Why do so many think the Ecopias are terrible?

[Nubo]

Wow, that is a 22% increase, which begs the question, what were you running on it before??? Did they actually have any air in them? :lol:

To be fair, the previous tires had a very aggressive tread. I'm not certain but I think they were Michelin Pilot Sport AS.

Now, she was aiming for better mileage with the replacements so driving habits might have come into play. I just try to keep the talent happy.

 

[mwalsh]

I know I've said it ad-nauseam, but I've been really happy with my Ecopias - even edge-to-edge wear on all four for the last 30,000 miles, and I expect to get at least another 10k out of them before I'm down to the wear bars.

 

[TomT]

I hear you!

Now, she was aiming for better mileage with the replacements so driving habits might have come into play. I just try to keep the talent happy.

 

[KillaWhat]

You are driving an econo-box with electric propulsion not a sports car that is equipped for some of the driving habits I've seen here in this thread and in the other thread

Speak for yourself!

I'm driving a small car with whiplash acceleration, linear torque, a VERY low center of gravity, equipped with 17" Wheels with225-45 series Michelin MXM4 Tires.

Econobox... I don't think so

 

[dgpcolorado]

...The # of miles someone can get out of a set of tires can depend A LOT on road conditions, the driver and the type of driving...

Yes. It was discussed in other tire threads here: those who often drive on wet roads tend to get much better tire wear than dry road drivers. I would expect that heat also matters. And, as I hope that everyone knows, driving a lot of curves with high centripetal acceleration is a lot harder on tires than mostly straight constant speed driving.

I drive a lot of sharp curves, including hairpins, on steep hills. In addition to some dirt/gravel road driving, even the paved roads tend to be pretty rough surfaced (chip-seal). So, even being an easy-does-it driver, of course I get fewer miles out of tires than most people do. As a (relatively) low annual miles driver the tires still last for a lot of years, so I don't give replacing them much thought.

 

[apvbguy]

You are driving an econo-box with electric propulsion not a sports car that is equipped for some of the driving habits I've seen here in this thread and in the other thread

Speak for yourself!

I'm driving a small car with whiplash acceleration, linear torque, a VERY low center of gravity, equipped with 17" Wheels with225-45 series Michelin MXM4 Tires.

Econobox... I don't think so

just because it zooms off the line does not make it a high performance vehicle, many people are confused about that term like you seem to be, speed off the line is but one of a few qualifiers. If people stopped taking the turns on freeway ramps like F1 drivers maybe they'd get better life from the OEM tires

 

[smkettner]

Maybe the front wheels need a little more positive caster. Might give a little better feel for the road too.

 

[Ingineer]

Several years ago (before LEAF) I actually intentionally purchased 422's for my Prius to replace the OEM Goodyear Integrities. Talk about a crappy OEM tire! The 422's were a world better. I remember the Costco guy telling me that they originally stopped carrying the Ecopias after a number of them had field failures. According to him they were using "orange peels" in the rubber compound and it wasn't holding up. Once Bridgestone reformulated them, the problems went away and Costco started stocking them again, but he still tried to talk me out of them. I made my decision after many positive reports on PriusChat and several people I know getting them. They still look new on my Prius!

Costco has some weird policies, and I don't much trust them. One time they flat out refused to rotate front to back once citing some "safety" issue. I think they were just trying to sell me more tires.

-Phil

 

[Ingineer]

Reference point:

Also, according to the manual only the toe is adjustable. If anything else is out of alignment, they tell you to replace components.

-Phil

 

[KillaWhat]

just because it zooms off the line does not make it a high performance vehicle, many people are confused about that term like you seem to be, speed off the line is but one of a few qualifiers. If people stopped taking the turns on freeway ramps like F1 drivers maybe they'd get better life from the OEM tires

OooooOoo so serious

I'm used to driving fairly aggressive automotive equipment.
I still keep a couple pieces of Deutschland's finest engineering in my hangar for when I'm feeling frisky.

I ordered my Leaf on day 1, long before I knew that the Tesla S was coming down the pipe.
My next vehicle will probably be a Tesla X.

So, if this little Leaf is going to be my daily driver, constant companion, and errand buddy, it has to make me smile when I get into it.

New interior, and few upgrades, and fairly serious tires have made it so.
Say what you will, 45 series tires on this thing really changes the handling.

No, It's not a Porsche. It's not meant to be.
But without completely changing the suspension, it's the best handling Leaf that it can be.

It makes me smile.

 

[TomT]

Actually, negative camber is what you want on the Leaf...

Maybe the front wheels need a little more positive caster. Might give a little better feel for the road too.

 

[apvbguy]

just because it zooms off the line does not make it a high performance vehicle, many people are confused about that term like you seem to be, speed off the line is but one of a few qualifiers. If people stopped taking the turns on freeway ramps like F1 drivers maybe they'd get better life from the OEM tires

OooooOoo so serious

I'm used to driving fairly aggressive automotive equipment.
I still keep a couple pieces of Deutschland's finest engineering in my hangar for when I'm feeling frisky.

I ordered my Leaf on day 1, long before I knew that the Tesla S was coming down the pipe.
My next vehicle will probably be a Tesla X.

So, if this little Leaf is going to be my daily driver, constant companion, and errand buddy, it has to make me smile when I get into it.

New interior, and few upgrades, and fairly serious tires have made it so.
Say what you will, 45 series tires on this thing really changes the handling.

No, It's not a Porsche. It's not meant to be.
But without completely changing the suspension, it's the best handling Leaf that it can be.

It makes me smile.

backing off a bit? just offer a mea culpa and move on

 

[KillaWhat]

backing off a bit? just offer a mea culpa and move on

I'm sorry... you lost me.

The OEM Ecopias are crappy, low quality OEM tires, that happen to have low rolling resistance.
I know a fair amount about tire construction, but I'm not about to go into it with someone, who for some reason, seems to be making this personal?

I care about my tires.
I care about my Family, and I won't drive around on tires with thin sidewalls and a history of failure.
Even without the history of failure in this particular model, Bridgestone / Firestone does not exactly have the best record for safety and reliability.

Nothing "personal" Dude.
Do whatever you want.

 

[TomT]

He's like this with most everything and most everyone... Just ignore him. Most everyone else does. I have him blocked, so I only see his "posts" when someone quotes him...

Nothing "personal" Dude.
Do whatever you want.

 

[apvbguy]

He's like this with most everything and most everyone... Just ignore him. Most everyone else does.

Nothing "personal" Dude.
Do whatever you want.

it seems like everyone gets to post personal attacks.

read and comprehend, I made a comment saying that it could be possible that people are driving beyond the capabilities of the car and or tires, I specifically stated that the LEAF is not a sports car and shouldn't be driven like one, the gentleman tried to claim that since the car is very fast off the line that the LEAF is indeed very sporty, I noted that being fast off the line is but one part of what makes the car a high performance sports car.
he backed away from his assertions and I said a mea culpa would have been better than obfuscation.

thanks for your ad hominem attack, it really brought some new and great insights to this discussion.