Efficient tires?

[davesm]

Am looking for all-season tires to complement our winter tires (so maybe 3-season tires for here in New England), and I've found a lot of great threads here on the most quiet tires, but relatively little info on which tires are more efficient (i.e. less rolling resistance -> greater range). Of course, safety comes first, so they need to perform and handle well in wet and dry conditions, resist flats, etc., and I'm not against them being quiet, but certainly would like to optimize range if possible, and also would prefer tires that were manufactured ecologically in general...

Here's three I've researched so far:
*Michelin Pilot Sport AS4: lots of recommendations, but reviews on TireRack talk about efficiency going down by ~10%.
*Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II: was all set to order these, but apparently only the prior version was LRR, and these are not good for efficiency...
*Continental PureContact LS: Am leaning towards these...

Any thoughts on the Contis and/or recommendations for efficient tires that are good in other respects as well??

 

[drtimhill]

Is there any specific reason you value efficiency this highly? Generally you will give up some efficiency for better grip/braking/handling/safety. I just upgraded from OEM tires to the AS4 and so far the benefits for me far outweigh any small efficiency loss (which so far seems to be much less than 10% but its early days).

 

[davesm]

Looking to maximize range and the ecological properties of the tires as much as possible without compromising safety....

 

[beatle]

My car came with 19" MXM4s and I upgraded to the 20" A/S 3+ last fall. Initially there was a pretty decent range penalty of maybe 10%, but that has dropped since the tires broke in. I now have about 8k miles on them and I'm guessing the range difference is only a few percentage points.

Their performance, however, is significantly better than the MXM4s. The original tires were quiet and comfortable, and cornering grip made the limits somewhat low - well off of the A/S 3+, though I wouldn't say it was unsafe. Wet traction seems similar with no issues on either tire. I haven't driven the car in snow on either set to compare. Braking with the MXM4, however, was awful. It was so easy to get ABS to kick in. I never had any true close calls, but I felt like it was only a matter of time before my luck ran out. By most accounts the AS4 is a superior tire to the A/S 3+ and is what I'll likely replace these with when they wear out.

 

[Snerruc]

The new Pirellis are low rolling resistance. I’ve got them, and they are excellent all round tires.

 

[Dukeybootie]

I have > 20k miles on the Pirelli Cinturato P7 A/S Plus II and can tell you they are at least equivalent to the OEM Primacy in terms of efficiency. Would gladly buy them again when the time comes to replace the current set.

 

[VaztheDad]

Pilot Sport EV is out soon is you can wait... rumor is Q3.

 

[davesm]

Thanks all! Seems that there are several great choices.

And thanks to this thread and post: Conti PureContact™ LS I decided to stick with going with the PureContacts (it had not come up when I searched for "tires" but did when I searched "PureContact").

If folks are curious, I could post my impressions once we've had them for a while (we're getting them put on tomorrow, and will be driving a fair amount over the weekend, so hopefully will be good!)

 

[cityhpper]

Thanks all! Seems that there are several great choices.

And thanks to this thread and post: Conti PureContact™ LS I decided to stick with going with the PureContacts (it had not come up when I searched for "tires" but did when I searched "PureContact").

If folks are curious, I could post my impressions once we've had them for a while (we're getting them put on tomorrow, and will be driving a fair amount over the weekend, so hopefully will be good!)

Please do.

 

[cdub715]

I've had the Conti ProContact RX (OEM), Michelin AS4's, and the Conti DWS06+. I definitely will have to say the DWS06+ are the perfect middle ground of performance and efficiency. While i did like the Michelin AS4's, i took a huge efficiency hit especially going from DWS06+ to AS4 (more of an apples to apples comparison), say ~10% wh/mi delta between the two. If I were to do it all again, I'd prob wait for the Michelin Pilot Sport EV's to come out but I was being impatient with this stupid push-back waiting game by Michelin.

 

[ysaliens]

The Michelin Pilot Sport EVs are a summer tire...

 

[drtimhill]

The Michelin Pilot Sport EVs are a summer tire...

Really? .. I thought they were A/S ?

Kinda odd they are planning to start selling them in the fall in the US if so...

 

[JimmyB]

Last month I needed a set of 19s in a hurry after blowing out two of my 21s on a pothole. Decided to look for something efficient for the same reasons as davesm. Ended up with Michelin Energy MXV4 S8. Too soon to give any opinion, I got them and then went away for two weeks so they literally have the trip to the airport and back on them and that’s it. But I’ll report back with any significant findings.

 

[davesm]

As a quick update on the PureContacts - so far so good. We don't drive aggressively at all, so can't say much about performance (as far as I can tell, it's at least as good as any tire we've ever had), so only thing I've been paying attention to is efficiency, and since we've had the tire, we're averaging 346 wh/mi vs. our lifetime avg of 343 wh/mi from before...

 

[Lasttoy]

I'm on my fifth or sixth set. Driven in over 25 states. I've found so many different types of pavements. Including pot holes. I think your tire selection really depends on your neighborhood driving. I go up north in the winter, so I have a set of all weather tires for those trips. Very hard summer tires for Florida. Everyone of us has different roads, is; Michigan pot holes and very deep rutts. I've talked to a lot of folks along the way, good luck on finding a set you really like. My current set a so hard they jar your teeth, are not wearing out. I wish we could drive each other's cars to test the ride.

 

[fetar30310]

I have > 20k miles on the Pirelli Cinturato P7 A/S Plus II and can tell you they are at least equivalent to the OEM Primacy in terms of efficiency. Would gladly buy them again when the time comes to replace the current set.

How has your efficiency held up? What is it like now versus your OEMs?

I've been researching a lot and you're only like one of three people that have said the efficiency is good while others say it's horrid on these Pirellis. Is it because they didn't break them in?

 

[Dukeybootie]

At 23,000 miles now. Efficiency remains the same as before -- at least equivalent to OEM Primacy. I do keep track on the trip computer and the efficiency since the tire change is the same compared to before the tire change. Granted it is not an apples to apples comparison since I upgraded to 20" (but lighter) wheels, but I can definitely say they are certainly not "horrid" by any means.

 

[Lasttoy]

My summer tires are 98y rating . U can buy higher ratings. U sacrifice ride softness for tire wear and years. Some riders complain about ride or roar. Oh, did I tell u they hydroplane in deep water. Yikes.
My winter tires are very soft, quiet.
If your local roads that u do 90% of your driving r bad? , u have a lot of decisions to make. After so many sets, I think the cost is a big driver of your consideration. My local roads are great here, but an example is 95 in South Carolina is horrible. Michigan is the worse I've even been on. I bent one rim in Virginia.

 

[dgpnaples]

I'm interested to know how many miles most of you got with one set of tires? I have read all of the posts here and only one, Dukeybootie, mentioned 23,000 miles on the tires. My 2017 S has the original Goodyear Eagle Touring 245/45R19 and I live in Naples, Florida. Our temps here are in the 90's May-October, and not much less cooler the rest of the year. I currently have 23, 248 miles on my tires. I have had one full on braking incident last week for the first time and I realized that I may need new tires. I slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a car in front of me that slammed on their brakes and my car came to stop and just touched, every so slightly the bumper of the car in front of me. No damage to either car.

BY the way my ride is great and very quiet.

So what amount of miles have most of you had when you changed your tires?

 

[Lasttoy]

I change out set April to October summer. Winter Oct to April. 2 years is it. I think 20k is pushing it. Got to remember this S is very heavy. And suspect we drive them very hard, I know I do. Drive it like you stole it.