Replaced Bridgestone EP422 for Michelin Energy MXV lost 7%!

I replaced my original BS Ecopia tires on my 2011 Leaf. They had 30K miles on them and during that time, I ended up at 4.3 miles/kwhr. I blindly went with the Michelins because I've had decades of success with the brand and they were rated highly for low rolling resistance by The Tire Rack. But as soon as I drove away from Costco, the car felt like it was struggling to overcome the tires. Kind of like dragging the car down. I should have returned them under the 30-day option but was lazy and heard on here they should improve after 1K miles or so. Well, it's been 5K miles now and I cannot get over 4.0 miles/kwhr even at 45psi. I rarely ran the Ecopias as high as 40psi. Driving an EV with limited range makes a 7% drop in range huge and I don't even care about the ride/handling or wear of the new tires, I want my efficiency/range back! BTW, the driving routine was identical with both sets of tires, nothing else changed. I'm disapponted to say the least.

I bought cheap (but US-made) Goodyear Eagle L/S tires from an Ebay dealer, and I regularly get 4.4 with them now. A recent trip raised it to 4.6 and it hasn't dropped back a couple of hundred miles later...

Well, if you'd checked here first I could have warned you that would happen. On the plus side, the Michelin tires are soooo much better to drive on. You'll never see that efficiency again though.

I wonder how the Michelin Energy MXV compares to the Michelin Energy A/S that the SL Leafs come with from the factory?

asimba2 said:

I wonder how the Michelin Energy MXV compares to the Michelin Energy A/S that the SL Leafs come with from the factory?

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my switch to MXV cost me 10%, from high 4s to low 4s kwh/m.
i miss it but think the trade off for a solid, reliable tire when there is NO spare was worth the loss.

mwalsh said:

Well, if you'd checked here first I could have warned you that would happen. On the plus side, the Michelin tires are soooo much better to drive on. You'll never see that efficiency again though.

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Yea, I didn't do enough research it seems. The good news is that given my driving routine, I don't need the extra range with 10 bars still showing @35K. The next tire change will be more critical.

mwalsh said:

Well, if you'd checked here first I could have warned you that would happen. On the plus side, the Michelin tires are soooo much better to drive on. You'll never see that efficiency again though.

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I'm not sure about that... I also saw a significant drop in efficiency and range when I swapped out my original Goodyear Fuel Max tires on my 2011 Volt with MXV 4 tires. Consumer Reports rates them as excellent for LRR but when you look at the fine print the exact tire size they tested has about the smallest new tire depth and road contact patch area among all of the MXV tire sizes available. The size that fit my Volt had the deepest new tread depth and a larger contact patch. That's great for tire life and road traction but bad for relative LRR. After about 25,000 - 30,000 miles on the new tires I finally seem to have worn down the tread enough to restore very close to my original efficiency. Even after all those miles the tires are in great shape and still have lots of tread depth so I think I may be able to drive on them for another 30,000 - 40,000 miles with good efficiency and an otherwise all-around great tire. But if there is another next time, I will probably go back to the Fuel Max tires.

There are several threads about Leaf tire replacements (one started by me with Michelin Defenders). While I too took an initial ~10% hit in efficiency, that has fallen to <5% after 10,000 miles. I like the Defenders so much I put a set on my other (ICE) car.

asimba2 said:

I wonder how the Michelin Energy MXV compares to the Michelin Energy A/S that the SL Leafs come with from the factory?

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+1 and how do the Energy Saver A/S compare to the EP422 as well.

I sure wish US tires were marked for RR like European tires are.

Interesting info people. It seems we can't have it all and there some classic trade-offs. One encouraging note for me is that the MXV's seem to recover some efficiency after the initial hit partly because they appear to last longer than the 30K of my EP422's. I haven't seen any improvement in 5K miles, but if they last 40~50K, it's still pretty early.

dhanson865 said:

+1 and how do the Energy Saver A/S compare to the EP422 as well.

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In the Prius world, the Energy Saver summer tire was regarded to be the best tire available in terms of rolling resistance. The A/S version also appears to be top notch, so I would have to assume that it's very similar to the EP422. The problem is that the tire is not available in the stock 16" LEAF size. And the Energy Saver summer tire is no longer available or very hard to find.

The Good Year FuelMax (~$110) is probably the easiest good LRR tire to find in the 205/55/16 size with efficiency similar to the EP422, and the price is reasonable, too, compared to the Michelins.

Other tires to consider in the 205/55/16 size:

Michelin Premier A/S - probably somewhere between the EP422 and the MXV4 in rolling resistance. ~$150
RoadHugger GT Eco (DiscountTire rebranded Kumho EcoWing) - also probably somewhere between the EP422 and the MXV4 in rolling resistance. ~$105

drees said:

dhanson865 said:

+1 and how do the Energy Saver A/S compare to the EP422 as well.

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In the Prius world, the Energy Saver summer tire was regarded to be the best tire available in terms of rolling resistance. The A/S version also appears to be top notch, so I would have to assume that it's very similar to the EP422. The problem is that the tire is not available in the stock 16" LEAF size. And the Energy Saver summer tire is no longer available or very hard to find.

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I too went looking for the Energy Saver A/S only to find it wasn't available in the LEAF size for the 2011/2012s. After reading everything here I finally opted to go again with the BS Ecopias after getting a big discount on them. I'm making sure they are 42 psi this time around and hoping that their after market version lasts longer than the version that was shipped with the LEAF. I got only 15k miles on the stock tires for our 2011 LEAF, but for whatever reason (perhaps slip-resistant freeway road surfaces) everyone in our area seems to see their tires wear out faster than in most other places.

The good news is that range actually improved slightly with the tire change.

drees said:

dhanson865 said:

+1 and how do the Energy Saver A/S compare to the EP422 as well.

Click to expand...

In the Prius world, the Energy Saver summer tire was regarded to be the best tire available in terms of rolling resistance. The A/S version also appears to be top notch, so I would have to assume that it's very similar to the EP422. The problem is that the tire is not available in the stock 16" LEAF size. And the Energy Saver summer tire is no longer available or very hard to find.

The Good Year FuelMax (~$110) is probably the easiest good LRR tire to find in the 205/55/16 size with efficiency similar to the EP422, and the price is reasonable, too, compared to the Michelins.

Other tires to consider in the 205/55/16 size:

Michelin Premier A/S - probably somewhere between the EP422 and the MXV4 in rolling resistance. ~$150
RoadHugger GT Eco (DiscountTire rebranded Kumho EcoWing) - also probably somewhere between the EP422 and the MXV4 in rolling resistance. ~$105

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Goodyear fuelmax doesn't show up well in the tirerack customer surveys with a buy again rating of 4.8 out of 10. I'd get the Michelen Defender before I'd look at the Goodyear fuelmax (and the Defender gives poor range).

http://www.michelinman.com/tire-selector/vehicle/2011/Nissan/LEAF/SL/OE/BNW/energy-saver/tire-details#techspecs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; says you can get the Energy Saver summer tire for the Leaf as a 205/55R16

speaking of the thread title Michelin Energy MXV? Which one the Plus or the S8?

Better would be the Michelin Primacy MXV4 (or is it MXM4) whichever one is the go to for energy efficiency on the Telsa model S.

It'd be nice to have better numbers to now how much range/efficiency is gained/lost between the tires you and I mentioned.

I'm a big fan of the Kumho Ecowing. The mileage on our Prius went UP noticeably when we installed them. It's a hard tire to find, however, so I'm glad to see that Discount/America's Tire now has it, rebranded as the Road Hugger Eco. Suggest anyone needing tires give that one a try. Discount/America's is very cool about taking tires back if you end up not liking them.

cgaydos said:

I too went looking for the Energy Saver A/S only to find it wasn't available in the LEAF size for the 2011/2012s.

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The 17" wheel option for the Leaf (will soon be available on 2015 SV models) seems to be a win-win. They really improve the appearance of the car, the range is rated no different than the 16"/Ecopia-equipped Leafs, and the tread wear seems to be a lot better. If I can find some reasonably priced 17" Leaf wheels, I will likely have the Energy Saver A/S tires installed.