Hey, I swapped out my Nexens for brand new Michelin Primacy A/S tires.....boy did my range took a hit. With the old Nexens, I can average 4-4.5 miles/kWh. With the new Michelins, it drops down to 3.7-4.2 miles/kWh. This is with all the same driving conditions. The Michelins are rate V94, and seem to be softer tires. I can feel there's less road noise, but not much difference compared to the old Nexens. As a matter of fact, I tried getting my tire pressure around 39-40 psi, but again not much increase in range with the Michelins. Just wondering if there are better tires than the Nexens for range. I thought the tires doesn't really make a difference, boy was I wrong. I always use Michelins on my cars, and I thought swapping them to my Kona EV would be an upgrade....LOL
The tires' max pressure is 44 psi....LOL You can also expect a +4-5 psi increase when driving on summer roads. That is why I will only have it up to 39 psi.
Oh, I wanted to also say how much I love the tire pressure monitor on this car. I really like how it shows digitally the psi in real time. Whether I am inflating the tires or driving, I can check real time the actual tire pressure.....no longer with the tire pressure alarm going off and not knowing what is the actual tire pressure and which tire is having the problem (those tire pressure gauge you screw into the tire stems are a pain to use anyways).
While I don't really like the noise and the lack of traction of the Nexens, I do like the range with them and the low price. Walmart has them for $97 per tire.. So, when it's time for me to change my tires (which probably will happen in the next 10k to 15k miles), I will get the same Nexens again. Don't want to take a chance reducing my range..
Got a spare set put away for when I need them (less than $100 bucks for the four w/11 kms on them) as their range rules. I just don't like the traction when snow is on the road, but around here that's only a couple of days a year so I don't mind taking the bus on those rare occasions if I have to get out.
Don't take my word for it and do a little research on hypermiling and tire pressures. Most tires actually have burst pressures significantly higher than the sidewall rating. My Nexens have been running very well on 48 psi cold measurement for the past 6 months I am sure you Michelins can at very least handle the 44 psi rating which incidentally is a cold reading rating.
I run the stock Nexens at 60 psi or more. It's hilarious that the TPMS display tops out at 51 and just sits there. I give it a glance soon after taking off when I head out, and if it's not 51 all around I know there's a problem.. 44-sidewall Michelins on the Prius at 55 - 60 too, and with every set of tires that car has had. Uniformly flat wear across the tread, like it should be. _H*
Honestly I don't think it makes any difference on the noise. The tires are noisy no mater what. For certain the ride is a little firmer but I can't say its unpleasant. I am not certain what it may have on range but my current summer time consumption is as high as 6 miles per kw urban cycle and 4.2 miles highway typically at 65 mph, seems pretty good compared to my winter tires
So, it appears that when it comes to range, the Nexens may be the best tire.. From a handling perspective, they are crappy but I love the range that I'm getting with them... I had high expectations for the Michelins but it appears that they will give you less range...
I was hoping to run the Nexens until the treads are low.....alas, that was not be be. A flat tire, and the buy 3 get 1 free deal at American Tire Depot persuaded me to swap out to a new set of Michelins. Thank you for all your input. I will try to inflate the tires at 44 psi cold. But even at 44 psi on the hot summer roads, the range still was about to same. I found out that the new Michelins can achieve the same range as my old Nexens....at a lower speed. With the Nexens, I can go 65-68 mph....with the Michelins, I will have to go 60-63 mph. Feels like grandma driving with people going 70+ mph and cutting you off.....but I usually stick to the slowest lane anyways. I feel more secure on my Michelins, however, because I had used Michelins for over 20 years and the tires never gave me a flat. I tried numerous other brands (Goodyears, Bridgestones, Firestones) and they all gave me flats one time or another. Never tried more exotic tires like Yokohamas or Pirellis.
