Drove my Ecopia 422s in snow for the first time

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This morning we had 3" of snow on the ground. It was pretty slick because the temps have been around 32F for a while. I have never been and never will be a tire expert but I was happy with the performance. I never had any unexpected wheel spin when starting. No ABS chatter when stopping. Of course the wheels would spin when I goosed the gas to see how slick it was and ABS kicked in when testing how slick it was for breaking. I always test both before I head out of my subdivision so I don't get surprised.

Side streets were untouched snow and were fine. Highways were slushy and wet. Never felt on the edge or anything. Traffic was mainly moving at 45mph. I had some stops going up hill and had no problems getting going.

I'm sure I'll get to test them out in some deeper snow soon enough but for now I just thought I'd share.
 
I've read that Bridgestone's Ecopia line is competent in the snow. They have a lot of tread siping that should be good for that. How's the tire otherwise? Good wet traction? Handling?

They make both the Ecopia EP422 and the Dueler H/L Ecopia EP422 in the right size for our CR-V, and I'm considering both this spring. '422' is for Earth Day (April 22), and I'm hoping to wait until then to catch a potential sale.
 
I put on the Dueler H/L Ecopia 422 on my Element this year. My old Toyo Open Country HT (still has 9-10/32nds on it) were slipping and sliding all over in any kind of rain, not to mention cold weather.

I only had the new tires on for a couple thousand miles (before snow), but in the rain, it was much better. It was noticeable when accelerating from a stop in slightly wet condition, and I tend to accelerate fairly slowly, plus the Element is not a torque monster.

The tires were yielding pretty good gas mileage. Checking the specs, I saw that they were 5lbs+ lighter per tire in the same size compared to many other options. They were also dead silent. The Element isn't a luxury car, but below 50mph, I couldn't hear any road noise. Above that, the wind noise takes over. At the same time, I switched from the stock alloys to RSX wheels, shaving a couple more pounds per corner. I don't know if it's the tire or the lighter combination, but the ride quality improved as well.

I decided to go with snow tires this season due to a good deal, so I can't comment on snow traction. We've been light on snow in Chicago this season so far, so I haven't had to test out the snows either.

btw, the EP422 is the one marketed towards cars, the Dueler 422 (without EP) is marketed towards crossovers/SUVs. I'd probably get the Duelers for a CRV, if only for the better tread life.

Edit:
Was curious between the difference of the same size EP422 and Dueler H/L 422. Other than the treadwear rating, at the same size, 225/65R17, the Duelers are H rated while the EP422 are only T rated, but at a $20 premium on TR.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I've read that Bridgestone's Ecopia line is competent in the snow. They have a lot of tread siping that should be good for that. How's the tire otherwise? Good wet traction? Handling?

They make both the Ecopia EP422 and the Dueler H/L Ecopia EP422 in the right size for our CR-V, and I'm considering both this spring. '422' is for Earth Day (April 22), and I'm hoping to wait until then to catch a potential sale.


I don't really push the car to its limits so I'm probably not a good one to answer, but here goes:
- They are quieter than the previous Turanzas
- Wet grip is good. Never had trouble starting or stopping on wet asphalt or concrete. I don't know that they are great but it takes a fair amount of effort to spin the tires when wet.
- The ride is not as firm as the previous turanzas. Even though they are the same size, they ride like they have a taller sidewall if that makes sense. I like the comfortable ride since I'm getting older.
- Dry traction seems good. I haven't ever had ABS kick in or had wheel spin in dry conditions other than one time which wasn't on the tires. I have had to slam the brakes a few times on the interstate and the stops always felt under control and secure.

- MPGs...I wish I could give a definitive answer on this. It most definitely did NOT get worse when putting on new tires, so that is good. But my daily commute has been under construction since I bought these tires and I have been unable to get some consistent round trips to work under my belt. If I had to guess, i'd say right now they probably added about .5 MPGs but I hope to have a better answer to that next summer when the construction should be done and I don't see so many traffic jams.
 
Thanks. I think these are the tires that I *should* get. I keep getting lured by cheaper options, but from all accounts, these likely tick most of the boxes for me.
 
yeah, they would typically be more than I would spend but the stars aligned for this. I really liked what I read on these tires and my previous turanzas (OEM) developed sidewall cracking. Bridgestone warrantied them out via my local Firestone Auto and gave me 65% off of the Ecopias. It is the first time I have paid for a top shelf tire brand.
 
I pushed these tires in the rain this morning to see how they did. It took a lot of effort to get them to spin from a standing start. Pushing brakes hard I was never going fast enough to get ABS to kick in. They felt good to me.
 
Glad to read the Ecopias are working well for you. I bought a used 2007 Tahoe in August and put Dueler H/L Alenza plus on it. This is the 2nd Gen Alenza that comes with an 80,000 mile warranty. So far, these tires have been a very good match for this big, heavy truck. They are smooth and quiet. No snow here yet so I'll be interested to see how they work in 4WD.
 
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