I've read through this forum and can't seem to find any consensus about a replacement for the stock Dunlop SP-31. I think they are incredibly noisy, and are shot at 24K. I just had rear upper control arms replaced, with no assistance from HoA for the tires. It looks like the only two tires HoA has put on the HCHII is either the Dunlop or the Bridgestone Insignia SE200. Reviews for either tire are dreadful on TireRack. The only thing that seems consistent here is that replacing the tires with "conventional" tires means a mileage hit. Saving a bit of gas on rock hard tires that wear like pencil erasers seems not a great trade. Esp. when having to drop 4-5 C notes on tires every 25K.

Has anyone had a successful tire trade? Better noise and wear but without a 10% hit on mileage?

I have 43,500+ miles on my original Dunlop's. While in for an oil change this past weekend, the dealer told me the tires are getting worn. They quoted the same tire - Dunlop SP 31's for a replacement @ $520+tax.

I have searched around the GreenHybrid site for more discussions about replacement tires, and do not see a good recommendation for a replacement.

At 43,500 miles, I do not think the Dunlops were that bad. They are a bit noisy now that they are wearing out, but my mileage is good (averaging 50+ MPG per tank).

Unless I can find a better recommendation soon, I plan to replace with the Dunlops. I may check and see what sort of recommendations are on the Prius site as I assume a tire good for the Prius would also be good for the HCHII.

I live in the Chicago area and do find the tires a bit weak in the snow, but then again, I am not driving the car like a sports car...so if I drive conservatively, it is not too big of a factor.

I did get a quote from Discount Tire for $470 including tax, so would probably buy from them and save a few $$.

Hoping to see some additional recommendations to this thread though.

Greg Johnson

Just purchased the '06 HCH and luv'in it!

I just bought tires for the wife's 05 Civic LX over the weekend.

I got Sumitomo HTR H4's because they have a max sidewall PSI of 51, are 18 pounds and they have a low rolling resistance (LRR) value. Dunlops are made by Sumitomo, btw.

I did my research on Tirerack.com, which has both the OEM Dumlops and Bridgestones, as well as the H4's. I ended up buying them at the local Tire Kingdom/NTB.

I have put a couple hundred miles on them, but I was immediately impressed with their handling and lower road noise than the OEM Bridgestones that were worn out. I pumped them up to 49 PSI to boot!

'08 HCHII Silver (Arrived July 10th!)
'05 Honda Civic 7th Gen LX (Wife's DD)
'98 VW Jetta TDI

Everybody that has purchased the Sumitomo like them, I think this might be the way to go! H

We want a lot from a tire- roll smoothly, operate reasonably quietly, not be bothered too much by rain, or even just a bit of snow, and last for a decent (obviously open to interpretation) amount of time. Throw in the LRR into the mix, and things seem to go awry.

In addition to this forum, I've been looking into the Prius ranks as they have far more experience in operating for max efficiency than the HCH folks. Seems they hate their tires also. I can't seem to find a consensus for the Prius tire replacement either. Reviews savage the Prius' OEM tire. Again, not for the benefits of LRR, that works, just all the other things we want from a tire. Prius is on an even narrower tire, 185's instead of 195's.

I'm still looking, and welcome further suggestions.

185? I could put that on my motorcycle!

I just received Sumitomo HTR200's from TIRE-RACK .....they had good customer reviews and low rolling resistance also.... SEE a great report -- http://www.greenseal.org/resources/r...resistance.pdf

I'm looking for new tires for my TCH. One I am considering is the Cooper CS4 Touring tire. It is a LRR tire according to their web site. Has anyone tried it?

Greg:

I have my stock Dunlop tires still with only 58 miles on them sitting in my garage, since only march, and I would be willing to sell them to you for a good price. I too am in the Chicagoland area.

Brent

I have just over 27,000 on the OE SP31s on my 2006 HCHII. I will not need replacements imminently, but will be needing some replacements down the road.

Last week I found four OE SP31s, mounted on Honda rims, with center caps for sale on eBay. From an '08 HCHII with 1500 miles on the tires according to the seller. $525 delivered to my door. 'Twas a no brainer.

So, I now have four "full size" spares. Mounted, balanced, etc., etc.

They are tucked away in the basement 'til I need 'em.

Some have suggested finding SP31s has been something of a problem, but, I've got it solved.