Emergency Tire Replacement Help Needed

[Linda L]

Hi all -

For background, I purchased a 2002 Prius with 65K about six weeks ago. I knew that I wanted to replace the tires, but hadn't gotten around to it yet.

Well, I should have listened to my gut. My daughters (10 and 7) and I (a too-young widow) were traveling back home alone out in the middle of nowhere on I-10, and we blew a tire. Fortunately, the car handled well and we were able to safely get out of traffic. The worst thing was trying to figure out where the previous owner had hidden the wrench for the locking lugs he had installed (one on each wheel). We went over the car about three times before we found it (in the hidden compartment beneath the floor in the trunk). I was thankful that a truck driver and his wife stopped to offer assistance, as the lugs were not loosening one bit for me. Little good it does you to "know" how to change a tire when you can't loosen the lugs!

Thankfully, we were only about 40 miles from home when this happened, so we drove slowly home with the donut. But now I need to get at least one tire, or most probably replace them all. The car presently has Dunlop SP10s on it. I have no idea what dealer sells what tire--can anyone tell me what "chains" sell Dunlops? Or can anyone else give me recommendations for a tire that won't break my budget but be decent, that I could find at Discount Tire or Sam's Club? I've got to get the tire(s) replaced tomorrow, and I don't even know where to start. And I'm looking at a 50 mile one way trip to the big city to get a tire, too (disadvantage of living in the boonies).

I know I could search tire threads, but there are zillions of them, and I'm exhausted, after driving about 500 miles in the past day, and spending a very hot hour and a half on the side of the freeway trying to find that locking wrench.

Thanks in advance,
Linda

[Ichabod]

Sorry to hear about your little adventure... Why can't tires ever blow when you're not in the middle of a drive?

From reading some of those tire threads you mention, I know a lot of people around here recommend Goodyear Triple Tread for an all-season tire. I'd guess any of the major tire places would carry the major brands.

They'll probably tell you that you need to replace all 4 tires. At the least you'll need to buy 2 tires and pair them on the front or back. Check the tread depth on the current tires yourself first though... the tires might have tread-wear indicators on them to make that easy.

[patsparks]

Tread wear indicators are placed at even intervals around the tread of the tyre, they can be found by looking for a marking on the side of the tyre on that bit of tread which comes around onto the side of the tyre. Once you find it look across the face of the tread and if the indicator is flush with the surface of the tread it is time to change the tyre.

Don't be talked into buying cheap, unknown brand tyres. It will usually be the case that cheap tyres offer less grip and wear faster than a known brand name so stick with a known brand.
For low rolling resistance and good grip try to find a tyre with a silica tread compound.

I wouldn't use Dunlop tyres on my car ever again. I have had several Dunlop tyres fail at half tread life so have lost faith in them.
My preference is Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear. Some on PC love Nokian which I haven't seen here in Australia but from all reports a good tyre.

I wouldn't fit Pirelli or Yokohama tyres on a Prius purely because they tend to produce high performance tyres which wear faster and have higher rolling resistance but they may have a LRR tyre out, I don't know. They may suit if you are seeking better handling at the expense of fuel economy and long tyre life.

Many say it is best to put the best tyres on the rear for best control so if you just get 2 tyres put them on the back. I don't think this is critical if the tyres are similar in wear but with new tyres and tyres near the end of their life I think the old tyres need to go on the front.

Always get a wheel alignment when getting new tyres, it will cost a few dollars but will save the tyres wearing badly. Once a tyre starts to wear unevenly due to alignment it will wear that way for the rest of its life and poor alignment uses more fuel.

Good luck, hope you find some great tyres at a give away price.

Oh one more thing. If your tyre seller want to sell you dusty old tyres he has had for a year, grab them. The older a tyre the harder the tread and longer they will last.

[HNDRICKS10]

Hi Linda,

I am a owner of a 2002 Prius with 123,000 great miles on it.


To answer your question about tires is easy for me.

According to Toyota there are only two tires qualified for your 2002.

They are Dunlop sp10 and Firestone re92.

Both of these tires are of a higher weight load (1125lbs) than the standard
tires which are rated at i believe 1025 or 1050 lbs.

Of the two tires I have had the best luck with the Dunlops about 50,000 miles each time I replaced them, the firestones lasted only 32,000 miles.

The Dunlops are cheaper that the Firestones $55 vs $90 +

If you have time Just call your Toyota service dept about the required
tires, A friend of mine choose to use A set of Goodyears on his 2002 Prius
one of them lasted three weeks and blew out, the dealer then replaced them with Firestones.

Goodluck

Tom

I get my Dunlops from Discount tire co

[HNDRICKS10]

Hi again,

I forgot to say that the newer Prius 2004 thru 2008 do not have this tire
requirement imposed by Toyota

Tom

[john1701a]

Goodyear Allegras worked great as an upgrade for my 2001 Prius.

Here's details & photos documenting my experiences with them.

.

[Rokeby]

Pat, welcome back. I take it that your trip to Alice Springs ?? was safe and
pleasant.

Originally Posted by patsparks

... If your tyre seller want to sell you dusty old
tyres he has had for a year, grab them. The older a tyre the harder the tread
and longer they will last.

What you say about 'seasoned' tires/tyres runs contrary to the comments I
have been able to elicit here:

Tire/Tyre/Tahr Care --- Should I Care?

Would you consider dropping by and making a comment?

[patsparks]

Well my dad tells me it makes a difference and I believe he was involved in the research that he came to that conclusion from.

My dad was a driver, then for 10 years one of the managers for News Limited Adelaide's (where News Limited started) distribution fleet and garage. They constantly looked for ways of reducing the cost of running their fleet from being the first fleet operator in Adelaide to use LP gas conversions on petrol trucks to experimenting with tyres. They even went as far as checking fuel consumption for each vehicle every day and logging the data for analysis.
They found that by storing tyres for at least a year those tyres would do more miles than tyres that were fitted fresh. My dad believed this so much that when he bought a new car he soon bought a set of tyres which he stored in his dry dark garden shed until they were needed at which time they were replaced with new tyres to store in the shed. I have no number or research documents I just know that my dad would not have had several hundred dollars worth of tyres stacked in his shed unless there where real gains to be had.

I should add that dad doesn't currently have a set of tyres in his shed. At the last change he didn't replace the stack of tyres, he is after all 82 years old and is lucky to drive his car 5000km per year now.

Dad was involved with testing a prototype automatic self levelling suspension developed by Munro Wylie (now Tenneco Australia) for use on Holden Commodores and Statesman models. The unit was tested on a Ford Panel-van used for newspaper deliveries and after extensive testing dad fitted the unit to his Falcon sedan which he then used to tow a caravan around Australia over 8 months.

Oh and the trip was great thanks. The Prius did a great job with one flat tyre but that was my fault, sort of. It was caused by a failure of the valve stem I had fitted a couple of days before the trip. They were part of the tyre pressure monitoring system I fitted which was ironic. So I had 4 new valve stems fitted in Alice Springs and removed the sensors. Of course the tyre went down in the centre of Australia, literally. I was at the monument that was erected where Stuart declared he was in the geographical centre of Australia north of Ti Tree and not far from Barrow Creek, Bradley Murdoch's favourite place. (Look it up if you don't know)

Had the Prius up to 172km/h for several kilometres and cruising within Northern Territory at 135km/h was easy and smooth.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by Linda L

... I was thankful that a truck driver and his wife stopped to offer assistance, as the lugs were not loosening one bit for me. Little good it does you to "know" how to change a tire when you can't loosen the lugs!

Thankfully, we were only about 40 miles from home when this happened, so we drove slowly home with the donut. But now I need to get at least one tire, or most probably replace them all. The car presently has Dunlop SP10s on it. I have no idea what dealer sells what tire--can anyone tell me what "chains" sell Dunlops?...

The Classic Prius tire size is 175/65SR14, which is a common tire size. However, the tire specified for Prius is an XL-rated (extended load) tire, which means that it can carry a greater load compared to an SL-rated (standard load) tire of the same size.

There are only four tires that I know of in North America that have the XL rating:

Bridgestone Potenza RE92
Dunlop SP10
Nokian WR (limited distribution)
Barum Brillantis (limited distribution)

I suggest you call around to your local tire stores to see if any of those four tire models in the correct size are available. If none are available, then you have the choice of either installing SL-rated tires (which your tire store may refuse to do due to liability concerns), or else moving up to a larger tire size that will be able to carry the load. Neither of those choices is recommended by Toyota. Good luck.

After you get home, I suggest that you consider investing in a tire wrench that provides you with adequate torque to loosen and tighten the lug nuts.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by patsparks

...They found that by storing tyres for at least a year those tyres would do more miles than tyres that were fitted fresh. My dad believed this so much that when he bought a new car he soon bought a set of tyres which he stored in his dry dark garden shed until they were needed at which time they were replaced with new tyres to store in the shed...

To provide a different perspective: Michelin recommends that tires that are more than five years old should be inspected yearly. Tires that are ten years old should be removed from service.
http://www.michelinman.com/media/en-...l_Bulletin.pdf

Personally, I would be concerned about installing old tires for safety reasons. If the rubber has hardened enough to make an mpg difference, will the tire be safe at high speeds.