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I finally need to replace the factory Dunlops that came with my 2006 Civic Hybrid. An older Tire Rack review gives very high marks to the Michelin EnergySaver, but here in the Toronto area they seem to be as rare as hens teeth.

My local tire installer is talking to me about Toyo Tourevo LS II, their LRR tire. I can't find any reviews of this tire, so I'm wondering if anyone out there has tried them?

It also seems very difficult to find 185/65/15's, but they have 195's on the rack. I see many comments in the forums that the wider tire would give slightly less MPG, but there are no hard numbers. Most posts suggest the LRR tire will offset the increase in width.

So if anyone's tried this tire I'd love to hear from you!

In the 185/65R15 size, I'd try and go for the Kumho KH30 ecowing or Bridgestone Ecopia EP422, EP100, or EP20 if you can find those. I haven't heard anything either way about those Toyos, but I didn't like the Toyos I had (Spectrums). I wouldn't go wider.

I don't think I can get any of those here.

The Tourevo LS is extremely popular here in the Pacific NW, mostly because they're the top level passenger tire at Les Schwab, our biggest tire retailer. I had Tourevos on my Subaru few months before I sold it, unfortunately not enough to judge rolling resistance since I never had LRR tires on that car. The Tourevo's performance was excellent on wet and dry pavement though, and very good on snow and ice for an all season tire (meaning nowhere near as good as a real winter tire). I think the most notable thing about it was that it was very quiet. Also more expensive than the Toyo Z800 Ultra model that it replaced.

I believe the Tourevo LS is essentially similar to the Versado LX, and is basically the "private label" chain-store version of that tire sold through retailers like Canadian Tyre and Les Schwab. The Versado LX is rated only "good" for rolling resistance by Consumer Reports. They do rate it "excellent" for treadwear, and good or very good in every other category (dry braking, wet braking, handling, hydroplaning, snow traction, ice braking and comfort)

Besides the Goodyears, other tires you might look at that are rated better than average for RR would be the Continental ProContact, Michelin Energy Saver A/S or Primacy MXV4, or Cooper GFE. The Michelins are fairly expensive, but the Continentals and Coopers should be similar in price to the Goodyears. And I would agree with the other posts that going with an LRR model would more than offset the slight increase in RR from going up to a P195 width.

Maury, you mention that your 2006 Civic is the hybrid model. According to the Honda news archives that model came from the factory with LRR tires in 195/65x15 size, the same as my own 2008 model has. If your car actually has 185's then something seems odd about what happened to your car.

The 195/65 size is a very popular tire size so there should be a good selection to choose from. With the increased interest in LRR tires, I'm confident that a quality manufacturer like Toyo has developed a good product. I admit that I am a fan of Michelin based on years of good experience with long-lasting tires.

Cheers,

Roger

I have Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max on my 06 HCH2 and man what a big improvement. H89 rated with a max Pressure of 51 lbs. Very quiet and comfortable. They roll like crazy and give great FE even at lower pressures, which is nice as the ride is much improved. They also do well on ice and snow. Check them out! H

Maury, you mention that your 2006 Civic is the hybrid model. According to the Honda news archives that model came from the factory with LRR tires in 195/65x15 size, the same as my own 2008 model has. If your car actually has 185's then something seems odd about what happened to your car.

I wondered about that myself -- but let me ask, is yours a US model? I'm wondering if the Canadian ones didn't come with the 185s. Thinner tire = good on snow.

I have a separate set of winters BTW. A sideways slide onto the 401 convinced me to go out and buy a set! I still don't understand why it's not the law here.

Maury,

My HCHII is the 2008 Canadian model. The factory installed tires on my car are Dunlop SP31's in 195/65 x 15". All of these cars come from the same factory in Japan.

The only differences between the Canadian and American models were that we got heated mirrors, larger windshield washer tank and metric temperature displays, to the best of my recollection.

As I wrote previously, I can't understand why you have 185/65 tires. I doubt the car came that way from the factory. Certainly any replacement ought to be the 195/65 size. The rims are a generous width so even wider tires would still fit.

As you mention, wider tires can be worse in snowy conditions. As a matter of fact I have a complete set of mounted snow tires on factory rims bought from a fellow who wanted to switch to 16" Civic EX spoked wheels (also got his 4 matching low mileage A/S tires too).

Enjoy your car. As you have already seen, there are lots of other owners with useful information to share.

Cheers,

Roger

195/65/r15 on my 06 HCH2.

Maury,

My HCHII is the 2008 Canadian model. The factory installed tires on my car are Dunlop SP31's in 195/65 x 15"..

As are mine. I have no idea why I thought they were 185's in retrospect!