Classic Prius Tire Question

[kirbinster]

Its time to replace the OEM Potenzas -- what tire should I get. These tires give good milage, but are terrible in rain and snow. What should I replace them with that won't really degrade my MPG???

[Frank Hudon]

my Classic came with Dunlop SP10 as the OEM tires for 2k3 and they are lasting good and the rain traction is excellent and the snow traction is acceptable for for a M/S rated non-aggressive tread. Just coming up for 2 years and are about 1/3 worn at 26,000 kms. They are LRR rated and I've run them at 42-40 since I drove it off the dealers lot. I'll probably replace them with the same when the time comes.

[tochatihu]

John1701a web site has a list of options. I did well with the Goodyear Allegra. Now I am using Nokian i3 185/65R14 XL tire which has huge load carrying capacity. The intial indication is that it does take away a couple of mpg (wider), but is a very capable tire.

[HtownAllen]

I'm also in a search for tire for my wifes 2002. We had settled on some Pirelli's at Discount Tire here in Houston, but the guy there told me it was not good for the car because of the heavy front end causing too much wear and tear to the tires. This was the first I have ever heard of that, but now that makes sense because we have gone through a couple of sets of tires and only have approx 50K miles.

So now I found this site and am doing my research before buying. Any more help would be appreciated.

allen

[tochatihu]

Originally posted by HtownAllen@Mar 14 2006, 09:31 PM
... we have gone through a couple of sets of tires and only have approx 50K miles.
...

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If you inflate classic Prius tires according to Toyota's recommendations, you will get rapid wear of the outer tread and short tire life overall. This topic has been around for a long time and I am not aware of any exceptions to this "rule".

I can offer my experience and know that many others have similar. Inflated the original Potenzas to 42 front 40 rear, and after 35k miles they had about 4 mm tread remaining. Would have lasted longer, but I drove the first 10k according to Toyota! Inflated replacement Goodyear Allegras to the same and after 45k miles they still had 4 mm tread remaining. Lesson is that tires can last long on Prius. Quitting tires at 4 mm tread depth is a separate issue.

Would also stress the importance of frequent tire rotation. Front and rear wear rates are _vastly_ different. In this at least I agree with your tire guy. You don't have to go to weird extremes of measuring 100s tread depths and moving the "deepest tire" to the "fastest wearing position" (like I do), but do them rotations.

Not suggesting that you exceed the max cold inflation pressure listed on any tire's sidewall. But then again, I have not used tires with less than 44 psi capacity on Prius. Don't know what I'd do with someting like that.

[kirbinster]

Thanks for the feedback. Those of you that put different tires on the car (non-potenza's) how did it impact handling and mpg. Was the mpg the same as before or did it drop. If it dropped by how much?

[brasche]

My .02 comes from a different perspective.

Being a high performance (race car) driver in the past, I'm amazed at how much emphasis drivers put on long lasting (low grip), low cost tires and how little importance drivers place on safer tires. Especially when they are purchasing vehicle control options like anti-lock, stability control, traction control plus extra air bags.

Consider buying stickier tires, ones that may only last 30k miles but will stop quicker. It may cost an extra hundred dollars and you may need to replace tires more frequently, but stopping in 10 fewer feet may prevent a lot of pain.

YMMV

[wwu123]

I put on Kumho Ecsta 716 HP4's from Discount Tire/America's Tire on my 2002 in a wider 195/60R14 size. Much cheaper than the OEM tire and higher performance. They do have the OEM size for this tire, but it does not have a high load rating, so it would not be recommended, whereas this size has an 85 load rating to handle the extra weight of the car, and H-speed rated to boot (yeah, like I'll need it). The outer diameter is almost perfectly matched to the OEM tire, according to the specifications and calibrated with my GPS, so the speedometer and odometer are still spot-on. I believe the 185/65R14 size is also a close fit.

The wide track makes it very nice and stable in rain and high wind, and it gives the car a nice slightly more aggressive look. Mileage is 2-3 mpg lower because of the wider track, but on the plus side, they're long lasting - with 15,000 miles on them, they're hardly worn (warranteed for 50,000 miles).

[tochatihu]

Originally posted by kirbinster@Mar 15 2006, 02:47 AM
Thanks for the feedback.  Those of you that put different tires on the car (non-potenza's)  how did it impact handling and mpg.  Was the mpg the same as before or did it drop.  If it dropped by how much?

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2001 Prius. Noticed no mpg difference when I changed to the Goodyear Allegra, which were also 175 width. There was a slight inprovement in cornering, but don't know how much of that came from suddenly having 4 mm more tread depth.

Changing later to the Nokian i3 did cost mpg, maybe 2 or 3. These tires are 185/65R14, one size wider and about a half inch taller. OTOH the handling seems quite a bit more stable with Nokian.