tires for my '05 prius w/20,000miles

Greetings!

First of all, any suggestions on tires for my '05 Prius? So far, I'm leaning towards Costco's Hydro-Edge (currently offereing a $50 rebate). Your thoughts / exeriences appreciated.

Magnussen Palo Alto Dealership seems to think that the wear was caused by low pressure in tires. I think it's the mountain roads I travel. Still it seems the tires wore out awfully fast.

Further, the dealership spoke of alignment, which I wonder why I would need given no accidents. They also replaced the 'steering shaft' due to a recall. It seems to me that alignment and steering shaft repair may be related.

Here's hoping that some of you more analytical types will lend me your opinions and that side of your brains so that I can buy the best tires AND not be clipped for an alignment.

Thank you. Happy driving.

Ann

[Jennjay]

The hydroedges are really well rated, but the Michelin X from Costco was higher rated by Consumer Reports overall, and in most sub categories, including hydroplaning resistance. They are less expensive than the hydroedges ands are probably in stock at Costco ( usually Hydroedges need to be ordered). I put them on both my Prii and have been happy with them. I noticed an improvement in handling immediately over the OEM tires.

The Michelin HydroEdges would seem to be a popular choice, especially for those who live in a rainy place. The biggest complaint is usually the price, so $50 off will help in that department. I would recommend getting the alignment, to extend the life of your new tires, and to correct any handling problems your car may have. Considering the cost of the tires (and the car), an alignment isn't a big expense.

[tumbleweed]

By all means have an alignment, all four wheels not just the front. Toyota will do it free within the first year. A lot of these cars come from the factory with alignment problems, mine did. It may not be from the factory per se, it may happen when they tie them down on the boat or during loading and unloading.

The original Integrity tires aren't the best but they sure should last more than 20K, more like 40K I would think. I drove my car very hard on mountain roads and gravel roads with the Integrity tires and they had very little wear when I replaced them at 15K miles.

Your tires have most likely worn due to alignment problems and low pressure. Most of us use 42 lbs front and 40 lbs rear. Really improves your mileage also.

Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear (but not Integritys), and several other companies make very good tires for the Prius. I am using Toyo Proxis TPT and am quite happy with them.

[theorist]

I am very happy with the Continental ContiProContacts. These are comparable to the Michelin MXV4 S8 tires used on the Camry Hybrid and Accord Hybrid. The ContiProContacts are original OEM tires on the Jetta TDI, and other VW, Audis, BMWs, Jaguars, and Mercedes. Like the MXV4, the ContiProContact balances secure handling and performance, low rolling resistance = good fuel economy, all season traction, comfort, and decent treadwear. The ContiProContacts are better reviewed and cost less than the Michelin MXV4.

I tried the Dunlop SP Sport A2 Plus for 1800 miles. The traction was fantastic and the handling better than I imagined possible in a Prius. The fuel consumption was a bit higher than with the ContiProContacts and the ride a bit less soft and quiet. I believe these are another great choice.

If you switch to either of these, you just might wish your Goodyear tires wore out earlier.

[Tideland Prius]

HydroEdges are selling like hotcakes over here. Almost all the cars that would've had their OEM tyres worn have HydroEdges in place. I've seen it on a lot of cars recently (I wonder if there was a sale or something). Oh and yeah, I live in a rainy area.

[bulldog]

I found the roadnoise of the OEM tires very excessive here on the Bay Area roads. Tehy also were not the best interms of ride comfort (even at 35/33PSI). I swapped them out at Amreicas tire for Goodyear COmfortreds and it was huge improvement, especially in road noise over the Integrity's. They also ride much nicer on the uneven roads like the 101. I only did 1400 miles on the OEM tires before swapping out, so I didn't notice any change in gas mileage. I aslo had my wheel alignment done under warranty, the front toe on the driver side was out by quite a bit. AFter the tires and wheel alignment the Prius does feel more stable on the highways, but is still abit nervous. The COmfortreds does tramline less than the Integrity's , but they still tramline a bit. The Hydroegde might do better for this, but I didn't like the unidirectional tire design.

BTW AMerica's tire have a $50 rebate on if you buy 4 Goodyears now, not sure of any Michelin rebates or deals.

Either way I think you will be very happy with a new set of tires as it makes a world of difference. As said above definitely have your wheel alignment checked. The suspension seems to be very "soft" on the Prius so it wil probably be easy to mess up with shipment, etc. I'm used to 4x4s (4R,GX) which can take a beating and keep the wheel alignment in tact.

My 2c.

[Ron Dupuy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tumbleweed @ Jul 26 2006, 05:37 PM) [snapback]292807[/snapback]</div>

By all means have an alignment, all four wheels not just the front. Toyota will do it free within the first year. A lot of these cars come from the factory with alignment problems, mine did. It may not be from the factory per se, it may happen when they tie them down on the boat or during loading and unloading.

The original Integrity tires aren't the best but they sure should last more than 20K, more like 40K I would think. I drove my car very hard on mountain roads and gravel roads with the Integrity tires and they had very little wear when I replaced them at 15K miles.

Your tires have most likely worn due to alignment problems and low pressure. Most of us use 42 lbs front and 40 lbs rear. Really improves your mileage also.

Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear (but not Integritys), and several other companies make very good tires for the Prius. I am using Toyo Proxis TPT and am quite happy with them.
[/b]

Aren't the rear wheels on a solid axle? How can they be aligned?

[tumbleweed]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ron Dupuy @ Aug 9 2006, 08:03 AM) [snapback]300187[/snapback]</div>

Aren't the rear wheels on a solid axle? How can they be aligned?
[/b]

Good question. Yes they are on a solid axle, Toyota calls it a beam axle, and there are no adjustments. Mine was toed in to far on one side and they replaced the axle beam under warranty, that's when my problems started. With the old (toed in to far axle) the car drove just fine, good tracking etc, I just had it done because the dealer said it was out of spec and should be "fixed". The new one they installed was within specs but just barely, one side was now almost toed out to far, it was only within specs by a couple of hundreds of a degree at best.

Problem is toed in is stable and the car drives great; toed out is unstable and the car wanders all over and won't go in a straight line for more than a second or so. But it was now "in spec" so no one wanted to fix it and they wouldn't even believe I had a problem.

To make a long story short it can be fixed by shimming. I couldn't find a shop willing to do the work for me although I understand some will. Seems some shops think it is a liability issue because no one makes the shims, you have to make your own. You can change the toe and the camber with shims. My camber was OK so I only had to give it more toe in on one side, then have an alignment check to make sure it was OK. I didn't get it quite far enough the first time so I put in a thicker shim and had it checked again.

I made and installed my own shims, not to hard once you know how. I did not know how but I received some badly needed help from Galaxee and her best friend. I would not have been able to do it without them and would most likely have ended up selling the car, it was that bad.