I just noticed that the tires on my escape hybrid are M+S ... driving in normal weather they seems very noisy and i know the more grippy and big the tread is, the worst mpg it is . Is it worth it to buy a second set of tires that are performanced geared for the summer ? would it make that much of a difference?

 

Firestone sells tires for hybrid vehicles purpose. You may want to ask them.

 

A Hybrid vehicle (in particular) isn't at all like your grampa's old pickup back in the 70s. "Pimping out" a hybrid is absolutely stupid, even more so than most other vehicles. Any hybrid vehicle was designed to have certain tires, and it's easy to find out those specifications.

A more direct answer: YES!!!! Tires do in fact make a very substantial difference in vehicle MPG. Pressurization, size, design, tread pattern, mounting, and state of wear all matter. Tires MAY even make more difference than fuel!

Go to tirerack.com and spend a few hours learning about tires. There are other websites too, but I haven't seen a better one than tirerack for learning a lot about tires.

 

Back in '08, I had an '05 Prius and I decided to change the tires out. The instant that I switched from the stock tires to the new set (generic firestones, I think), I lost about 4mpg on average, or about 10%.

So I'd say that the effect is definitely not insignificant.

Smooth sailing,
S

 

I second that. I switched all four OEM Dunlop tires to Michelin X-Radial in 2009 (after 4 years on Dunlops and 1 scary blow-out at highway speeds) and immediately lost about 5 MPG (49 -> 43 or so, so again about 10%). The X-Radial are not "hybrid" tires but they are supposed to be pretty low rolling resistance. I was amazing what a hit my MPG took. Then it got even worse when I moved into a city and take only relatively short commutes with lots of traffic.

I will say that the overall ride quality and road noise improved slightly when I got the Michelins. They still have some tread left and I am debating whether to go for some super-LRR "hybrid" tires again when these go.

 

I'm on my 3rd set of Dunlops set to 50PSI. Tires do make a difference and I gain 5-7MPG with high inflation. A bit hard on the behind though. I've just crossed 250,000 miles and those extra MPG's really add up.

 

You only went through 3 sets of tires in 250,000 miles? I'm about 100K miles behind you and I'm on my third set already. Technically my fourth because I just bought some Michelin Defenders - they seemed the best decent LRR available. I've always called the Dunlops a death trap but that was just me overexagerating as they really aren't that bad. I wanted a slightly better tire than the dunlops and with a 90K warranty on the tires I should be good to go for a whlie.

My previous tires probably would have lasted a bit longer, but I was lazy and let the psi drop to about 45.

The good news with the defenders is I get the same mileage as with the dunlops. That is with winter gas I get about 52 mpg. I'll have to let you know in a few weeks when we go to summer gas.

 

I am about to buy tires - now have 48000 on the original toyota tires. Not nearly enough. But, i have been running them in the low 30's psi range (pr mfgr. recommendation). I have had edge tread wear due to underinflation per the dealership. So now have them at 45psi and will try 50 . Are their any safety issues? Thanks in advance for any info.
Phx jim

 

Your tires should have a maximum COLD inflation pressure on the side wall of the tire. As long as you run that pressure or less, you should be OK.

 

Question in this regard: I replaced my 2011 Insight's tires with Tracmax 175/65/15 radial 102 this morning and am wondering if it was a good move. Any ideas? I am worried they may not be LRR, but do not know how to tell..