About a month ago I brought my "new to me" 2009 Civic Hybrid to a local tire chain for some new tires. The man behind the counter talked me into some Sumitomo Touring LSH tires (195/65R15 91H,STH28). With a 60,000 mile warranty I thought they would last me a while.

After a month of driving on the new tires, my avg. MPG has gone from 42 to 32. I took it to the local Honda dealer yesterday for some other work and the first thing out of the guy's mouth was, "Where did you get those tires? They're the wrong ones...."

So, I'm going to have a little chat with the tire guy this morning. But I need to know if this drop might be from the tires, from the colder weather or just my lead foot. The Honda service rep wasn't all that helpful in giving me the model numbers of suggested tires - he just told me "Dunlop and Bridgestone both make a good one."

Can someone who's more experienced in the ways of "Hybrid living" give me some pointers in these matters? And possibly suggest what line of tread I should be running on my car?

Thanks,
Mark

 

I always do my tire shopping at tirerack.com. The problem with going to a tire store is most of the time you end up with something they have in stock, which might not be the best tire. Researching/Shopping online has the advantage of price comparison too. Even if you don't purchase online you can always have your tire guy order the tires you want ahead of time.

I looked at the tread pattern of the Sumitomo Touring LSH and it doesn't look too aggressive so I doubt you experienced a 10MPG drop due to tires alone.

Check your tire pressure. The higher the pressure the better the MPG's. I always run mine at the max sidewall pressure printed on the tire. Of course this makes for a bumpier ride. Tradeoffs.

Environmental conditions do make a difference. Your mileage will drop considerably in colder weather, rain/snow or even windy conditions. My mileage also drops every fall when they introduce the winter gas. Of course mileage drops for all vehicles in these conditions, hybrid drivers just tend to notice it more.

If you decide to sell the Sumitomos do some research at tirerack.com before you buy your next set. If you want the best mileage you want to look at the LRR (Low Rolling Resistance) tires. If you live in a heavier snow area you might want to go with a beefier tread pattern or even consider switching tires in the fall/spring. With LRR tires you do lose some snow traction. Like I said tradeoffs.

Good luck....

 

Thanks for the quick response. I'm going to go with a LRR tire - probably the Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max. I live in Southern California, so the chance of my car seeing snow is about slim to none.

Also found out the current tires are running at 32 PSI - too low for my liking.

I'm in a haggling war with the tire clerk right now. Apparently, they had no clue about this stuff....

Thanks again for the help.

Mark

 

Most tire company's have not got a clue about LRR tires. When you mention LRR they look at you with a blank look on their face! I went with the G/Y Assurance Fuel Max and love them. Big improvement over OME tire the car came with as far as FE goes.Very smooth and quiet. They do well on snow and ice as well as they are a all season. H

 

Interesting point, that. The tire shop called Goodyear today to find out about the Assurance Fuel Max. The Goodyear rep actually had to look up LRR and said that the Assurance Fuel Max WASN'T a LRR tire. Now - who to believe? The rep at GY or the people who keep up the content on TireRack.

The tire shop is going to try to get the Dunlop SP31 tires for me as they're OE. But at this point I think I might prefer the Goodyear. Thoughts?

Thanks,
Mark

 

When you do get the Fuel Max make sure it shows a fuel gauge on the side.If they do then they are LRR . You can also purchase this tire at Walmart under the name Goodyear Viva Fuel Max. I should mention these tires can be pumped to 51 lbs. cold pressure. Most tires have a rating of only 44 lbs. H