tires on the base model

setheriah · 04-01-2007, 09:15 PM

Was just wondering .. IS it just as safe accoding to the manual to use the 16" tires that are in the manual as well as the 15" inch tires that it states... or should the base model just stick with the 15" tires... If i go to 16" inch tires... can the speedometer and or the tire calibration can be adjusted?

Bill Merchant · 04-02-2007, 01:30 AM

The important dimensions to keep the odometer and nav happy are wheel (center metal rim plus the tire) diameter and circumference, which are related, of course. The 15" or 16" dimension you are asking about refers to the diameter of the metal rim. The tire has two measurements too, such as 196/65 and the opening diameter that fits on the rim. On the tire, the first measurement is the width of the contact patch where the rubber meets the road expressed in millimeters. The second number it the ratio of the sidewall height (the distance between the rim and the road) to the contact patch width expressed as a percentage.

If you go from a 15" rim to a 16" rim, you can keep the overall wheel diameter the same if the sidewall gets shorter. The circumference is measured in millimeters, as with a tape measure, or in revolutions per mile. The standard OEM tire has 855 RPM. If you can find a wheel close to that RPM, the odometer and nav should be happy after you press the Recalibrate button.

Everything you want to know about wheels and tires.

setheriah · 04-03-2007, 03:20 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bill Merchant @ Apr 2 2007, 01:30 AM) [snapback]416321[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

The important dimensions to keep the odometer and nav happy are wheel (center metal rim plus the tire) diameter and circumference, which are related, of course. The 15" or 16" dimension you are asking about refers to the diameter of the metal rim. The tire has two measurements too, such as 196/65 and the opening diameter that fits on the rim. On the tire, the first measurement is the width of the contact patch where the rubber meets the road expressed in millimeters. The second number it the ratio of the sidewall height (the distance between the rim and the road) to the contact patch width expressed as a percentage.

If you go from a 15" rim to a 16" rim, you can keep the overall wheel diameter the same if the sidewall gets shorter. The circumference is measured in millimeters, as with a tape measure, or in revolutions per mile. The standard OEM tire has 855 RPM. If you can find a wheel close to that RPM, the odometer and nav should be happy after you press the Recalibrate button.

Everything you want to know about wheels and tires.
[/b]

I wasnt sure if the 16" wheels in the manual only applied to the touring or not

tumbleweed · 04-03-2007, 05:30 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(setheriah @ Apr 3 2007, 01:20 PM) [snapback]417211[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

I wasnt sure if the 16" wheels in the manual only applied to the touring or not
[/b]

16" wheels will work just fine on any GII Prius (maybe GI as well but I'm not sure). However, you must use the correct size tires on them, 195/55-16. If you buy after market wheels be sure to get the correct offset also. The Japanese and European Priuses (Prii) and I think the Australian and N.Z. ones all come with 16" wheels. For some weird reason they decided to put 15" on the U.S and Canadian cars.

The 195/55-16 size tire will be very close to the 855 revs/mile mentioned by Bill.

04-02-2007, 01:30 AM	#2
Bill Merchant absit invidia Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA \| Oregon \| Portland area \| 97004 \| Posts: 3,962 My Car: 2007 Prius Package: #5 Nominated 6 Times in 1 Post TOTM Awards: 1 Friends: 53	The important dimensions to keep the odometer and nav happy are wheel (center metal rim plus the tire) diameter and circumference, which are related, of course. The 15" or 16" dimension you are asking about refers to the diameter of the metal rim. The tire has two measurements too, such as 196/65 and the opening diameter that fits on the rim. On the tire, the first measurement is the width of the contact patch where the rubber meets the road expressed in millimeters. The second number it the ratio of the sidewall height (the distance between the rim and the road) to the contact patch width expressed as a percentage. If you go from a 15" rim to a 16" rim, you can keep the overall wheel diameter the same if the sidewall gets shorter. The circumference is measured in millimeters, as with a tape measure, or in revolutions per mile. The standard OEM tire has 855 RPM. If you can find a wheel close to that RPM, the odometer and nav should be happy after you press the Recalibrate button. Everything you want to know about wheels and tires. __________________ Bill Bill.Merchant@PortlandHSD.info 2007 NL 5 Silver Wraith 2005 BC 6 Silver Cloud Portland Area HSD Meetup Group: PortlandHSD.info Become carbon neutral: Carbonfund.org or TerraPass.com

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Does the base model MFD have a video feed?	AussieOwner	Audio and Electronics	11	09-25-2007 10:23 PM
Base or Touring model...differences?	sea-horsea	Prius Main Forum	4	08-15-2007 11:39 PM
Base model, how do I add sirius stiletto, no jack	winebuff	Audio and Electronics	2	06-20-2007 10:47 AM
Bluetooth on base model Prius	Littleguy	Audio and Electronics	3	11-28-2005 01:31 PM
2x Prius available in VT, one base model, one package 6	metamatic	Dealers & Pricing	0	12-31-2004 04:05 PM

04-01-2007, 09:15 PM	#1
setheriah Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 40 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Was just wondering .. IS it just as safe accoding to the manual to use the 16" tires that are in the manual as well as the 15" inch tires that it states... or should the base model just stick with the 15" tires... If i go to 16" inch tires... can the speedometer and or the tire calibration can be adjusted?