centralpaleaf said:
Hello,
Has anyone purchased new tires for their Leaf yet? Reason being we are at 13k miles and dealer and friend said they will be done by 17k-20k. I looked up the info and apparently they were correct, average of these are around 20,000 on some sites. Anyone have a recommendation for long lasting? I'm in sometimes snow sometimes ice country here in Central PA. Any help would be wonderful. Thanks a bunch,
I haven't used any of these tires but based on survey results I'd suggest one of 3 strategies.
1. efficiency as the first priority, just get Michelin Energy Saver A/S in one of the two sizes listed below and use them year round only changing air pressure and rotating as needed.
Michelin Energy Saver A/S
P205/60R16 91V SL Green X 480 A A 51 psi max 21 lbs. 25.7" 810 US
215/50R17 90V SL Green X 480 A A 44 psi max 22 lbs. 25.5" 815 CA
2. One set of tires with traction as the priority, they won't give as many miles per charge as the energy savers but they have better winter traction.
Continental PureContact with Ecoplus
205/60R16 92H SL EcoPlus 700 A A 51 psi max 21 lbs. 25.7" 808 MX
215/50R17 95V XL EcoPlus 700 A A 51 psi max 22 lbs. 25.5" 815 MX
3. Two sets of tires with efficiency as the priority in the summer and traction as the priority in the winter. Grab the Energy Savers as in scenario 1 for your spring/summer/fall tires and get a second set of tires for the winter.
If you are willing to buy a 2nd set of rims for the winter tires they don't need to be the same size as the summer tires and you can save money buying the smaller rims / smaller tires vs buying the 17" rims. Conversely if you want to use this as an excuse to buy 17" rims you can buy some with the new summer tires in the 17" and put the winter tires on the old 16" rims. You will get better range per charge on the 16" rims.
as to the winter choice you can go LRR with the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 at 205/60R16 for LRR or just go with the snow tires of your choice at that size.
If you are wondering why I list 205/60R16 instead of 205/55R16 see http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=12606&start=20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;