All season tires for curvy mountain roads

[abasile]

I would be thankful for some tire advice from fellow mountain drivers.

A couple of months ago we bought a used 2010 Prius (21K miles) with stock Yokohama tires, which at the time were in good shape with plenty of tread. Now, after about 5000 miles of 50/50 mountain/freeway driving (at ~40 psi), the front tires in particular are showing substantial shoulder wear, and the rear tires to a lesser extent. Assuming a tire rotation, the stock tires could not last us much more than a total of 10K miles. This is not unheard of where we live. The Prius replaces a Honda Pilot SUV, on which the stock tires barely lasted 20K miles before being replaced with a set of Michelins that lasted much longer.

Yesterday my father-in-law drove our Prius over a rock on the road and destroyed one of the front tires, so I am actually thinking about replacing all four tires with a model that maximizes tread life on curvy roads and handles decently on snow and ice. Snow tires would not be appropriate due to the substantial amount of off-mountain, low elevation, warmer weather driving that we do as well. We have "Hercules Ultra Touring TR" tires on our Pontiac Vibe AWD (recommended by our local mountain mechanic), and they seem to fit the bill. Unless anyone has better recommendations, I might simply buy the same tires for the Prius. Another possibility would be to change just the front tires.

Finally, there is the issue of rolling resistance. We did buy the Prius to maximize fuel efficiency. But I do accept that we may need to take a small hit in fuel efficiency if we want our tires to last more than 10 K miles.

[Airbalancer]

Try an all weather tire
Nokian WR

[donee]

Hi abasile,

You have to replace all four tires. So that the traction at each corner is the same during sliding maneuvers. Otherwise, the car will spin out.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Airbalancer

Try an all weather tire
Nokian WR

Times 2!!!

The Nokian WRg2 is the only all season I will put on any car! If one needs a real snow tire (which is unlikely if you have WRg2's) the other option would be the Nokian Hakkapeletas.

[xs650]

Originally Posted by abasile

I would be thankful for some tire advice from fellow mountain drivers.

A couple of months ago we bought a used 2010 Prius (21K miles) with stock Yokohama tires, which at the time were in good shape with plenty of tread. Now, after about 5000 miles of 50/50 mountain/freeway driving (at ~40 psi), the front tires in particular are showing substantial shoulder wear, and the rear tires to a lesser extent.

You might consider a wheel alignment by a competent shop and have them set the camber at the most negative (tilted in at the top) end of the factory spec.

Adjusting camber requires two different offset bolts per side on the front. They are available in several amounts of offset from Toyota.

Adjusting rear camber requires an aftermarket shim kit. The shim kit is inexpensive but the alignment shop will prolly charge you an hour or so labor above a normal alignment to install it.

[tumbleweed]

I agree with xs650 camber changes might prove useful. I would also recommend moving up to good quality 17" wheels and 215/45 tires. Look at Tire Rack for wheel and tire packages. If you are going to stick with all season tires consider the Michelin Pilot Sport Plus A/S. I used them on another vehicle and they are very good, they are not available in the 195/65-15 size however.

If you are going to use the existing 15" wheels here are a couple of good choices:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

[abasile]

Thanks, and Happy New Year, to those who offered advice. I will inquire about adjusting the camber.

Of the recommended tires, the Nokian WRG2s look the most promising to me. However, my main concern is that their UTQG treadwear rating (420) is not as high as I'd prefer. (The Hercules Ultra Touring TR tires are rated at 620-A-B and seem to perform just fine on our other car.) Perhaps treadwear would be less of an issue with the camber adjusted, though.

Also, what would be the main benefit of upgrading to 17 inch wheels? I am wondering if that would be worth the cost. I assume it would be necessary to reconfigure the car's computer for larger wheels.

[xs650]

Originally Posted by abasile

Also, what would be the main benefit of upgrading to 17 inch wheels? I am wondering if that would be worth the cost. I assume it would be necessary to reconfigure the car's computer for larger wheels.

The 15 inch and 17 inch wheel tire combinations are close to the same outside diameter because the 17 inch tire is lower profile, so no change required.

If you are satisfied with with the handling with 15 inch tires, then the 17 inchers don't offer much. You would get better handling along with mildy harsher ride, more expensive tires and lower fuel economy.

[abasile]

Originally Posted by xs650

If you are satisfied with with the handling with 15 inch tires, then the 17 inchers don't offer much. You would get better handling along with mildy harsher ride, more expensive tires and lower fuel economy.

I think I'll stick with the 15 inchers then. Compared to other vehicles I've owned, I think the current handling is pretty good. And I'm inclined to optimize fuel efficiency wherever I reasonably can.

[Teakwood]

I live in the mountains east of Albuquerque, and do a lot of travelling into the mountains of SW Colorado.
My 2010 Prius came with Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max all-seasons. I put about 7000 miles on them before I changed over to winter tires for the season. The Goodyear AFMs handled beautifully on the mountain roads with 40 PSI front and 38 PSI rear.