Tire Upgrade

[GB'sprius07]

Originally Posted by patsparks

Everyone will recommend the tyres they fitted to there car, I recommend Michelin Energy XM1+.

Thanks PARK i have been looking around and i came across some info on the Michelin MXV4 , what i read is that the Mxv4 is a updated version of the Energy , which is a LLR tire , how is your mileage with this upgrade to the Michelin's ....?

Thanks

[wicastawakan]

I recently replaced tires on my 2008 prius & went to 205/60R 15 tires. I typically run Michelin tires & was going to install the MXV4+ but there is a Kumho dealer approximatley 3 miles from my home, so I gave them a try. Impressive to say the least.

I lost mileage the first 1,000 - 1,500 miles but now seems back to where it was prior to the tire change, 47-50 mpg & cold weather.

The handling & ride is simply outstanding. The tire is also extremely quiet. The difference in braking is also significant. The tires have done well in wet, snow & ice. It basically makes the car feel like a totally different car. It is that impressive.

I have checked my speed with a Garmin GPS & if my speedo says 65, the gps says 64, so close enough. For PSI I run 42 front, 40 rear & there is no jarring, chatter or overly harsh feel. Like I said, it makes the Prius a different car & no negatives at all that I can see.

[Boo]

Hi wica,

Which Kumho tires were they?

[wicastawakan]

Duh! Sorry about that. Kumho Solus KR 21

[nyprius]

I thought it would be OK to put 205/60R15's on the Prius. But I wanted to check with someone that's actually done it. Does it look like there's plenty of room in the wheel wells when you have the wheels turned fully in either direction? Also, do you ever hear the tires hitting the wheel wells? I suspect there is no problem, but wanted to check.

Depending on tire type, the 205/60's have about 846 RPM's, which would partly correct speedometer over-read.

205/55R15's have slightly higher RPMs than the 205/60's. It seems that both sizes (205/60 and 205/55) would provide improved handling on the Prius. Of course the 195/60 is a good, safe tire size for the Prius too.

It's interesting that the Gen3 Prius will have 195/65R15 tires. Europe and Australia always had 195's on the Prius. It's nice to see that the skinny 185's are gone.

Originally Posted by wicastawakan

I recently replaced tires on my 2008 prius & went to 205/60R 15 tires. I typically run Michelin tires & was going to install the MXV4+ but there is a Kumho dealer approximatley 3 miles from my home, so I gave them a try. Impressive to say the least.

[Mike Dimmick]

The speedometer may overread, but the odometer does not. If you can handle the information overload, go into the MFD's diagnostics and select Vehicle Signal Check. You will see your true speed reported in km/h. The speedometer overread is a deliberate fudge (by about 10%, on a UK car).

[Boo]

Originally Posted by Mike Dimmick

The speedometer may overread, but the odometer does not. If you can handle the information overload, go into the MFD's diagnostics and select Vehicle Signal Check. You will see your true speed reported in km/h. The speedometer overread is a deliberate fudge (by about 10%, on a UK car).

Whoa, I never knew that the overread was only in the speedometer. I had always assumed that all the different distance measurements (speedometer, odometer, trip odometer, fuel economy) were connected or sprung from the same source (factory fixed setting for tire rotation based on diameter of the OEM tires).

10% overread on the speedometer is a lot. I think that's the maximum allowed under United States and international standards/laws.

[nyprius]

Originally Posted by Mike Dimmick

The speedometer may overread, but the odometer does not. If you can handle the information overload, go into the MFD's diagnostics and select Vehicle Signal Check. You will see your true speed reported in km/h. The speedometer overread is a deliberate fudge (by about 10%, on a UK car).

I assume you mean the odometer is correct with OEM tires on it.

If the vehicle doesn't have navigation, how can the odometer reading be correct when the OEM tire diameter is changed?

Without navigation, it seems that if you change the revolutions per mile by changing the tire diameter (ie: going with a 195/60 instead of a 185/65), the odometer would be off slightly.

[Cordsniper]

I recently purchased a used 2008 touring edition, it has about 10k miles on it and has Goodyear integrities in a 195/65R16 size. That seems pretty strange to me after doing some research about tires, I didn't know it was a touring until after I got it. I hate the tires and would like to change them. Should I go to a 205/55R16 to avoid run flat tires or should I stay at a 195? I'm really looking for better handling and stability out of it as living in LA necessities quick highway adjustments, etc.

[wicastawakan]

The 205/60R15 tires have plenty of room, there is no contact or problems. The handling is excellent. Road handling/stability, braking, cornering, wet, dry. It feels like a totally different vehicle than the originals.