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Just bought new wheels, help me decide on a tire!

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by skilliona12e, May 3, 2012.

  1. skilliona12e

    skilliona12e New Member

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    Hi Guys,

    Just bought some new Konig Wheels 17x7 with 40mm offset. Looking to buy a good tire and was looking for some suggestions. Here are the potential sizes I was looking at:

    205/50R17
    215/45R17

    Choosing the right rim and tires as been more of a challenge than I thought it was going to be.

    Does anyone have any pics of the 205/50R17 on their car? I am lowered on Eibachs and wanted to know how this would look as this size appears.

    Also, are you guys with aftermarket rims buying additional TPMS or just having them transferred over at the tire shop? What's a fair price I can expect them to charge?

    I look forward to your feedback!

    Oh...btw here's the wheels that I bought (Konig Daylite)

    [​IMG]
     
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  2. d2mini

    d2mini Active Member

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    So did you buy Konig or Enkei? :confused:
     
  3. skilliona12e

    skilliona12e New Member

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    lol oops.... Konigs!

    Pardon me, I'm still waking up.
     
  4. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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  5. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    I'm not sure if the 205/50R17 has the raised rim protector like the OEM 215/45R17, but personally I will only get replacement tires with the rim protector. It looks way cooler and helps protect your rims against minor curb rash due to occasional carelessness. I see curb rash on way too many Gen IIIs.

    Keep in mind though that not all 215/45R17 have the raised rim protector. It's available only on selected sizes within brand/model.
     
  6. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Good point. The drawback to the 215/45/17 is the increased wheel well gap because it's a smaller diameter tire.
     
  7. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    And the proper thing to do is to drop it a little unless the aftermarket wheels you get make it look comparable to a stock Five (i.e., not too goofy). The poor man's solution that some members use to close this wheel well gap by increasing the size to 215/50/17 makes the car look lame with too much tire.
     
  8. justana

    justana Junior Member

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    Im using continental extreme dsw, and its very quite...
     
  9. d2mini

    d2mini Active Member

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    If you get anything other than stock overall diameter, aren't you messing up your speedometer reading?
     
  10. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    You actually correct for it in some cases as some read 1.5-2 mph off. There are tire sizes to correct for 2004-2009 and 2010+ speedometer errors.
     
  11. SuperchargedMR2

    SuperchargedMR2 Diehard Rams Fan

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    I agree 100%. This would be my tire choice for a 17" wheel. It will keep the speedo accurate as the 215/45R17 tire is too short. It will fit with your Eibach springs just fine too & look great. It's basically the same diameter as my 205/55R16 tires & the narrower width will help mpg too. :cool:
     
  12. SuperchargedMR2

    SuperchargedMR2 Diehard Rams Fan

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    I've never worried about hitting a curb & never have. I just don't understand how people do that anyway. I would get the best tire wether it had a rim protector or not, just be careful near curbs like I always do. ;)
     
  13. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    I don't worry about hitting curbs either. I just prefer the look of the rim protector. In fact, when I had Longo Toyota deliver the car to my home sight unseen (having never seen or test driven the Five in person) the first thing that impressed me was how cool the rim protector looked on the factory 17s.
     
  14. SuperchargedMR2

    SuperchargedMR2 Diehard Rams Fan

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    I never really notice it to tell the truth. Some of my tires have them, some don't. The only time I notice it is when I'm down washing the wheels & tires. :lol:
     
  15. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    The above is true. My recent thinking is that the Five coes with its speedo calibrated for this same 1.5-2mph over-read which means if you put the 215/45/17 tire on a non-Five then your speedo error may increase even higher because that tire size is smaller in diameter than the 195/65/15.

    This is the reverse situation for GenII owners who upgraded from a 185/65/15 to a 215/45/17. The 15" tire was smaller in diameter so when upgrading to the larger diameter 17" tire, the 2mph speedo error went away or was significantly reduced.
     
  16. TruSound

    TruSound Member

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    Heres the Michelin MXV4 GreenX tire in a 215/50/17, these have the rim protector, are about a pound lighter than the stock 16" setup, eliminated the wallowing the stock tires had...I'm extremely happy with these.
    [​IMG]
     
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  17. skilliona12e

    skilliona12e New Member

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    Thanks for the feedback guys. Ugh..just found out that the set of wheels I bought is on a 3-6 month back order. Back to the drawing board.
     
  18. plam0ne

    plam0ne Ninja

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    heres some photos of 205.50.17 tires on a prius

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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