hotwings

I don't understand the sticker when I see this on Michelin's website

ndunn

Handling nor ride quality are mentioned.

For those willing to sacrifice the last .1 mpg in fuel economy which model of tire would be preferred?

hotwings

Slightly off topic but it makes no sense to me car makers squeeze fractions of a MPG by using low viscocity oils, getting rid of the spare tire, using more efficient tire tread and then they BLOW IT ALL by intalling overweight wheels and oversized tires.

The MPG difference for the 2024 camry hybrid :

LE with 16" wheels 52 MPG combined HW/City
SE with 18" wheels 46 MPG combined HW/City

I'm willing to bet wheels/tires are a big part of it.

E46CT

light wheels=expensive and prone to damage. that means more warranty claims. bad for business.
large wheels=nicer, helps sell cars

at the end of the day it's a business. a balance is struck between profit margins and fuel economy targets and everything else. it's all packaging with the overall aim at making shareholders happy, as with any other business.

Given es300h can achieve 40 ish mpg with large heavy wheels and tires is great already. i would not compromise its looks with dorky tiny wheels and tires just so i can say i get 42mpg lol. not to mention while paying more to do so.

hotwings

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this. The Engineering clearly says lighter smaller wheels make more sense. Less unsprung weight.Less susceptible to pot hole damage on higher profile tires. Much cheaper to make. Better gas mileage. Better traction and handling. It has nothing to do with ligher is more prone to damage, that makes no sense.

One supporting source: Unsprung weight

Yes I agree more people prefer the larger wheels/tires but the science does not support it.
Yes I agree they can look better in some cases. But If I had my choice I'd pick the sensible option.

Car makers are chasing their tails trying to get marginal improvements in MPG and then blowing it on the impractical extra weight of larger tires

geewiss1

I have a 2023 ES350 F Sport with the Michelin Primary MXM4 OEM tires. I have driven 31K miles on them so far and around 25K miles I noticed a "whomp whomp whomp" that speeds up with faster speeds. At 25K miles the damage was already done but decided to take it in. Dealer states they would charge 170 for alignment and the tires have cupping on them. Alignment not covered under warranty. They even went on to say that you should get an alignment every 15K miles. News to me, never heard of such a thing. Anyway, I decided to not pay that and take it to a private shop. They performed the alignment and put the tires with the cupping in the back. Alignment was out of spec for right rear only. After moving the cupped tires in the back the noise was bearable.

Well, noise is getting louder again and I think I'm going to bite the bullet and get new tires and another alignment. Tires still have plentay of tread on the BTW.

My question is, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to go with the same tire. What tires have people put on their cars? I'm looking for all season and QUIET tires. These OEMs that came on the car actually have good reviews according to some.

NOTE: First 2 services were free and dealer says they rotated tires. Every 5K after that I rotated tires myself.

ATL350

The reason you’ve never hear the “you should get an alignment every 15K miles” is because it’s a total fraud. A lot of places try to recommend this, or, another scam, that you always need an alignment every time you get new tires, also not true. Unless you actually experience noticeable pulling or see clear patterns of uneven wear on the tire tread, you don’t need an alignment. Hey, they buy those expensive machines, so I guess they need to find a way to pay for them, right?

Cupping can be caused by poor alignment, but also by a defective tire, improper inflation or if the tire was not mounted correctly on the wheel or was not balanced properly. If the tires are pretty badly cupped I would replace them, not just rotate them.

mcomer

We had a '99 Camry Solara (distant suspension design cousin to ES) and the right rear
alignment was constantly working its way out of whack. No excessive wear as indicated
in this thread but it pulled to the left under acceleration and pulled to the right when braking.
Did alignments every other year and asked the mechanics to check for loose/bent suspension
pieces but was told all looked and felt OK.

geewiss1

This is exactly what I'm afraid off.....a design flaw??

mikemu30

Goodyear Maxlife Assurance on my ES FSport. They are quiet, smooth and wearing amazing well.

Denzlex

Michelin Primacy Tour A/S

geewiss1

How many miles have you driven on these so far?