My car was due for new tires in the not so far distant future when I picked up a screw in one of the tires. I had it plugged and patched, but it still had a slow leak. I took it back and they said they couldn’t fix it further. I decided to get a whole new set of tires.

I have previously bought Michelin tires at the local warehouse store. They haven’t lasted as long as I have expected. But then I used to drive pretty aggresively. I now drive much more mellow and easy, so expect them to last longer.

I started doing research into tired with low rolling resistance. A simple search on Google for “low rolling resistance tires” gave me a ton of information. One tire appeared at the top of several lists, and the was the Bridgestone B381. It seems that this tire was the one that came on some hybrids as they were shipping from the factory. That is because of their low rolling resistance.

A few things I had read suggested that the Bridgestone B381’s were now out of production. I went to my local Firestone/Bridgestone dealership to check to see if I could buy them. If I couldn’t get the Bridgestone B381’s, I was also looking at Michelin Symmetry, or Tiger Paw AWP’s both of which were supposed to have low rolling resistance. Just not as good at the B381’s. Another one I was looking at was the Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus, which didn’t come close to the B381. But I was looking at it.

I was in luck, and the store could order them for me. I kept expecting to get a phone call saying that they weren’t available, but they did eventually show up. They were a little more than I wanted to spend. I could have defiantly gotten cheaper tires. But these should improve my gas mileage enough make them more cost effective in the long run.

When my wife’s care is due for new tires, I may see if I can get another set of the Bridgestone B381’s, or I maybe shop around to see what else is available. Bridgestone has a new tire out called the Ecopia. It’s is currently on available in 5 sizes, and the tires on our Honda Civics is not one of them. But maybe they will come out with more sizes later. I would want to see some rolling resistance test results though.

Posted by Rob in My Car on May 6th, 2009 | No Comments