OEM tire vs GY Fuel Max / H4S / Pilot Exalto AS ( H )

[camryen08]

Hi All,
First of all, i know there are a lot of threads about tires,but since there is one new tire in my list,i would like to hear suggestion from everybody.
After putting around 28500 miles on my 08 camry LE I4, my OEM 400-02 tire depth left about 3 mm which is around 4/32 inch, so i guess i can at least drive 6000-7000 more miles which give me around 2-3 months to shop around.

I like the feeling ( of comfortable ) of 36-38 psi on the OEM tires,
I don't want a noisy tires ( so i doesn't includes T rates tire, like HydroEdge, which usually more noisy ?; correct me and give me an example ) But i do want a tire get at least same MPG on OEM 400-2

Now i drive like grandma in order to get better MPG and for better safty issue on the near worn out tire. ( Recently 29 ~ 29.5 mpg on 70% hw / 30% city, 65-75 mph ( hw) / 35 -45 mph ( city ) on 82 mile daily commute with 300 lbs loading, around 28 mpg for the whole 28.5k miles )

My priority is : comfortable = mpg > handling
since i drive like grandma recently, handling is no more high priority for me.

Any one use at least 2 of the 4 tires? Especially on the new ( announced Feb/09 ) GY Assurance Fuel Max. Please share your experience.

Thanks a lot

[GSW]

I would be interested in this as well. I just bought some Lexus 17 inch alloys and need good tires to go with them. I'm curious about the Goodyear Fuel Max but, it may be to new a tire to get any reviews here.

[MJZ]

I drive like a bandit in S mode (limited to 3, 4, 5 and sometimes cruise in 6th gear... or hit the Torque like crazy in 2nd)...

And I still get 25mpg.

[SE_2007]

T = touring tires, not noisy tires(generally they are more quieter than others depending on brand ect...). T rated tires are know for max comfort and max tread life. ex; Bridgestone Turanza EL400 is a T rated tire with 80,000 mile warranty and max comfort because it's a softer compound. Which comes OEM on most Camry, or like mine 2007 SE came with Michelin Energy MXV4 S8, one of the best tires I've had. But keep in mind this is a V rated tire at 60,000 mile and stiffer side wall which will make the rider a little bumpier. But then again it's up to you if your looking for comfort or performance. This is just a little about tires, i could spend days about this subject.

[camryen08]

Originally Posted by jzh

And I still get 25mpg.

Ya, if i knew it is possible to get 27~28 mpg on my daily commute,
i would have get a V6 instead..

[camryen08]

Originally Posted by SE_2007

T = touring tires, not noisy tires(generally they are more quieter than others depending on brand ect...). T rated tires are know for max comfort and max tread life.

Thanks, I got wrong impression after reading tons of review on tire rack.
Some people complain about the road noise on several T rated tires,
and said want to go with H or V rated tires ( but maybe different brand,
like you mentioned. brand also a factor... ).

[camryen08]

to GSW:
if i do go with fuel max, i'll update this thread after I put 2000 miles on it

[SE_2007]

Originally Posted by camryen08

Thanks, I got wrong impression after reading tons of review on tire rack.
Some people complain about the road noise on several T rated tires,
and said want to go with H or V rated tires ( but maybe different brand,
like you mentioned. brand also a factor... ).

yeah... i know this is one of those tricky subjects.

[camryen08]

Originally Posted by camryen08

to GSW:
if i do go with fuel max, i'll update this thread after I put 2000 miles on it

Update:
I just went to America's Tire to ask about installation fee if I order
from DiscountTireDirect ( 13 USD less and no tax, but shipping to your home ).
That guy is very friendly and want to do price match.
So I decided to buy from them and pay today to get another promotion ( 40 USD discount ) ends this Sunday. And I can install anytime later.

Total is around 465 dollars ( includes everything except free replacement certificate and TPMS rebuild kit). I'm happy with the price.
Now I hope current tire wear out faster to try the new tires.

[GSW]

Originally Posted by camryen08

Update:
I just went to America's Tire to ask about installation fee if I order
from DiscountTireDirect ( 13 USD less and no tax, but shipping to your home ).
That guy is very friendly and want to do price match.
So I decided to buy from them and pay today to get another promotion ( 40 USD discount ) ends this Sunday. And I can install anytime later.

Total is around 465 dollars ( includes everything except free replacement certificate and TPMS rebuild kit). I'm happy with the price.
Now I hope current tire wear out faster to try the new tires.

Camryen08, not a bad price. Thanks for the update and let me know how you like them.

[camryen08]

Originally Posted by GSW

Camryen08, not a bad price. Thanks for the update and let me know how you like them.

Update:
Tire ( Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max ) installed on early January/10. Now has more than 12,500 miles on it.

Comfortableness:
32 psi too soft, 36 psi is ok firm.
Dry traction:
32 psi grip is a little worse than half worn stock bridgestone EL400-2.
36 psi lose some grip, i have two times ABS need to kicked in that didn't happened before in the similar situation.

Wet traction:
Do not feel difference from EL400-2, since don't want to push the car
during raining day. But not too bad.

Fuel economy:
New Tire size is almost the same as worn out EL400-2 ( 3/32 left ).
I can not see any difference from my daily 78.4 mile commute

Fuel economy is a little better than EL400-2 when both in 36 psi. ( 29 mpg )
a little worse than EL400-2 when both in 32 psi.

Trend wear:
Trend wear is not bad. Should be no problem to get 60K. ( But remember
I usually drive smoothly ). I usually run at 36 psi. No abnormal wear with tire
rotation every 5000 miles.

Conclusion:
It's a ok tire to me. I'll not buy it again. I don't want to put my whole family's life in danger since sometimes I do like to drive/corning fast.
I think it should be able to find tire with more grip but with similar fuel economy, but will probably more expensive ( >30 USD per tire ).
I think tire can easily reach 60k miles with my driving style, but I probably will replace them well before that.

[molson.david]

I had Continental Conti something on the car when I bough it used: noisy,heavy,no wet traction.
couple month later I bought set of lexus 17" with brand new michelin energy mvx x8: quiet, ok dry tracktion, very poor wet traction, no snow traction and they fast wearing tires.

last summer I got set of avalon wheels and installed pirelli four season P4,$117 @tirerack, best tires in grand touring category: they are not as quiet as michelins, but not noisy too. but traction dry and wet way better, and wear-no wear! I keep 34 front-32back psi in them, put 14-16K on them alredy with no more than 2 rotations and even front tires still look much better than michelins after only 5-6K.
I'm assuming they wouldn't last more than 15-17K-no way! at 5-6k front tires lost almost half of tread!
same michelins were installed on sister's IS250, she is very accurate driver, but tires came bold at 20K!

100% city driving with traffics and ac I’m getting 22.1-last calculations- MPG on 4 cyl now. before I never went above 23+ with no ac @ spring and fall time.
I would never again by michelins, at least not for what they cost.
I'm surprised when people paying $150-170 per michelin.
there is way better tires for less.

[Shelbrain]

I replaced the OEM tires after getting 68k miles out of them. When they were replaced, all four tires still had 4/32" to them however I felt I did it for piece of mind. I replaced the tires with the Michelin Pilot Exalto tires on my 08 Camry LE. I now have 80k miles on the vehicle, have rotated them once at 75k. I really like the tire, but my MPG has definitely gone down 2-3 mpg as a result of the tire change. I have tracked every mile and gallon of gas put in the vehicle. That being said, I still enjoy the tires, they are very quiet, have been wearing well and I think they will last a long time.

Edit: The OEM tires were Michelin Energy so I replaced them with the Michelin Pilot Exaltos. I bought them at Sams Club for $135/tire.

[aznlunatic206]

Originally Posted by MJZ

I drive like a bandit in S mode (limited to 3, 4, 5 and sometimes cruise in 6th gear... or hit the Torque like crazy in 2nd)...

And I still get 25mpg.

dam you and your i4...