Recommended tires when replacing original ones?

It's time to replace the original Ecopias at 27K miles. I have 9 more months on my lease with 9K miles left and I may go a little over the allotted miles.

What would be a good replacement tire for me? The local tire guy recommended "Arizonian tire" when I told him that it was a lease due for return in less than a year otherwise he was going to recommend Michelin Primacy.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/findTireDetail.do?c=0&rcz=85297&ar=55&rf=true&rd=16&rc=AZEINT&cs=205&dVeh=dVeh&ra=filterTireProducts.do&fl=&tc=CPBHH1&yr=2014&pc=29951&vid=026605

Looking for opinions.

There are a lot of MNL threads on replacing the tires and actually tire rack is also a place you can check along with specific reviews on each make/model that will fit your LEAF; if you only have a year to go, I would think that the Michelin's will be (typically) more expensive than most other brands but there are many on the forum who like them for various reasons.

I myself opted for Bridgestone DriveGuard run flats due to no spare and the tons of potholes around Chicago and they just finished their first 10K miles and still look new -- the linked thread below is one of the main ones for replacing the tires ... lots of good reading

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=14580&p=430418&hilit=Bridgestone#p430418

You haven't said how important range is. If that isn't an issue, get the tires you like, and as long as they aren't snow tires Nissan will accept them as lease returns. If the Ecopias will pass a lease return inspection, save them to slap back on if you get expensive tires now.

LeftieBiker said:

You haven't said how important range is. If that isn't an issue, get the tires you like, and as long as they aren't snow tires Nissan will accept them as lease returns. If the Ecopias will pass a lease return inspection, save them to slap back on if you get expensive tires now.

Click to expand...

Good point. Range is important as this is still a daily driver (65 miles round trip) and I expect the first bar to drop soon.

That's a good point about saving Ecopias, but I think the fronts are past that point. I'll save them anyway.

I just put my second pair of Michelin Defenders on (there's a separate thread). I've come to the conclusion that if/since we Leafers over-inflate our tires (for better economy), nothing is going to last it's projected tread warranty life. I like Michelin, but they don't really have any LRR tires (at least any that are "easy to find").

If you want to improve range get 15" wheels and tires. Definitely LRR. Pick a rim that is 15 pounds or lower and under $100 a rim to extend range at a reasonable cost.

I went with 195/65/15 to get cheaper LRR tires but you can go for 205/65/15 if you want tires that don't come in the 195 size (at a slight cost/weight penalty but an improvement in speedometer accuracy).

If you want 16" rims get 205/60/16 but the tires and rims will be heavier and more expensive to get the same quality (and will improve speedometer accuracy vs stock).

inphoenix said:

It's time to replace the original Ecopias at 27K miles. I have 9 more months on my lease with 9K miles left and I may go a little over the allotted miles.

What would be a good replacement tire for me? The local tire guy recommended "Arizonian tire" when I told him that it was a lease due for return in less than a year otherwise he was going to recommend Michelin Primacy.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/findTireDetail.do?c=0&rcz=85297&ar=55&rf=true&rd=16&rc=AZEINT&cs=205&dVeh=dVeh&ra=filterTireProducts.do&fl=&tc=CPBHH1&yr=2014&pc=29951&vid=026605

Looking for opinions.

Click to expand...

Review on Michelin "Defender" tires
http://nissanleaf.guru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=40

Sounds like you are looking for the cheapest replacement though if you have to return a Lease vehicle soon.

Sounds like you are looking for the cheapest replacement though if you have to return a Lease vehicle soon.

Click to expand...

If this is the case, then the Goodyear Eagle LS tires I have on my Leaf were both very cheap ($275 for the set, shipped, from an Ebay dealer) and have proven almost as economical as LRR tires (4.2M/KWH vs 4.3 for the Ecopias). They are even US-made. The handling isn't first rate, but it's better than the Ecopias and is perfectly ok. The tires' main downside is that they are more willing to hydroplane in heavy rain than are more expensive tires.

If you aren't against putting used tires on you car, check out bestusedtires.com. I went with a set from them based on some other poster's experience. I think they are pretty popular with the 'returning a leased car soon' crowd as the half worn tires are quite cheap. Do your research and be aware of the risks first, of course. I felt this was a cheaper way to 'try out' a different brand/style of tire.

I went with nearly-new Bridgestone DriveGuards since my 2013 Ecopias were almost worn down when I got the car 4 months ago (25k miles). Knowing I was going to take a range hit still didn't prepare me for the 4.0 to 3.6 kWh increase in rolling resistance. Some of this could be due to the near 100 degree weather, but we used to be able to drive lead-footed around town and still get 4.0 at worst. Now careful driving can earn 3.7.

Other than the range hit, I love the tires. Quiet(ish), softer compound, much better wet traction and the assurance of driving home if we get a flat.
Good luck.

2012 Leaf , purchased a few weeks ago .

Going to need the front OEM tires replaced , at least before winter .

Leaning towards Michelin Defenders . 90,000 mile warranty ? That sounds good .

Should the tire noise be less than the OEM tires ?

Probably going to run around 40 psi .

I like driving the Leaf & so does Wifey .

God bless
Wyr

Should the tire noise be less than the OEM tires ?

Click to expand...

If the car came with Ecopias, then probably not. Those tires are pretty quiet.

My experience with 2 LEAFs is that the tires get progressively noisier as miles accumulate. They quiet down when they are rotated. I replaced the Ecopias on the 2011 with tread left because they became really loud and rotating no longer helped. The Michelin MXM4s I put on were much quieter, but still became noisier by time for rotation. The Michelins that came on the 2015 are still relatively quiet after rotating, but do not have the dry traction/handling capability of the MXM4s or the wet traction of the Ecopias (provided Ecopias were inflated to 44 psi -- wet traction, wear, and general handling were really bad if less than 40 psi).

Gerry

WyrTwister said:

2012 Leaf , purchased a few weeks ago .

Going to need the front OEM tires replaced , at least before winter .

Leaning towards Michelin Defenders . 90,000 mile warranty ? That sounds good .

Should the tire noise be less than the OEM tires ?

Probably going to run around 40 psi .

I like driving the Leaf & so does Wifey .

God bless
Wyr

Click to expand...

I had Ecopias before and my new Defenders were just as quiet. If anything, you'll hear more of a "sticky" sound at low (parking lot) speeds when they are brand new until you wear them down a little. The Defenders work well at all PSI, but until you put about a thousand miles of wear on them, run them at 44 PSI so you can keep the efficiency up for range (if needed), otherwise, they work great at 40 PSI also as you suggested. If you run them at 36 PSI, I can already tell you that it will make about a -0.5 efficiency difference in range (36 PSI vs 44 PSI). I've been very happy with my Defenders, great handling, quiet, and so far seem to be doing very well on the wear, so hopefully if they get close to the claimed 90k miles, it is still a lot of money saved vs. LRR tires they sell for twice the price.

Thanks for the info .

Judging by the left front tire , probably need a front end alignment , too . Should I put a few miles on them first or does it make any differences ?

Any surprises with the Leaf suspension or pretty much standard fro front wheel drive ?

God bless
Wyr

Ended up ordering 2 Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Plus P205/60R16 91H BSW from [email protected] . Total $ 150.55 for 2 , including shipping .

I think the local place I have used before charges about $ 10 per tire to mount them .

We still need to check the front end alignment .

I think the Leaf may still have the original tires ? All 4 are Ecopia . The back 2 look to still have a good bit of tread left . Perhaps the 1st owner never rotated them ? 31,000 - 32,000 miles .

I know tires can go bad with age . May move the back 2 to the front and put the 2 new ones on the back . Front Wheel Drive cars wear the front tiles out much faster on the front . Might get some fair amount of the remaining tread wear out of the of the 2 remaining OEM tires before age catches up with them ?

Thanks ,
God bless
Wyr

Definitely have the alignment checked. It would suck to have a brand new set of tires ruined by a bad alignment.

Regarding the rear tires, if they have considerably more tread than the fronts, very likely they were not rotated, at least not for some time. The practice with most tire shops today is to put the older tires up front and the new tires in the back. It's mostly for liability; having worn tires up front means the front end will lose traction before the rears, which is easier for most non-professional drivers to control than if the rears lose traction first.

GerryAZ said:

My experience with 2 LEAFs is that the tires get progressively noisier as miles accumulate. They quiet down when they are rotated. I replaced the Ecopias on the 2011 with tread left because they became really loud and rotating no longer helped. The Michelin MXM4s I put on were much quieter, but still became noisier by time for rotation. The Michelins that came on the 2015 are still relatively quiet after rotating, but do not have the dry traction/handling capability of the MXM4s or the wet traction of the Ecopias (provided Ecopias were inflated to 44 psi -- wet traction, wear, and general handling were really bad if less than 40 psi).

Gerry

Click to expand...

Gerry:

My front tires are getting ready to be replaced (original Ecopias with 32k miles- rears OK). I'm thinking MXV4 or the MXM4. Only info I have so far is that MXMs seem to be for "performance". Do you have any feedback on the MXMs? Thanks...............

I'm 60k miles in on my second Ecopias, they will need replacement at 65 or even later. I know they got their share of criticism but I'm a happy camper and will just get another set when time comes.

kipduff said:

GerryAZ said:

My experience with 2 LEAFs is that the tires get progressively noisier as miles accumulate. They quiet down when they are rotated. I replaced the Ecopias on the 2011 with tread left because they became really loud and rotating no longer helped. The Michelin MXM4s I put on were much quieter, but still became noisier by time for rotation. The Michelins that came on the 2015 are still relatively quiet after rotating, but do not have the dry traction/handling capability of the MXM4s or the wet traction of the Ecopias (provided Ecopias were inflated to 44 psi -- wet traction, wear, and general handling were really bad if less than 40 psi).

Gerry

Click to expand...

Gerry:

My front tires are getting ready to be replaced (original Ecopias with 32k miles- rears OK). I'm thinking MXV4 or the MXM4. Only info I have so far is that MXMs seem to be for "performance". Do you have any feedback on the MXMs? Thanks...............

Click to expand...

There are several different versions of MXV4s and I have read mixed reviews on them. The MXM4s are more performance oriented (rated AA for traction compared to A for the MXV4s). I lost about 10% of range compared to the Ecopias when I put the MXM4s on the 2011. I liked the MXM4s and considered them for the 2015, but they were not in stock when I needed to replace the original Energy Saver A/S Michelins. I purchased Continentals from Discount Tire and really like the performance with superior wet and dry traction. The Continentals dropped my range over 10% and are a bit noisier, but the performance is worth it. The Energy Savers were the worst tires I have owned for wet traction on the streets in Phoenix with oil residue and water mixed (regardless of inflation pressure). I would buy Ecopias if range were a concern because they work well in the rain if they are inflated to 44 psi.

Gerry

The time has come to replace the original 17" Michelin tires on my 2015 Leaf SV. Originals lasted 24k :x. I had the mechanic install a set of SUMITOMO (not sure of model) for a great price. He laughed when I mentioned LRR tires and said he had never heard of such. So I went with the suggested tires and now this week on my normal 17 mile (1 way) trip to work I have noticed my range is left at 74 miles where as the stock tires left me with 84 miles!!! A 10 mile range decrease each way is a significant decrease in range! I am increasing the inflation from 36 psi to 42 psi and see what happens. I still have a narrow window that I can exchange the tires and pay the BIG difference for some other tire (maybe the Continental Pure Contact) but just wondering if anyone has gone down this road.

2/16/17 After inflating to 42 psi I only gained 4 miles on the remaining range once I got to the office. It read 78 miles and 80% of charge!