Tire replacement

Looking for recommendation for tires to replace tires of my 2011 Leaf. 29K miles. I am in Bay Area, California.

There have been several discussions about replacement tires, albeit with no consensus as to the best. Some want performance and don't mind the hit to range and others want the lowest rolling resistance for maximum range. Opinions as to which tires are best for these goals are all over the place.

You might start with these two threads:

2012 Nissan LEAF Tire Replacement Research

The New Tire Replacement Post

loss or range is a bummer, but a good tire is pay dirt, in my view, when there is no spare.

Having reviewed the two threads, I have to say it is super confusing. Since I am in Bay Area with no snow and not much heavy rains, I think it may be be ok to stick with Ecopia? Any thoughts?

My second pair of tires is Michelin MXV4 which I love the handling, but the range has been affected. My third pair will be the Michelin Energy Saver tires. Even with all the rain here, I'll think they will handle fine and not affect my range quite so much. I have studs on December through March.

aindian1 said:

Having reviewed the two threads, I have to say it is super confusing. Since I am in Bay Area with no snow and not much heavy rains, I think it may be be ok to stick with Ecopia? Any thoughts?

Click to expand...

The issue with Ecopias is more weak sidewalls and sloppy handling than all-season performance. To make it more confusing, though, it *may* only be the older, lower-rated Ecopias with the sidewall blowout issue. IF you keep them, don't use the doorsill sticker as an inflation guide. 38 - 42psi is actually safer in this case. If you want a cheap, US-made alternative, I'm using Goodyear Eagle LS tires in the 16" OEM size. Their main weakness is hydroplaning at freeway speeds in hard rain.

aindian1 said:

Having reviewed the two threads, I have to say it is super confusing. Since I am in Bay Area with no snow and not much heavy rains, I think it may be be ok to stick with Ecopia? Any thoughts?

Click to expand...

I would like the lowest rolling resistance tires I can get. If there are any comprehensive lists that rank LRR tires I'm not aware of them. And anecdotal reports don't help much.

My OEM Ecopias are almost worn out and should be done at 20K miles; I want to replace them before winter. That's not too surprising given the challenging terrain I drive (one hairpin turn is worth several freeway miles and gravel roads are very hard on tires). I've not had a single flat and I don't have to worry about damaging sidewalls on curbs because there are no curbs and sidewalks here. While the handling isn't the greatest, the tires do ok when inflated to 40-42 PSI. For me, range was everything until recently, but now that I have a public charge station that I can use I could make do with less efficient tires. But I'd really rather keep my driving range as high as possible and tread wear is pretty much irrelevant (since all tires do poorly here).

So, I'm in the same boat: unless I can find another tire that is about as LRR as the Ecopias my inclination is to go with them again.

Sorry, I don't have any answers either.

someone in another tread mentioned that there is a new version of the
Michelin primacy mxv4 89H. I believe it was stated it is lighter and rated at a higher max pressure.

previous versions of the tire were 91H and 91V

Has anyone tried the 89H version?

myleaf said:

someone in another tread mentioned that there is a new version of the
Michelin primacy mxv4 89H.

Click to expand...

The MXV4 has been superseded by the Premier A/S. So far anecdotal reports indicate that it has better rolling resistance than the MXV4.

As far as Michelins go, the only tire that might be better from a rolling resistance perspective would be the Energy Saver, but keep in mind it's a Summer tire. It's also hard to find and expensive.

I've got the Michelin MXV4 91H. If I had to do it all over again, I would either go with the MXV4 91V (higher speed rating, grippier tire) or another set of Ecrapias.

The Ecopias have very low rolling resistance- and while they are overall a lousy tire, I have noticed a not-insignificant loss in range with my new Michelins and sort of miss the efficiency of the Ecopia.

New tires tend to have high RR until broken in - several hundred miles.

drees said:

myleaf said:

someone in another tread mentioned that there is a new version of the
Michelin primacy mxv4 89H.

Click to expand...

The MXV4 has been superseded by the Premier A/S. So far anecdotal reports indicate that it has better rolling resistance than the MXV4.

As far as Michelins go, the only tire that might be better from a rolling resistance perspective would be the Energy Saver, but keep in mind it's a Summer tire. It's also hard to find and expensive.

Click to expand...

Had Michelin Energy Saver A/S on Honda Fit EV for 48k and Ford C-Max Energi for 40k. Replaced both with Michelin Premier A/S. Better traction, but suffered a 7% range loss on both vehicles. Have Energy Saver A/S on Chevy Bolt which could use more traction, but I don't want to give up the range, so will replace with same. Drivers with real winter mostly went to snow tires for winter driving, though a few thought the Energy Saver was acceptable in wet/snow. My wife was not happy with wet traction, which is why we went with the Premiers on the C-Max.

There are winter tires that are as efficient as summer tires.
Like Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2.

Type whatever tire you consider and add "energy label".
It will look like that:

This label is mandatory in EU. As we hardly use All-Weather tires it's harder to find label for those
(or tires that are not for EU at all).