Tire Upgrade

[Boo]

Hi Kay,

My main reasons for changing my Standard Prius' OEM Goodyear Integrities after only 1000 miles were to improve what I considered to be the poor or subpar handling and braking of the Standard Prius.

Because the Touring model already handles and brakes well, I think if I were to own a Touring model, I probably wouldn't bother to upgrade or change the Touring's OEM Bridgestone Turenzas until they wore out.

But if your winters are severe in terms of snow, you might consider getting dedicated snow tires.

* * * * * *

As you may already know, if and when you get new tires for your Touring, you'll find that there are not a lot of tires available in the Touring's OEM size of 195/55/16.

The tires that come in the Touring's OEM size are mostly of the "Run-Flat" variety -- leaving only a handful of regular (non-run-flat) tires available in that size. Maybe more tires will eventually be made in the Touring's OEM size. But I think that right now, you're basically left with two decent choices -- the OEM Bridgestone Turenzas which cost over $100 each or the Falken Ziex ze-912 which costs about $75 each. PriusChatter misslexi has the Falken Ziex ze-912s, and seems very pleased with them. And the 912's predecessor or cousin, the Ziex ze-512, was among the highest rated and well reviewed tires of performance tires.

EDIT: Consumer Reports tested both the Falken Ziex ze-912 and the Falken Ziex ze-512. The ze-912 was its highest rated Ultra High Performance All Season tire. And the ze-512 was among its second highest rated Performance All Season tire.

Because there are few regular tires available in the Touring's OEM 195/55/16 size, some or many Touring owners have or will go to the next larger size -- 205/55/16 -- as there are a lot of tires available in that size.

When you get new tires for your Touring, you might want to re-read this and other tire threads. And you should do a specific thread search on the Touring. Right now there are a couple of threads on tires for the Touring, including: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-mo...e-upgrade.html

Good luck.

[jdenenberg]

Nokian WR and WRg2 LRR all weather tires are available in 195/55R16 in both regular and run flat versions. They are a great choice for your Touring wheel if you live where it snows.

JeffD

[dwreed3rd]

I don't remember seeing pros and cons for the regular vs run-flat tires on the Prius. The Avalon's is full size. I've never owned a vehicle with a spare donut. On list for Touring.

[nyprius]

Originally Posted by PriusSport

I guess I don't understand why anyone would pay a lot of money to upgrade tire performance on a car like the Prius. I'm not talking about replacement tires for your worn out OEs. That makes sense to me. What doesn't make sense is upgrading your new OE tires, and spending several hundred dollars in the process. That's a lot of gas in a Prius--a car built more for efficiency than performance.

Ditto what Boo said. Plus, as I wrote on page one of this post, the Integrities are terrible in the snow. I've never had a problem with all season tires in the snow, until I got the Integrities. Also, as mentioned, I often gave up trying to pass cars on rainy highways because I felt I was too close to losing control of the car.

If you pay nearly $30,000 for a car, an extra $400 (about one percent) to vastly improve safety and performance, with little to no mileage loss and better looks is a very small price to pay. The best part of the car's life is when it's new. Why not have great tires (or even decent tires) on it during its peak years. I doubt that there are many tires that handle worse than the Integrity.

[mtagg49]

Thanks for the great research - have you had any experience with the 195/60 TT in snow?

Mike from Chappaqua

[Wa1hog]

Noobe question. If I replace my tires from 185/60R15 origional tires to 195/60R15 tires. Can I use the same wheels or do I have to replace them.
And yes, I have noticed that my speedometer is usally 1 to 2 MPH faster than what my GPS says Im going.

[F8L]

Originally Posted by Wa1hog

Noobe question. If I replace my tires from 185/60R15 origional tires to 195/60R15 tires. Can I use the same wheels or do I have to replace them.
And yes, I have noticed that my speedometer is usally 1 to 2 MPH faster than what my GPS says Im going.

Going from a 185 to a 195 is fine without having to go to a wider wheel (make sure you match the tire diameter exactly by adjusting the "series") BUT are you sure you have a 185/60/15? The stock Prius tires size in the U.S. is 185/65/15. Overall you want to try and maintain the stock 24.4" diameter.

[Wa1hog]

Your right I dop have 185/65's... Getting old...

[Sheepdog]

so without reading all of the 33 pages of this great thread, Im on the 4th or 5th page I think, What exactly would I upgrade to away from 65 series tires? Europe is what 60 series? Then I might get away with LRR in say 195/60/15 ?

I agree that the stock tires look too little to belong on the car.

[Boo]

Originally Posted by Sheepdog

so without reading all of the 33 pages of this great thread, Im on the 4th or 5th page I think, What exactly would I upgrade to away from 65 series tires? Europe is what 60 series? Then I might get away with LRR in say 195/60/15 ?

I agree that the stock tires look too little to belong on the car.

I personally like the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred in the wider 195/60/15 size. I've had the TTs on three cars now. They're top rated by Consumer Reports, TireRack and TireRack customers. And they cost less than $100 each. There are lots of good tires out there. But I think you'll be hard pressed to find a better performing and longer warrantied (80,000 miles) all season tire for under $100.

I don't know if I experienced a mileage drop with the wider TTs. I drive so little that I don't have much basis for measuring. But I do know that this summer I've averaged over 50 mpg on my last two tanks.