Why do so many think the Ecopias are terrible?

[smkettner]

Premature wear. I have never run a tire so thin to get 40,000 miles Compares to an old bias ply at best.
Shoulder wear seems a bit much but that might be a suspension design issue. Next set will tell.

 

[dgpcolorado]

A different view:

Unlike most others here I care about mileage efficiency the most since I am pushing the range as my battery ages and there are no public charge stations. I find that the Ecopias handle my mountain twisties and dirt roads well enough. Approaching a 90º turn on a gravel road at 35 mph can be "interesting", especially if it is washboarded, regardless of tires used. I don't have to deal with curbs much, since sidewalks are rare here. I've only parallel parked my LEAF once since I've owned it. Although potholes can be a problem, I know where they are and avoid them.

No tire lasts anywhere close to rated mileage where I live and ratings of 60k to 80k miles are a complete joke around here. If I get 20k to 30k miles on the OEM tires I'll be satisfied.

So, unless someone comes up with a tire that has even lower rolling resistance than the Ecopias I'd pretty much have to buy them again to keep my range up in winter. That matters more to me than how long the tires last.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

We are getting close to range being an issue so knocking 8-10% off is not appealing.

Reading these posts gave me an idea, our ecopias have good tread at 19k miles but I have little confidence they will make it to 36k lease end. Maybe I get two new ecopias and hold on to the takeoffs, then in another 8k miles I swap the other two old ones with the takeoffs. With a little luck I hit the lease end with 4 matching tires, all with the 1/8" min tread, and only having had to buy two tires along the way.

Front Rear Garage
-------------------
get two new tires now:
20k 0k 20k
20k 0k 20k

in another 8k miles, swap the takeoffs to the back, maybe just hold onto one spare in case of a road hazard:
8k 20k 28k
8k 20k 28k

at lease turn in:
16k 28k
16k 28k

This would have been a better idea at the 16k mile mark.

 

[TomT]

I don't know where that 10% number came from... I saw about 4% loss when the MXV4s were new and it has improved since (which is true of all new tires). I now see a difference of about 2% (4.3 versus 4.4) some 26,000 miles later...

We are getting close to range being an issue so knocking 8-10% off is not appealing.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

I don't know where that 10% number came from...

I was basing that on these comments... OK 4.1 is 93% of 4.4, so 7%, still that would be a bite out of our reserve with a 50 mile rt highway commute.

I replaced with MXV4s. They seem durable and quiet, but I seem to have taken a hit on range. Upon switching I noticed going from 4.4KWh/mile to 4.1 KWh/ mile. Although this is not based on a very controlled experiement, this is what I believe is accurate.

Seems to be par for the course.

 

[EVDRIVER]

MXV4's offer significantly better cornering and traction.

I find that hard to believe - I had MXV4s on my last car (Subaru Impreza WRX, same size as the LEAF) because they were reported to to have low rolling resistance. The MXV4s replaced Bridgestone RE92As which aren't all that different than the Ecopias. I found the MXV4s squishy and numb feeling compared to the RE92As - a lot of that because of the deep tread depth on the MVX4s. The tires rolled over quite a bit (like the Ecopias) under aggressive cornering even with the tire pressures pumped up to 44 psi. I'm sure a lot of what I felt was because I was comparing new tires to halfway worn tires, but still.

The Ecopias feel similar to what I remember the RE92s felling like - while it's no summer performance tire, it is a fine all-season tire. But who knows - maybe my memory is fading.

If dry pavement performance is an issue for you - get some LRR summer tires - there's a decent selection these days.

On corners where my car started sliding and would loose control on the Ecopias my car now can go full throttle and never break loose with the MXVs. The ride is superior, the handling is superior, control. predictability, noise, traction. The down side is they are heavier and will reduce 0-60 for those that can notice. I also don't worry about them blowing form a simple road hazard.

 

[UkrainianKozak]

No tire lasts anywhere close to rated mileage where I live and ratings of 60k to 80k miles are a complete joke around here. If I get 20k to 30k miles on the OEM tires I'll be satisfied.

If that's the case, claim you warranty. They should either return money pro-rated or give you pro-rated discount when you buy next set of tires.

As of Ecopias... Sides were completely bold for me at 20K of gentle driving in mild weather on paved roads and car is stored in enclosed garage both at home and work, so no UV damage either...
But even before 20K, on rainy road I was feeling like I'm waterskiing on a highway if I go above about 45mph... wet traction was very poor, considering relatively narrow Ecopias and relatively heavy leaf. MXV4s are SOOO much better in rain, still much better after ~5K, will see how they do in next 20K...

 

[DaveEV]

The range should improve, once the tires start to break in. Atleast, that's what I've been reading from other members.

I read that, too, but haven't experienced it yet 8000 miles later.

Ouch. Looks like you're down easily 10% in efficiency due to the tires. It does appear to be trending up somewhat, but some of that could be seasonal, too. I would be really pissed to lose 4-5 miles range on a 80% charge and 6-8 miles range on a 100% charge. And it must feel even worse on your car being a ~2 yo Phoenix car...

 

[cwerdna]

Our Acura MDX came with Michelins on it and they lasted 60,000 miles before I finally replaced them due to age (8 years old)...
The Ecopias are easily the worst OEM tire I have ever had on a new vehicle!

I've never had a tire that lasted <20k miles (let alone on a NEW car)

2 fas 4 u got 161K miles out of his OEM Bridgestone Turanza EL400s on a Prius v wagon (http://priuschat.com/threads/prius-v-100-000-mile-club.102769/page-6#post-1755817" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false.

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. I suspect 2 fas 4 u does almost all highway driving as his Prius v wagon was at 193K miles as of June 2, 2013 (http://priuschat.com/threads/prius-v-100-000-mile-club.102769/page-7#post-1815252" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false. He got it in January 2012.

He put 465K miles on his 09 Prius before trading it in (!!!) for the above Prius v wagon...

Side note: I think I've posted this before but http://priuschat.com/threads/low-rolling-resistance-replacement-tires-current-list.92778/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; might help in terms of LRR tire ideas, if anyone needs them. Since I don't know the Leaf's sizes OTOH, I have no idea of its applicability. HTH, a bit.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

I have over 10k miles on them . . .

You've done that in 3 months? That's 40k/yr! Be interesting to know when you wear them out.

As for sidewalks, we have MXV's on an Accord and still managed to blow one out on a curb.

That said, am careful with the Leaf, no spare is annoying.

 

[TickTock]

The range should improve, once the tires start to break in. Atleast, that's what I've been reading from other members.

I read that, too, but haven't experienced it yet 8000 miles later.

Ouch. Looks like you're down easily 10% in efficiency due to the tires. It does appear to be trending up somewhat, but some of that could be seasonal, too. I would be really pissed to lose 4-5 miles range on a 80% charge and 6-8 miles range on a 100% charge. And it must feel even worse on your car being a ~2 yo Phoenix car...

My commute is 50 miles round trip so I am still happy with my Leaf - does what I need despite the battery deg (I've lost 3 bars now) and my tire choice. I can always buy a set of [true] LRR tires to bump up my range if needed until the warranty triggers. If you look at the January-April section for the previous year you can also see an upward trend so I think your thought about it being season is spot-on.

 

[KJD]

My commute is 50 miles round trip so I am still happy with my Leaf - does what I need despite the battery deg (I've lost 3 bars now) and my tire choice.

What was the mileage at when the 3rd bar went away ?

 

[TickTock]

My commute is 50 miles round trip so I am still happy with my Leaf - does what I need despite the battery deg (I've lost 3 bars now) and my tire choice.

What was the mileage at when the 3rd bar went away ?

27435 miles, and 199 gids on a 100% charge.

 

[KJD]

Looks like you might be testing the battery warranty soon.

As far as the Ecopia tires go, they are really not my favorite tire in the world but the range is much better than my snow tires. When the snows were on my range was down around 10 or 12%.

Has anyone done a tire changeover that increased available range ?

 

[Ingineer]

I'm very satisfied with my 422's. I know some people have had horrible issues, so I think there have definitely been inconsistencies between the batches. I run mine at 50 PSI, they've been wearing well, and they handle great. (My driving style is very spirited when I don't need to be range-conscious...

-Phil

 

[apvbguy]

maybe if people didn't exceed the capabilities of the car/tires then many of you wouldn't be experiencing such poor wear. 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

 

[Ingineer]

One thing that's for sure, is that given my time on car forums over the years; tire opinions are highly subjective and everyone has a different take.

-Phil

 

[Nubo]

I tend to agree with Phil in that that the wide disparity in results makes me wonder about manufacturing variances. Ours seem to be doing ok. I do run at 44psi which I feel helps to add back some of the shoulder support lost by the very supple sidewalls of the Ecopias (part of what gets you the low RR). Definitely helps with the handling, imo.

Ours have performed well enough that when my wife's Forester needed tires I went with Ecopias there too. Her average mileage went from about 18.5 to 22.5 mpg. On that vehicle too, running the psi over the recommended helped, although its TPMS is very picky so I had to settle on 6psi over even though 10 seemed like the sweet spot. :evil:

 

[TomT]

And everyone is right! :lol:

One thing that's for sure, is that given my time on car forums over the years; tire opinions are highly subjective and everyone has a different take.

 

[TomT]

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:

Ours have performed well enough that when my wife's Forester needed tires I went with Ecopias there too. Her average mileage went from about 18.5 to 22.5 mpg.