Bridgestone Ecopia EP200 Tyre review (on 2008 Camry Extremo 17")

[muratremix]

I bought 4 new Ecopia EP200 tyres 17" size, 215/55/17 to be specific for 5250 baht each. The reason I choose it because I had a flat tire on front-left and it can't be repaired. Original equipment tyre was Bridgestone ER33 (6700 baht each) and I was pretty happy with it but they don't sell it in Cockpit or B-Quik. Toyota service gave me 2 weeks waiting time, and then 1 week in second call.

My tyres were 35,000 kms old but aged 2-3 years (3 years in front, 2 years in behind) so I made up my mind. Instead of buying 2x ER33, I bought all four new Ecopias. First, I didn't like how Ecopia look. After a few days of research and making up my mind, I decided to give it a try.

Compared to Ecopia EP100, EP200 is cheaper, provides better fuel economy and new technology(?). Bridgestone claims up to 8 percent fuel save on this model. While using ER33 tyres, I get an average of 12 km/l from Bangkok to Ban Kruat, Buriram (380 km). I get best km/l on highway to Saraburi and best I get before was 13 km/l on original tyres.

After filling the tank with E20 somewhere 3-4 km before highway entrance, I constantly checked fuel tank average. I guess due to low friction on highway, I saw up to 14km/l and 14.3km/l average tops. However, I have to tell that I was driving very economical (not sure if this is a proper word). There was almost no draffic due to Thursday, I almost never reduce gear by heavy throttling to take over a car (You won't believe how many pickups / cars gave me road by taking middle or left lane that day). After taking turn to Buriram, road become 2 lane and high friction road (to reduce car accidents I guess?). My average immediately start to fall. I managed to get 14.0 Km/L for a while, then saw 13.8 for a while. At the end of journey, I got 13.6KM/Liters, which could be better if I didn't overtake so many cars in single lane road but still I was impressed.

After that, I drive around Buriram a lot. My average fall to 12.8 at the end of tank. I made 650 kms. Usually, car computers doesn't give 100% correct numbers. When I calculated it, I got 12.2 km/L instead of 12.8km/L according to car computer, which is still good.

After filling tank and driving between Buriram to Ban Kruat (Almost all single lane and traffic sometimes), I get 11.5 km/L average. This time of course, I drive normal, not trying to maximize my km/L to reach maximum fuel efficiency. I got 11.5km/L by driving mostly urban driving on single lane and speeds between 80-120 km/h. I will refuel tank (to reset tank average) before I drive to Bangkok tomorrow and will share my results on normal/semi-aggressive driving.

I noticed something while driving from Bangkok to Buriram. Tyres provide better fuel efficiency when they are hot. I'm not sure if this is valid for all kinds of Tyres but it is for this model.

In short, these tyres provide fuel efficiency for real, not some marketing hypo. However, I'll miss stability of ER33 especially driving under heavy rain. But good thing is I haven't noticed any decrease in breaking performance. Usually eco tyres have worse breaking performance, but not this one.

[Lancashirelad]

Good report, thanks for taking the time to write it.

[Ace of Pop]

Nice report, and you did the run in Comfort .Makes one wonder about the merits of Truck Fuel economy, looking at your returns.

[culicine]

Fuel economy significantly drops at speeds over 100 km/h. The tires will help a little, but if possible try to keep to 80-90 km/h maximum. You will see good improvement in fuel economy then:) My fuel economy meter is also says my FE is better than what it really is, by about 6%, but I use a suzuki swift.

[muratremix]

I haven't felt a drop in comfort. Same goes for Tyre noise.

Today I'll drive to Bangkok and see what average I'll get. I'll share my report again and perhaps add a photo of tyres on my car (They really look ugly at shop, look okay on car)

[muratremix]

I've driven from Ban Kruat to Bangkok on 12 August. Traffic was terrible as expected. Tank average was 10.5 until I pass Nang Rong and reach the dual lane national high way. Then, traffic was moderate and until sara buri exit, I haven't had a problem with traffic other than a few small jams. Tank average went up to 11.6 km/L. Then, these traffic-jam-loving Thais made a road construction in the middle of Highway and did not think of routing traffic on other side of the road, which was almost empty and had 4 lanes! You know, they can think of this in morning and evening traffic, but can't think despite the fact several uturns in that area that allows such setup in a holiday traffic! So my average take a big hit, 90 minutes for just 3 kilometers of road. Average went down to 10.5. I completed travel at average of 11.2 km to my home, which could be 12.0 kM/L if not for this tragic road construction.

I drive in holiday traffic before with some traffic jams, but not like this. I remember getting 11 or 10.6 km/L average before. It is impossible to reproduce same traffic conditions, but I can say fuel savings there despite the traffic. However I'm sure it won't help in constant traffic jam like in Sukhumvit. But it will save hell a lot in highway driving.

[tigerbeer]

I have been looking for tyres of the same size to replace the ones I have. Thanks for this report. I however would have to say that I got quoted somewhere along 4,800 to about 5400 for these same tyres each from various different places. Seems like there are some good reviews about these tyres. I happened to also stumble by Toyo tryes from Japan who are trying hard to penetrate the Thai market with cheaper prices compared to competitors. There were two kinds that came to attention, one was Toyo Teo Plus and a more sporty and performance one made for premium sedans like Camry, Accords etc called Proxes C1S. Teo Plus around 4,200 per piece and Proxes 5,400 a piece. Supposedly at special price for the moment. Teo Plus is an ECO tyre like Ecopia and supposed to be very quiet. I went ahead and bought the Teo Plus and although only the first day on it, its extremely quiet tyre and quite pleased with it! Maybe much more so cause the older ones were really bad! I am not sure how they are going to last in the next couple of years but reviews on some of the websites indicate a good life to it.

Another thing I have to mention is that I do not find the prices quoted by BQuik to be rather expensive. Do take your time in shopping around for tyres at 4 or 5 different places and compare the prices. You might be surprised on how much you could save. Sorry to have hijacked your thread to possibly promote another brand OP.

add-on edit: I've only ever used Michelins in my previous car and absolutely love it but prices have risen sharply over the years for the brand.

[culicine]

Take a look around....many new tyre shops popping up in my area, and I've seen ads outside them, such as 25% discount, of buy 3 tyres, get one free, etc. Especially in areas where there are many shops close together. There would be 8-10 shops close to my house, so prices will be competitive.