What tire would you recommend?

[BarryP]

Hello Alex,
I ordered two “145/65R15 Yokohama iceGUARD iG20” @ $54.85 each for the front and two “175/60R15 Yokohama iceGUARD iG20” for $57.90 each for the back. Free shipping and tire road hazard.
-Barry
Leaving elctrons in my wake

 

[bradleydavidgood777]

I saw these Yokos on TireRack the other day since my Dunlop originals are getting low and inspection is coming up in April. My immediate thought was to buy these, since they are so cheap, and run them year round. I wouldn't consider an extra set of rims because I have a second car for long trips and snow.

So for those who own these tires for some time now, how are they? Are they quiet enough? How are they in rain? Do they wear OK?

Dunlops on TireRack - $652

Yokos on TireRack - $225

Thanks!

 

[bradleydavidgood777]

I bought four YOKOHAMA ICEGUARD IG20 tires from tirerack for a total (with tax) of $240. Then Yokohama turned around and mailed me a $60 VISA debit card.
I had a local shop put them on for $80 two weeks ago. They look like great tires for the winter here.
They have been driving quiet. Some mileage has dropped but it's in the noise since temperatures have dropped and the tires have a slight larger circumference as discussed earlier. I would guess a 5% drop in mileage. But that's way cheaper than buying Dunlops.
-Barry

Barry - did you do anything for the $60 VISA or did they just automatically send it?

Thanks!

 

[Don]

Dunlops on TireRack - $652

Yokos on TireRack - $225

The big advantage to the Dunlops is . . . . the car goes about 10% farther on a charge than it does on the Yoko's or most other tires. So, if an extra 5 to 7 miles of range is important to you, then I guess they're worth the price. They also last longer than most other tires. I got right about 30K per set on the Dunlops before they came close to the wear bars . . . . but a LOT depends on how you drive and how correct the car's alignment is - Some weren't all that well aligned coming from the factory. I replaced one set of Dunlops when they 'aged out' after 8 years with a little less than 30K on them and they still had sufficient tread remaining. I'm no big fan of Dunlop tires in general, but for the iMiEV, they're just about the only game in town - Nobody else makes a decent replacement in the sizes we need, IMO

I have a set of Continentals on my personal car on a set of custom wheels - 15 by 5 inch front, 15 by 5.5 inch rears. 175/55R15 on the front and 185/60R15 on the rear and they are working fine, no regen or ABS problems and it corners like a real car compared to the understeering iMiEV it used to be, but even with the Conti-Eco-Contact Continentals, there's still a bit of a range hit when compared to the Dunlops. I did spring for a new set of them for my wife's car and really don't regret spending the extra $$$

Don

 

[bradleydavidgood777]

Thanks Don, good info.

I like the Dunlops a lot on the iMiev and think they do a great overall job. But the range is now much less important to me since I have a 2nd car so I'll probably go with the Yokos. I think I like the look better too.

 

[Don]

IMO, the iMiEV is a great 'second car' . . . . even when it's the one that gets driven 90% of the time. You can buy a more expensive car that you really like, whether that be a Tesla, a Corvette, a conversion van to travel in . . . . whatever, and that other vehicle will last you nearly forever because you're putting all your daily driver miles on the iMiEV. We have a 2017 Volt that gets driven so seldom we're thinking of selling it and a Ford Transit Connect van that we travel in and even though it's a 2014, it only has 30,000 miles on it and at this rate it probably won't have 75,000 on it by 2030. They all live in a garage, so they'll probably last us for the rest of our lives

An early model iMiEV is currently valued at less than $5,000, but it's turned out to be probably the most 'valuable' vehicle we've ever owned

Don

 

[jlhiowa]

A friend noticed that our tires needed to be replaced. Oops, guess we forgot to check that! We still have the stock Dunlop tires. I think we're at 25,000 miles on our 2012 iMiev SE.

We're in the Pacific Northwest coast of California, so it's temperate, about 50-60s F year round. Rains Nov-Feb.

I searched for tires and wanted to share my information, and also see if my picks look good

I'm going by price, so I'm looking at front Vredestein and rear Landsail (bold green below).

Front 145/65R15
$75 Vredestein Quatrac 5. UTQG: 400AA. Tread: 10/32. Tirerack.com
$88 Continental EcoContact EP. UTQG: 240AA. Tread: 8/32. Tirebuyer.com
$92 Continental EcoContact EP. UTQG: 240AA. Tread: 8/32. Discount/America
$94 ContiEcoContact EP Summer. UTQG: 240AA. Tread: 10/32. Tirerack.com
$96 Continental VikingContact 7. UTQG: Ice. Tread: 10/32. Tirerack.com
$163 Dunlop Enasave. UTQG: 340AA. Tread: 8/32. Tirerack.com
* The 145/65R15 Yokohama iceGUARD iG20 tires mentioned on the forum seem to be out of stock on the internet.

Rear 175/60R15
$54 Yokohama iceGUARD iG20. UTQG: Ice. Tread: 11/32. Tirerack.com
$54 Landsail LS388 All season UTQG: 500AA. Tread: 9/32. Prioritytire.com
$91 Pirelli Cinturato Winter. UTQG: Ice. Tread: 11/32. Discount/America
$175 Dunlop Enasave. UTQG: 340AA. Tread: 9/32. Tirerack.com


FYI, I had better luck using 'pick tire by size' than 'pick tire by car model' when I'd search the tire websites.

Thanks in advance

 

[JoeS]

jlhiowa, thank you for compiling this list. I think your selections are just fine. Even though the OEM Dunlop Enasaves probably eke out better mileage, we've learned over time that parameter just doesn't matter much... or does it? hmm, guess 5% improvement over 25,000 miles is 1250 miles at 1kWh/4.2miles and 30 cents/kWh = $ over four tires...... is about $22 per tire, and would be much less if you have solar or in other parts of the country where the rates are lower. Yes, still saves $$. As for traction, handling, safety, etc., our i-MiEV is a workpony, not a racehorse. :roll: Be sure to shop around for getting the tires mounted and balanced...
Edited once to complete the math.

 

[jlhiowa]

Thanks for the feedback! We're not car people so I love having this community to check in with

I just checked and total miles are 22,007, like a secret agent Hahha!

I'll have to chdck our PG&E bill tonight. I think electricity is more expensive in California than it was in Illinois. I did calculations on cost of charging in Illinois, but I didn't redo it after we moved.

Mievy is our main car and we love it! Unfortunately the closest Mitsubishi dealer is 200 miles away So I think it's likely we'll run into a repair that's too difficult/expensive and have to stop using Mievy before we want to :..( But for now we'll keep it and enjoy it as long as possible!

 

[jlhiowa]

I start calling our local places to see about installation and Les Schwab said the Federal Formoza 175/65 r15 should fit both front and rear.

They said it would be $435 to buy and install all 4 tires.

Has anyone changed all their tires to 175/65 r15?

 

[Don]

I have the Continental EcoContacts on my personal iMiEV (but in different sizes) and I really like them. They are quiet, grippy, much better in the rain than the Dunlops and they're long wearing. I didn't know they made them in iMiEV sizes. I think you'd probably be pretty happy with them

Don

 

[jlhiowa]

Don said, "the iMiEV is a great 'second car' . . . . even when it's the one that gets driven 90% of the time." haha I love that, and that's exactly how it is for us!

I messaged PV1 because iMiEV is our main car, so having the tires fail the penny test makes me anxious to get the tires replaced.

PV1 said, "He might be able to squeeze them on the front rims, but they will rub when turning and regen will not work right. The fronts have to be smaller. When I first changed tires, I went one size down on the rear tires and had problems, so the car is really sensitive to tire size.

My friend that had all four tires the same size gained almost 20 miles of range once the fronts were replaced with the correct size."

That matched up with what I read on the forums and (tried) to tell the Les Schwab tech. So I'm going to tell Les Schwab that all 4 tires the same size won't work for our model of car, and we need to keep the circumference difference between front and rear less than 2% like others have posted.

I saw others in Pacific Northwest / CA using Les Schwab, so they had seemed promising. There's also an SPoint tire shop to try out if it doesn't work out with Les Schwab.

Thank you all! I will post sizes and costs after we get the tires replaced.

 

[Don]

I'm actually quite surprised that a major tire store like Les Schwab would install any tire of a different size than the ones called for on the door jamb sticker - Most will refuse to do that for legal liability reasons

If you're not going to use the stock tire sizes, you've got to be very careful choosing sizes which won't disable regenerative braking and probably ABS too. The computer counts the wheel revolutions and when the numbers don't add up properly, it concludes that the car is skidding and disables certain things. The 'secret' is maintaining the same *ratio* between the circumference of OEM front tire size vs the OEM rear tire size

Start by looking up the specs of the OEM tires and calculate how much smaller in circumference the fronts are from the rears. Then, when choosing alternate sizes, maintain that ratio very carefully and everything will work out fine

As an example, I have 175/55R15's on 5 inch wide wheels on the front and 185/60R15's on 5.5 inch wheels on the rear and it drives like it always has . . . . but with MUCH better handling. Other combinations of sizes will work too, but they must be carefully chosen

The problem with using other tire sizes is the tiny 4.5 inch wide front wheels - You can't put much of a tire on those, so going with even a little bigger tire means you need a wider rim. My 5 inch front wheels were custom made by putting a 5.5 inch wheel from a BMW Mini on a large lathe, cutting about 0.6 inch out of the center of it and then welding the two halves back together. The resulting wheel bolts on without using any spacers and *just barely* clears the shock towers - The tire doesn't rub on them either, but it's pretty close. They've been on the car for more than 10,000 miles now
Don

 

[bradleydavidgood777]

I was watching these Yokos as my inspection approached in April. They are snow tires but I now have a long distance 2nd car so I don't care if they have a little more rolling resistance.

Right before my inspection, they dropped the price as spring came around and I got all four for about $230 on tire rack.

I like how they look a lot more than the stock tires.

I went to the parking lot at wet times and dry times and did some slamming brakes and starp turns and all was very predictable and good.

I'm pretty happy.

Pics

 

[TobyGadd]

Mitsubishi has a deal on tires right now. Buy three, get the 4th for $1.00, until May 31st. Makes the Ensaves a much better deal!

https://www.mitsubishitireprogram.com/

Cheers,
Toby

 

[jlhiowa]

Quick update, all 4 tires were changed about a week ago and have driven a few times since then. The tires feel a bit more grippy.

Front 145/65R15 $75 / tire Vredestein Quatrac 5. UTQG: 400AA. Tread: 10/32. Tirerack.com
* Tirerack.com shipped to local tire service shop.
* The order was delayed because my credit card company flagged it as possible fraud.

Rear 175/60R15 $54 / tire Landsail LS388 All season UTQG: 500AA. Tread: 9/32. Prioritytire.com
* Prioritytire.com could only ship to house.
* Shipping was very slow, took 1-2 weeks.

Installation
* Called Tetrault Tire Center to make sure they could set the TPMS for a Mitsubishi iMiev 2012. He checked while I was on the phone and confirmed their machine handled 2012; he said the iMevs a few years newer weren't showing up in their machine.
* $100 ($25 / tire) for installing/mounting, balancing, setting TPMS, and disposing of the 4 old tires. Took less than 40 minutes. Friendly and efficient, would recommend

A friend noticed that our tires needed to be replaced. Oops, guess we forgot to check that! We still have the stock Dunlop tires. We're at 22,007 miles on our 2012 iMiev SE.

We're in the Pacific Northwest coast of California, so it's temperate, about 50-60s F year round. Rains Nov-Feb.

I searched for tires and wanted to share my information, and also see if my picks look good

I'm going by price, so I'm looking at front Vredestein and rear Landsail (bold green below).

Front 145/65R15
$75 Vredestein Quatrac 5. UTQG: 400AA. Tread: 10/32. Tirerack.com
$88 Continental EcoContact EP. UTQG: 240AA. Tread: 8/32. Tirebuyer.com
$92 Continental EcoContact EP. UTQG: 240AA. Tread: 8/32. Discount/America
$94 ContiEcoContact EP Summer. UTQG: 240AA. Tread: 10/32. Tirerack.com
$96 Continental VikingContact 7. UTQG: Ice. Tread: 10/32. Tirerack.com
$163 Dunlop Enasave. UTQG: 340AA. Tread: 8/32. Tirerack.com
* The 145/65R15 Yokohama iceGUARD iG20 tires mentioned on the forum seem to be out of stock on the internet.

Rear 175/60R15
$54 Yokohama iceGUARD iG20. UTQG: Ice. Tread: 11/32. Tirerack.com
$54 Landsail LS388 All season UTQG: 500AA. Tread: 9/32. Prioritytire.com
$91 Pirelli Cinturato Winter. UTQG: Ice. Tread: 11/32. Discount/America
$175 Dunlop Enasave. UTQG: 340AA. Tread: 9/32. Tirerack.com


FYI, I had better luck using 'pick tire by size' than 'pick tire by car model' when I'd search the tire websites.

Thanks in advance

 

[jray3]

Here’s an excellent thread from the UK with tested methods to reduce under steer and front tire wear
https://www.speakev.com/threads/imiev-and-clones-front-wheels-rim-options.135242/page-3

 

[Don]

Here’s an excellent thread from the UK with tested methods to reduce under steer and front tire wear
https://www.speakev.com/threads/imiev-and-clones-front-wheels-rim-options.135242/page-3

They like the 165/60R15's on the front which gives them 'safe understeer' - I like my 175/55R15's for no noticeable understeer at all

Don

 

[kiev]

Howdy Don, What about regen--do you still have the right ratio to get full regen braking?

"Safe Understeer"...? That's funny, if you've ever autocrossed a Miata or a 911 there is little to no joy in that.

 

[ctromley]

My 2012 is still for sale, but I've been driving it to prove out my charrger repair (dozens of charges and doing fine), and now it's due for an inspection. The front tires are near their end.

Tire availability has always been a crapshoot on this car, and as I look now there are a very few tires available. The Continental EcoContact EP was reported here to be discontinued back in 2013(?), but TireRack has them in stock. And they are now rated as "Electric Vehicle Tuned." which is a relatively recent classification. And there are very few reviews. Did Continental re-release it to keep the Smart ForTwo shod?

My specific question is this - TireRack and Conti both describe this as a Summer tire, saying it "is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice." But others list it as All-Season. Has anyone actually used these recently in snow? Are they horrible?

While I'm on the topic, I've also looked at the ProContact in 155/60R15, because some have reported using it with no regen/ASC issues. But the 859 revs/mile figure for the ProContact indicates it's 4.5% bigger in rolling diameter than the 145 EcoContacts (900). Though it's in the right direction - my near-worn-out fronts (Yokohamas, with only half-worn Yokohama rears) are already tripping the ASC in tight turns. (Note that we can't compare to the published rev/mile figure for the original Dunlop Enasaves because it can't be right - 783 revs/mi calculates out to a 25.9" rolling diameter.) By contrast, the Kumho Solus KH16s, also 155/60R15, have a 932 rev/mi figure that puts it 3.6% smaller than the EcoContacts, which seems the wrong direction to go.

Seems to me these rev/mi figures are all over the map, to the extent I can't feel comfortable trusting them....

Anyway, any feedback on the Conti EcoContact EPs in winter?