a new set of 4 B381's come winter.

That's the plan anyway. Unfortunately they are up to $93/tire at the tirerack.com. And I don't see them coming down anytime soon with the cost of oil going up, up and away.

Yeah, I would keep what I had until they wore out and then replace them with the Bridgestones.

WARNING!

I don't know where you're at, but my experience has been that while the Bridgstone's are great for mileage, they are horrible in the snow. Just sayin...

For those who have used both the OEM Dunlop and Bridgestone -which one is best for MPG/ride quality or overall ? My HCH1 with 55K miles still has original Bridgestones and brake pads - never achieved this kinda miracle in my other cars before.

I had the Dunlops and they were the worst tires I have ever driven. The car darn near slid off the road on several occasions, dry pavement and mild cornering.

I don't know anything about the B381s. I was so scared for my safety I switched to Civic Si wheels with 195/60R15 Continental ProContact tires. The mileage was within 1 - 2 MPG of those horrible Dunpops.

That said, I am in the market for new tires again. I would be interested to hear if anybody knows of a LRR tire in this size. Yeah, I know, you've all got the little 14s.

Lifespeed

2003 Civic Hybrid 5 speed

iam on my second set of Bridgtones. They make some noise but I know they are the best for fuel milage for the car. While new they hold the road ok. IN snow while they do okay the low profile of the car with the 5 inch or so clearance make the car plow snow despite what ever tire is on it and hence in deep snow i leave it parked. The bridstone liffe span is good but when they get near the end there grip decreeases. If you want mileage go bridstone.

I'll second that! I used the OEM Bridgestones the first winter I owned the car - never again. Whether in deep snow or a dusting they simply sucked. Hydroplaning in slush was a given at any speed, and on ice, well you might just as well drag your feet. Makes me wonder how they can claim with a straight face that they are "all season" tires .

I bought a dedicated winter tire (Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi) and couldn't be happier with their performance in the snow and slush. They are also relatively quiet, for a dedicated snow tire, and have a directional tread pattern that very effectively resists hydroplaning. When braking on hardpack and ice you might even think you're on studded tires, they're that good.

As to fuel efficiency, I lose maybe 3-5 mpg average in winter driving, some of which is no doubt due to colder ambient temperatures. On longer trips the difference is much less. When I weigh that minor expense against the cost of repairing even a minor fender bender or the increased risk to the safety of my family and me, it's no contest.

For those who are not prepared to go the extra expense of a dedicated winter tire you might want to take a look at the Nokian WR all season tire. Unlike most "all season" tires they work great in snow as well as dry roads.

I love my -4 mt civic hybrid. the very nature of a car that is a optimum fuel effiecent car makes it not a optimum heavy snow winter car . It is so low that if you have inches of snow it is a snow plow. I suggest and of course it is not feasible that snow condtions mandate the use of a different kind of car altogether....../ the tires are only a stop gap measur e

I am in one of the snowiest parts of the country, northeast Ohio, and I plan on driving my HCHII all year. (if its really bad, I do have a 4x4 I can use)

I bought the Goodyear Tripletred which are supposed to be great on snow and ice. I have them inflated to 40PSI. I might lower it a little in the winter for better traction.

So far I get around 54MPG in the summer, so these tires don't seem to affect mileage. I'm sure with LRR tires I could get more, but its a small trade-off.

Dunlop guy here in Texas, I recently replaced my tires with OEM dunlop's this summer. MPG is doing great, no traction problems.