tires and ecomony

Mistake?
Subjective.

But you are now driving a vehicle with a larger tires that are NOT LRR.
I'd expect a mileage hit.

To my knowledge the Prius Engine made no significant change from 2011 to today.

 

You're going to have to work a little harder, both due to the 215/45R17 and the Turanza's. But I wouldn't say you've made a mistake. I'm not really familiar with the tire, but you're probably on the money regarding the RR: decent but not really LRR.

We've also got the 215/45R17 size, and Michelin Pilot MXM4's. Even Michelin's website indicates them to be a step backwards in RR, comparing to the Primacy or Premier.

My fuelly icon number summarizes data pretty much from day one, 5.0 liters/100km translates to 47 mpg US. That is a real mix of driving. In summer we do better, in winter not so much.

That low dip just past Jan '12 was messed up refueling I think. And the drop at the right end looks kinda like the stock market of late, lol:

 

You could go to a LRR 17" tire and mitigate much of the $28k risk.

 

What is the pressure???????
That should be the first thing to check, and ignoring what the dealer or manual tells you. Pump them up!
The 17" size limits choices in tires quite a bit. If you really want a LRR tire and max MPG, there's no other choice but the Michelin Energy Saver A/S, which is difficult to find in that size but does exist. I got a 4MPG boost simply from going to the Michelin on my 17" wheels. Pretty sure that my v uses a 215/50R17, but does also have different gearing.

And no - whatever changes made for the 2015 model do not lower MPG. Yes, give it at least 5K miles to loosen up.
Personally, I throw away any and all OEM tires immediately, for a number of reasons. Poor performance being one of them.

 

^ You'll have to choose something besides Michelin Energy Saver A/S, it's not available in 215/45R17.

I'm leaning towards Michelin Premier A/S right now, but Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 is maybe a bit ahead for LRR. I think the Premier is better overall though.

 

I really have to believe that there are more options for a Prius V in tires out there...anyone??
Do we really have to have "performance" tires on the 17"?

 

If this is really about the Prius v (which I doubt) it comes with 215/50-17 tires as a Five.

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If this is about some other car, Prius Persona, which comes with 215/45-17 tires:
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Both lists are all LRR tires.

 

I'm sorry. Didn't notice this is prius v.

 

Nor did the OP, I reported this already but no one has moved it. It makes it hard to answer his question 'correctly' if you can't decide which car he has.

 

There is generally not a huge difference in fuel economy between the various LRR 17" tires available so I would just turn off the mpg display and enjoy the car. Swapping tires now will not save you any money as it will take a long time to recoup the money spent. 17" tires are pretty expensive!

In my testing of 17" tires I saw maybe a 1-2mpg difference between the popular LRR models. The original Prius Five tire was the Toyo Proxes A20 which was pretty damned fuel efficient but sucked for longevity and was expensive. The Prius Plus came with Michelin Primacy MXM4 which was better tire all around but the fuel economy took a hit. Same with the Turanza.

So in a nutshell there is not much you can do. Just enjoy the car mate. It's a nice vehicle and if you're still fretting about the drop in mpg then you should perform calculations to see if the mpg loss is really hurting you. i.e. if you drive 8k miles per year the loss is negligible. If you drive 38k a year then it's something you may want to reconsider.

Your other option is to sell the 17" wheels/tires and swap back to a 15" setup. The 15's will work just fine on your Persona but you'll obviously lose handling capability.

 

You are taking some hit going up to 17". If those tires aren't LRR then you're taking another hit. I'd expect losing 10% overall based on my experience with the 2006 & 2010 V. The 17" tire is probably rated for 51psi and isn't inflated to anywhere near that. Increasing the tp is your cheapest option. When you are ready for the next set of tires try something else.

 

Our OEM Pilots are max sidewall 44 psi. Also, 215/45R17 take less kindly to more aggressive pressure raises; it's hard on your fillings, lol. I run our Pilots around 36 psi all around. The door jamb decal indicates lower pressure for them, 32~33 (F~R) I think.

 

Have to purchase 4 tires. What to get in 215 45 17.

Toyota dealership is having a special. They don't carry the favorites like the Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 plus.

My options are

Yokohama Avid Envigor (87W- 45k)
Or
Michelin Primacy MXM4 (87V- 55k)

Price difference for a set of 4 us about $185.

Any opinions? Worth to spend the extra money on the Michelins?

 

Michelins will always be up there when it comes to quality. You might have peace of mind with them. $185 extra might be worth it if you can afford it. if not, i'm sure you'll be fine with the other tires too. on a car like this, really, tires are tires. as long as you go with a reputable brand and decent tire rack reviews, you should be fine. MPG will vary but not by much

 

I also need new tires for the P215/45R17 87V, I have almost 80k on the OE Toyo Proxes A20 until this Tuesday where I found a large bolt in one of my tires. I got quotes on the OE tires (Toyo Proxes A20) for $1072.74, the Michelin Primacy MXM4 for $809, and the one the Tire specialist at my Toyota Dealership said I should get are the Hankook Venus S1 Nobel2 for $573.26.

I was pretty happy with the OE tires because I've used them for so long and have not had any huge issue other than road noise. I read horrible stores of these OE tires wearing out at about 25k.

What do you guys think would be the best fuel efficient tire?