Michelin Energy Saver 90V verses 91H

Having recently purchased a 2016 SV I have been tire shopping. From the tire wear on the car the previous owner never rotated tires, the 215/50R17 Michelin Energy Saver 90V's on the front have 2/32" and rears 8/32. Instead or replacing all four I have been looking for a deal on two. In my search I have discovered that Michelin Energy Saver in 215/50R17 size come in 90V and 91H. The difference being 90V is rated for 1356 lbs and max sustained speed of 149 mph, 91H being rated for 1389 lbs and max sustained speed of 130 mph.

The 91H is noticeably cheaper than the 90V (from what I've seen). As an engineer I am scratching my head, I will never reach 130 mph let alone sustain it so on paper the 91H makes sense, however the cost difference tells me there has to be some other difference. Anyone have any knowledge or theories on what else might be different.

The only thing I can think of is because the Leaf door sticker says 90V and the ICE cars might say 91H... Michelin pumped the price up because EV owners must be rich.

How many miles on the car?

So it is a moot point.... You buy the cheaper, lower rated tire.. No?

powersurge said:

So it is a moot point.... You buy the cheaper, lower rated tire.. No?

Click to expand...

Load rating is higher, speed rating is lower, is it a lower quality tire?

Note both UTQG ratings are 6400AA

I called the Michelin Info # 1-866-866-6605.

The first person I talked to just gave me the generic difference on weight capacity and speed capacity that you already had.

The second person I ask for the MPG difference btwn the 90V and the 91H and she transferred me to someone with a little more expertise. I asked the next more expert person multiple questions and it seems that if you are not needing a little extra high performance driving at high speed there is no big difference.

In other words, if you are just Driving around local streets, and normal highway speeds 60-70 (or a little more) and not racing around corners in a high performance car, then there is no big difference. Also MPG no big difference. So save a little money if the 91H is cheaper.

P.s. I have a 2017 Leaf SV and had recently bought new Michelin Energy Savers A/S (All Season) tires a few months ago. Never thought about this difference. I went to check, and they put the 90V tires on my car. Next time the 91H should be sufficient if the cost is cheaper.

That's the information I was looking for, thanks! Call Michelin and ask them... what a novel concept, with everything online these days we tend to forget about the simple way of finding an answer.

I have a line on a set of 91H's take-offs for a fraction of the price of new. I'll give them a shot.

Thread drift, for sure, but my opinion: I'm currently driving on Michelin Energy Saver (Ford Fusion Energi), Michelin Premier A/S (Avalon and Cmax), and Bridgestone Ecopia PLUS (2015 LeafS)

I really don't like the poor (purchased the car at 20k miles, now at 30k miles) wet traction of the Energy Saver. The slightest bit of moisture causes the tires to break loose. Also about 70% worn at 30k miles.

I'm very pleased with the Ecopia PLUS (16") for low noise, traction, and seem to be wearing well. They're cheaper, as well, and seem well suited to the Leaf. I would buy them again for the Leaf, and won't be buying Energy Savers for any of my cars. I quite like the Premier A/S for the Avalon and CMax.

...just my $.02...YMMV

Linus said:

Having recently purchased a 2016 SV I have been tire shopping. From the tire wear on the car the previous owner never rotated tires, the 215/50R17 Michelin Energy Saver 90V's on the front have 2/32" and rears 8/32. Instead or replacing all four I have been looking for a deal on two. In my search I have discovered that Michelin Energy Saver in 215/50R17 size come in 90V and 91H. The difference being 90V is rated for 1356 lbs and max sustained speed of 149 mph, 91H being rated for 1389 lbs and max sustained speed of 130 mph.

The 91H is noticeably cheaper than the 90V (from what I've seen). As an engineer I am scratching my head, I will never reach 130 mph let alone sustain it so on paper the 91H makes sense, however the cost difference tells me there has to be some other difference. Anyone have any knowledge or theories on what else might be different.

The only thing I can think of is because the Leaf door sticker says 90V and the ICE cars might say 91H... Michelin pumped the price up because EV owners must be rich.

Click to expand...

Considering the top speed of your Leaf is less than 100mph I would buy the 91H tire all day long. Especially when you consider our car is heavier than a comparably sized vehicle/tire fitment would be due to the battery pack.

Linus said:

That's the information I was looking for, thanks! Call Michelin and ask them... what a novel concept, with everything online these days we tend to forget about the simple way of finding an answer.

Click to expand...

In your defense, I'd say that I don't think to call companies because the initial people you usually talk to are totally clueless.

Years ago I had to call my cellular service provider because I had flown to visit family and it was very clear that one of their cellular towers was having problems. Calls would be dropped and there was lag when at family's house, but if I was elsewhere in the area it would be just fine. The representative's response? "You just recently were on a flight and you're a long way from home, so your phone probably just needs some time to adjust."

This forum needs a facepalm smiley, and I'd use about three of them.

I was shocked into silence and when I wanted to offer a response, the call dropped. Can you imagine other people with less technical knowledge buying the idea that their phones function like organic beings? As if it was just a matter of jet lag?

Some years later I actually received similar technical advice, but I no longer recall what that one was about. I guess the first time you hear something like that is the most memorable...

That, combined with other experiences, led me to believe that the numbers you call for these companies generally lead to people reading off of a script (if you can even get a person on the line) and that once you have to go off-script there's a good chance that you know more than they do, particularly if you've been trying to figure it out for yourself. Assuming the information given was correct, good on Michelin for not falling into that practice.

Linus said:

Having recently purchased a 2016 SV I have been tire shopping. From the tire wear on the car the previous owner never rotated tires, the 215/50R17 Michelin Energy Saver 90V's on the front have 2/32" and rears 8/32. Instead or replacing all four I have been looking for a deal on two. In my search I have discovered that Michelin Energy Saver in 215/50R17 size come in 90V and 91H. The difference being 90V is rated for 1356 lbs and max sustained speed of 149 mph, 91H being rated for 1389 lbs and max sustained speed of 130 mph.

The 91H is noticeably cheaper than the 90V (from what I've seen). As an engineer I am scratching my head, I will never reach 130 mph let alone sustain it so on paper the 91H makes sense, however the cost difference tells me there has to be some other difference. Anyone have any knowledge or theories on what else might be different.

The only thing I can think of is because the Leaf door sticker says 90V and the ICE cars might say 91H... Michelin pumped the price up because EV owners must be rich.

Click to expand...

Speed sells. Get the higher load rating. It will last longer

After all that I was given the wrong information, the tires were 90V's. I got them for a very good price and I'm good to go.