After 31K miles, I replaced the OEM Bridgestone Turanza tires on my HCHII yesterday. I had a set of Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S installed. These tires are good compromise between LLR, comfort, noise, and tread life. They have a 45K mile warranty and cost about $130 installed(for a 16" tire, the 15" tire is under $100). For the first tank mileage was down 1 mpg, so it is my hope that onc they are broken in that the average mileage will return to its previous number. The ride quality of the tire is very good.

If you are interested in finding out more, Here is a link to the Tire Rack description page for the tire.

I recommend this tire.

Thanks. I will keep that in mind. However, at my new 60 mi/week limit, this will not be for a long time....

Does anyone currently have these tires that can offer an opinion on their performance in wet and snowy conditions?

Here are reports from 511 owners of this tires. The Civic owners including Hybrid owners are positive.

I have had these tires on my Audi for over a year, and have found them very satisfactory. In fact the Audi picked up 3 mpg on average.

I recently replaced my OEM Dunlops with Sumitomo HTR 200s and have had significant effect on my driving experience. On the upside, the handling is much better, as is the ride. On the downside, my mileage has suffered about 10% (about 44 down to 39 mpg), even after bumping up the pressure. Although I like their handling aspects, I would not recommend these tires as a replacement on the hybrids, since most hybrid drivers demand high mileage as part of the performance equation. Maybe I will try the Michelins next time.....

Gary, do you notice any change in the glide or coast? H

For the first 300 miles or so, the car was stickier, and glide and coast was not as good. Now after almost a thousand miles, the MPG about 10% better than the original Bridgestones. The glide and coast are now just as good or better than with the OEM tires.

Keep in mind that I have been using the Bridgestone 16" OEM HCII EX tires, not the 15" Dunlops.

I still recommend the Michelins in 15" or 16" for the HCHII.

So you actually aren't getting the 51.1 mpg due to the difference in the circumference of the tires. Maybe if I switch to some 20's I can get to 60 mpg.

Hummm... should be quite the opposite.

The larger the circumference of a tire will lead to a greater contact patch of rubber with the road surface which increases the friction factor and then lowers the fuel economy.

Cheers;

MSantos

Yet another Canadian perspective on hybrids

The circumference of the 16" tire is essentially the same as the 15" tire.

Click here for specifics on both the 15" & 16" OEM tires