low rolling resistance LRR tires

[sonyhome]

I may have to change my tires around winter on the Del Sol.

Can anyone provide infos on LRR tires:

1. Where to buy & mount them (cheaper of course)
2. Which ones are the cheapest
3. Which ones are the most efficient
4. Which ones drive the best on dry or wet conditions
5. What brands/models are available
6. Do they suck for someone used to performance tires
7. How many MPGs gained real world

To pitch in some infos likely already posted on this site, these are well rated by Green Seal (2003) which specifies LRR tires can save up to 6% gas (~2MPG):

• Bridgestone B381
• Nokian NRT2
• Sumitomo HTR 200

.

Looking at the B381:
185-70SR14: 44psi max, 10/32" thread, 16lbs, threadwear 240, traction B, temperature B.
Civic hybrids seem to get +6MPG out of them from reviews.
Ride is stiff, and poor behavior in snow. Lasts 60K miles.

And the Sumitomo HTR200:
185/60HR14: 51psi max, 10/32" thread, 17lbs, 380 A A
70K+ miles on the tires, good traction dry.

Comparing to other normal tires:
Michelin pilot Exalto A/S
185/60HR14: 44psi max, 10/32" thread, 18lbs, 400 A A
Lasts 50K miles or more

[cems70]

That Green Seal list is 5 years old. The Nokian NRT2 hasn't been made for 3 years, and the Bridgestone has terrible traction (and durability from what I've read). Not sure if it's still available. The Sumitomo HTR T4 got the highest LRR rating in a Consumer Reports test about a year ago.

I can say from experience with two sets of Nokian NRT2 tires on my former '95 Civic VX that Nokians have the best combination of LRR and great handling/braking. They are also the lightest tire available in any given size. Remember, lower rotating weight contributes to better FE. I recently bought a set of 4 Nokian i3 tires for my wife's '98 Civic HX....FE is the same as previous LRR tires, and the car handles much better in all conditions.

LRR tires has been discussed at length on other threads. Do a search to see what you can find.

[theholycow]

Here's a thread with recent research:
http://gassavers.org/showthread.php?p=110803
However, it may not have much about tires small enough to fit your car.

[sonyhome]

Hey, that's just the thread in your sig...

[theholycow]

LOL, yup. I figured you might not have noticed it there.

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

The thing that makes me wanna headbutt walls all the time is that the RR seems to hugely vary across a tire model range, for instance you might get one that's 0.008 in one size and elsewhere they tested a different size and got .015

I'm still trying to chase down the skinny on Michelin Hydroedge tires, found conflicting stuff on them, I might be able to get a set for cheap. Also confusing is that a lot of the blog and forum chatter is from Prius and Insight hybrid folks, who are trying to get tires as good as OE, so they're calling some tires "bad" that would be pretty good for most of us.

Currently marvin seems to have tires in the "pretty good" RR range, but I'm running out of tread, and don't wanna take an FE hit when I get new tires.

A further complication is that over the last year or so, manufacturers have been switching to silica tread compounds, so there's a lot of tires out there that are an unknown quantity, due to a lot of these tests not being very recent. However, silica tread compounds are meant to be more efficient over all, but unless you know where you were starting from it's like saying a Landcruiser is more efficient than an H3.

[tweakmenow]

I put these tires on MY 97 Del Sol. They are fantastic compared to OE. They roll great, after being broke-in. Also, super smooth ride and quiet.
A local dealer had them in stock.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....del=Solus+KR21

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

How much air do you have in them?

My Kumho made Ulysses ST/Marshal/Walmart 791 touring tires didn't get "good" until I went to 36psi (at 42 now, 44 loses traction, 42 handles like it's on rails)

[JESSE69]

[QUOTE=cems70;114338]That Green Seal list is 5 years old. The Nokian NRT2 hasn't been made for 3 years, and the Bridgestone has terrible traction (and durability from what I've read). Not sure if it's still available. The Sumitomo HTR T4 got the highest LRR rating in a Consumer Reports test about a year ago.
QUOTE]

My B381's roll fine and seem good on traction, but I'm in Texas.

So the HTR T4 is worst in rolling resistance?

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by RoadWarrior

I'm still trying to chase down the skinny on Michelin Hydroedge tires, found conflicting stuff on them, I might be able to get a set for cheap.

Aren't they the ones that are good for some 90,000 miles? I suspect that, especially if you get them cheap, they pay for themselves even if they don't have low rolling resistance.