Prius Tire Upgrades

[CThaler19]

I believe everyone who owns a Prius would conclude that the OEM tires that come with the car are complete crap, and I would go as far to say that they are dangerous. Therefore, I decided to create a pole to get opinions what all season tires to buy without buying new rims.

As far as I can tell, there are three tire sizes that will fit on the 15" stock wheels that come with the Prius:

• 185/65/15
• 195/60/15
• 205/60/15

As for tires, there are dozens of all seasons available, but I have narrowed my list down to 6: (all H speed rating)

• BFGoodrich's Traction T/A H
• Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position
• Goodyear Assurance TripleTred
• Kumho Solus KH16
• Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S
• Yokohama AVID H4S

Currently, I am leaning toward the 205/60/15 Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S. This tire got a great review in the latest Consumer Reports (November 2006), and people on tirerack.com are also rating it very well. I am interested to know what other people think, and from what I have read on other posts the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred seems to be a comon pick.

[kn6vv]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CThaler19 @ Oct 15 2006, 06:06 PM) [snapback]333176[/snapback]</div>

I believe everyone who owns a Prius would conclude that the OEM tires that come with the car are complete crap, and I would go as far to say that they are dangerous. Therefore, I decided to create a pole to get opinions what all season tires to buy without buying new rims.

As far as I can tell, there are three tire sizes that will fit on the 15" stock wheels that come with the Prius:

• 185/65/15
• 195/60/15
• 205/60/15

As for tires, there are dozens of all seasons available, but I have narrowed my list down to 6: (all H speed rating)

• BFGoodrich's Traction T/A H
• Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position
• Goodyear Assurance TripleTred
• Kumho Solus KH16
• Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S
• Yokohama AVID H4S

Currently, I am leaning toward the 205/60/15 Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S. This tire got a great review in the latest Consumer Reports (November 2006), and people on tirerack.com are also rating it very well. I am interested to know what other people think, and from what I have read on other posts the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred seems to be a comon pick.
[/b]

I could not vote because you do not have my first choice tire listed on your poll. While I only have 3200 miles on my Prius, I'm probably going to buy the Michelin MXV4 Plus MXE in the stock size of 185/65/15 when time comes to replace the stock tires. Sams Club here sells them for about $106 each.

My decision was down to the Goodyear Comfortreads or the MXV4. I have been a loyal Michelin fan for years and probably was the reason I leaned to the Michelin. I also have read many tire threads here on PC and the MXV4 tire is one of the few tires that current owners have reported and IMPROVEMENT in their mpg in addition to the quiet ride and excellent handling in all weathers. As to the tire size, I'm not sure there is a benefit to going to the other two sizes you offer in your poll but I would like to ask other PC thoughts and opinions on tire size please. I know there are speedometer error concerns but my stock tires seem to be very close to correct in the few times I've checked so changing size may create an error.

[EddieF]

I voted for the stock size but you didn't include the Michelin X Radials which I just had installed today on both of our cars at Costco. From what I've read here, this tire seems to be a favorite of many Prius owners. With the $60 sale discount, a set of 4 ran $377.

[seasalsa]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CThaler19 @ Oct 15 2006, 05:06 PM) [snapback]333176[/snapback]</div>

I believe everyone who owns a Prius would conclude that the OEM tires that come with the car are complete crap, and I would go as far to say that they are dangerous. [/b]

Respectfully disagree: I got 30,000 trouble free miles on the original OEM tires and am on my second set. The second set are new car takeoffs that I bought on this site. I had them siped and installed about 4 months ago and pleased with their performance.

[Claudia]

We got rid of the Integrity tires about three weeks ago, and went to the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S in a 205/60/15. I love 'em. The ride is better, and we've driven it on wet roads a few times . . . they hug the road just like you'd want a tire to do. Road noise seems less, ride seems a bit better, but it's the safety factor that feels the most different to me.

The Michelin MXV4+ didn't compare favorably to the Pilot Exalto, even though that's what the guy at the tire store recommended. The price on these weren't bad - out the door for just over $400. I think we made the right choice. They have about 1000 miles on them, and at most we've taken about a 2 mpg hit - a cheap price to pay not to go sliding around wet curves!

[Fibb222]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kn6vv @ Oct 15 2006, 05:33 PM) [snapback]333187[/snapback]</div>

As to the tire size, I'm not sure there is a benefit to going to the other two sizes you offer in your poll but I would like to ask other PC thoughts and opinions on tire size please. I know there are speedometer error concerns but my stock tires seem to be very close to correct in the few times I've checked so changing size may create an error.
[/b]

I agree that changing the size is not a good idea. I'm no gear head or tire expert but I recently talked to a tire salesman and he said if I didn't go with 185/65/15R the speedometer, odometer, mileage calculations, etc. would be off.

I curious to know if anybody out there has Michelin Harmony tires. The salesman said they were long lasting, quiet and increase gas mileage. I need to make a decision in the next couple months as my stock Integritys are worn out (after 60,000 km).

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Claudia @ Oct 15 2006, 06:03 PM) [snapback]333207[/snapback]</div>

We got rid of the Integrity tires about three weeks ago, and went to the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S in a 205/60/15.
[/b]

Did anybody caution you about the size difference causing data errors?

[Claudia]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Fibb222 @ Oct 15 2006, 09:09 PM) [snapback]333210[/snapback]</div>

I agree that changing the size is not a good idea. I'm no gear head or tire expert but I recently talked to a tire salesman and he said if I didn't go with 185/65/15R the speedometer, odometer, mileage calculations, etc. would be off.

Did anybody caution you about the size difference causing data errors?
[/b]

The revs per mile are, I think, within 1 percent, and the diameter of the tire is nearly exact (the salesman said it was exact, it doesn't look quite like it to me, by the numbers from Tirerack). Trying to get the revs close to the same was one reason we chose this tire. I think at most it will have about a 1-2% impact on any of the above concerns . . . not really statistically significant, in my book.

[Fibb222]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Claudia @ Oct 15 2006, 06:17 PM) [snapback]333220[/snapback]</div>

The revs per mile are, I think, within 1 percent, and the diameter of the tire is nearly exact (the salesman said it was exact, it doesn't look quite like it to me, by the numbers from Tirerack). [/b]

Ok, yeah I buy that - that the diameter is probably the biggest factor when you talk about errors. As I understand it the width of your tire (tread) would be larger than a Prius stock tire and might lower your mpgs a bit. Anybody know for sure if that is the case?

Thanks

[FBear]

Remembering from a previous post. The OEM tires are 1-2% slow on both the speedometer and the calculations so going to the 195/60 tire should not adversly affect your speedometer. The 195/60 size is the ones put on every where except the U.S., so they fit the rims perfectly. The salesman is generally correct except in this case the tires are so close in size it won't make a discernable difference.

[CThaler19]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Claudia @ Oct 15 2006, 09:03 PM) [snapback]333207[/snapback]</div>

We got rid of the Integrity tires about three weeks ago, and went to the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S in a 205/60/15. I love 'em. The ride is better, and we've driven it on wet roads a few times . . . they hug the road just like you'd want a tire to do. Road noise seems less, ride seems a bit better, but it's the safety factor that feels the most different to me.[/b]

I am glad to read that the 205/60/15 Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S work great on the Prius. My biggest worry about going with these tires was if they would fit, and you have put to rest all those worries. I will most likely end up buying of set this week. Thanks!