Magellan55

38 psi cold. creeps up to about 40 on the display when driving.

ceads9

I keep them at factory 33/32 went up didn't care the ride. Have 18 wheels . I also didn't see a MPG increase . That being said drove to destin from Kansas with 5 people and a loaded car so I out a few extra pounds of air and got around 35 ish mpg with lots of AC and lots of rain and lots of sitting and waiting. Had Toyos before replaced at 34k . Better tire but... the replacement cost had a lot to do with it. They are better but I'd if the Toyos would have been cheaper I might have gone that way.

drklain

Interesting. I'm running 38-40 psi right now. Tough to tell if the MPG has changed. At first gland it appears to have changed, but i wasn't doing as much highway driving. Previously I averaged around 40 MPG per tank of gas. Right now I'm running around 36 but with mainly short, neighborhood type driving. Will report back.

Is the consensus that the higher tire pressure gives you a better ride and better MPG? Or is it the lower 31-32 PSI that gives you the better MPG, but a worse ride?

Magellan55

higher psi generally gives you higher mpg, though I haven't personally tested that. Rolling resistance is partly due to heat generated by flexing the tread and sidewall as the tires roll. so it makes sense the higher pressure leads to less flexing. But less flexing also means a stiff ride with more road imperfections transmitted to the car.

One other reason I use higher than stock psi is for better tire wear - I've found on many cars that the recommended 30-32 psi prematurely wears the edges of my tires. So I inflate them more to get even wear across the tread.

drklain

Good to know. I'm definitely running lower gas mileage than before with the Toyos (maybe a 3-4mpg drop) but the ride is definitely better than what I had. Have the tired inflated to between 38-40 psi...don't want to push any higher than 40. We'll see how things go...

dedas1

Hey I would love to hear your findings with increasing your psi. I am also contemplating trying it since my mpg are down 3-4 mpg. i was surprised that it made that much difference. The Toyo's were not advertised as a LRR tire that I am aware of compared to the Primacy. I am currently at 34 and it increases to 36-38 when driving on streets or highway. I just filled up and will pump up to 36 and see what happens and report back after 2 tank fills.

drklain

I increased my PSI to 38. So far haven't noticed any alteration, but the problem I have is that I changed jobs literally the same week I replaced the tires. My old commute was 40+ miles each way, on the highway where I would generally get optimum mileage (despite the insane DC beltway traffic). My new job is 8 miles from my house and all city streets/stoplights. So I really don't have an apples-to-apples comparison.

In general, it appears I've lost about 4-5 mpg since shifting over from the Toyos, but how much of that is due to the Michelins and how much is due to the change in driving I can't tell...

drklain

Just an update on gas mileage. I have my tires at 38-39 psi cold. Finally got to do some long highway driving similar to my old commute. Under similar conditions in the past, I would see around 40MPG, I now saw around 38.3 MPG. Looks like the Michelin Primacy's cost around 4-5% of gas mileage but at the benefit of a much smoother and quieter ride. Will continue monitoring but so far I'm happy with the shift -- especially given the high cost of replacing the Toyos with Toyos!

GS300ken

I just bought a set of Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring tire for my HS250H Premium and I am very suprise at the quality from Cooper. The tires are better than my stock Toyo proxy and I got a good deal from Discount Tire Direct. Less than $400 with mail in rebate. My Lexus is so quiet now plus the mpg isn't bad.

Magellan55

also keep in mind you'll naturally see lower mpg on new tires compared to old ones, just due to the tread wearing off the old ones, which decreases its diameter, hence how far you go with each revolution. So you aren't really going a mile when the odometer says you did. The effect isn't huge, but works out to about 2%, which is about 0.8 mpg for the HS.

drklain

Good tip I had not thought of. I makes sense that the larger diameter will throw things off (at least as far as the "miles per gallon" computation by the car which is presumably set for one specific tire diameter).

850R

My factory Toyos were starting wear into the wearout bars on both shoulders, while the center rain grooves still had 3.5/32 still. The front's were a little bit better. I had 38,500 miles on the odometer, so I decided to take advantage of Discount Tire's pre Labour day sale and replaced the Toyos with four Primacy MXM4s. The car is a totally different vehicle. It ride amazingly smooth and the cabin noise is non-existent. I can hear the hybrid system's background sounds during braking. My wife and I can have a normal decibel level conversation during highway speeds. None of this was possible, beforehand due to the intense noise that the Toyos made. My DT sales did mention that all vehicles, including the HS250h and the CT, that are equipped with the low profile MXM4s generally only get 45K of tread life no matter how diligent the owners are concerning tire rotation and inflation checks. That being said, Michelin is very good when it comes to giving credits for early wearout.

nht48823

my recent 2011 purchase base (17'') 4 days now - I will require new tires soon. looks like they have the original OEM and it has 35K millage. sounds like Michelin MXV4 is the way to go...but they are so pricey. I dont want to drop another 750-800 bucks right now...

do you guys have anything else you can recommend ?

I want better millage and quit and comfortable ride. my current Michelin are little noisy i think on the hwy. maybe because the tread do look warned.

i hate to make a wrong choice just to save 100 bucs and then you are stuck with the tire for next 3 years....

Thanks

ceads9

I didn't mind the Toyos at first but when they started to wear they got worse. Seems like a lot of us bought the Michelin Primacy mxm4 not all but a lot did . No problems . I just went to Tire rack and Discount tire ..best price . And looked at the LRR tires and make my choice
Good luck, Chris

Magellan55

I tried the continental DWS tires on my HS to save some $$, and while they were great in the rain, they were noisier than the Toyo's and had poor mpg. The Primacy MXM4's were improvements in both. MXM4 and MXV4 are about the same, but the MXM4 is for lower profile. MXV4 is probably the right tire for the 17's.