2010 Prius with premium factory mags and low profile tires. 35k on them. Now it looks like I am going to have to replace two tires/rims. Insurance may help with the expense. Do I pay for two OEM factory replacement tires/wheels -- or do I take the insurance money and replace all the wheels and tires? There's probably 5k or more life left on the two good tires. Also, one of the "good" rims has slight road rash. I just don't know the market and options for custom replacement rims. Nicer looks and performance are a plus. But on the other hand, so is fuel economy and saving some money. Maybe I should revert to stock rims and high-mileage tires. Where I live, don't need "all season" tread. I am not too excited about putting any unnecessary expense in my Prius at this time. But I can cough up the cash if I must. Any advice and support is appreciated. This has come at a not-so-good time, so I feel rather rushed in making a decision.
I have no insight as to your exact desires or personal financial situation. Lucky for you this coincides with my having no qualms about butting in and offering an opinion based on personal smoke and mirrors. I would replace all the tires and rims. Because I consider tires and wheels to be "safety" as well as performance and cosmetic tools. Reading your post I get the feeling you have no choice but to replace in the case of 2 of 4? And your description of the optional or remaining two wheels and tires is 1 "good" rim with road rash....and tires with what you are projecting as being 5k+ on them? If those are the parameters and that is the reality I would recommend simply replacing all 4, rims and tires. Around 5k puts you pretty close to needing new tires anyway, and if one of the remaining rims is already damaged? I'd take it as an opportunity to upgrade that situation. Now as far as should you "revert" to Stock rims and high mileage tires? That's up to you, and I hesitate to offer an opinion. Do you still have your stock rims? Or would this be a whole purchase of 4 new OEM stock rims? I don't know the details of how you have reached the point of needing to replace 2 rims and 2 tires. Unfortunately decisions like this in life never seem to come at comfortable or convenient times, in offering my opinion I would say the ultimate criteria for your personal ultimate decision must be what you feel you can afford, and what you will be most comfortable with.... If you have tired of low profile tires and Factory Mag Wheels...and want to see how your vehicles operates with standard OEM rims and more economically supportive tires, then I'd say go ahead. If you feel that you would miss the look, feel, ride....of the higher end rims and lower profile tires? Then obviously that is your choice. I'll leave it to Prius drivers to perhaps offer opinion about what ride differences/economy mpg differences you could expect. ***Just saw your other post. So the wife hit a curb? That's too bad.
Very helpful, TEM. You hit the nail on the head The situation is covered by insurance, but I have a high deductible and thus have decided just to go out and get some new rims/tires without involving insurance. Now the question remains: Which rims/tires should I buy? And do I care more about mileage or flash And should I buy local (a couple good places) or get tire/rim combo at TireRack.com? Those are questions that are difficult to answer right now.
There's no reason to go out and spend oodles of cash. Why fix what isn't broken (i.e. replacing good rims)? Call your local tire / wheel shops and ask about reconditioned / used wheels. It'll cost you 30-50% the price of a new OEM wheel, and you couldn't tell the difference between reconditioned and new. I was quoted $400ish by the dealer for OEM wheels when mine needed replacing. I found a pair of reconditioned wheels from the local Firestone Service Center for $160 ea. They had them for me in a couple days... Don't sweat it, the small amount of cash you spend on this fix is less than the premium increases you'd pay for reporting an incident to your insurer.
even if i bought from tire rack, i'd want the tires locally mounted so i wouldn't have to buy tpms sensors. being a cheapskate, i'd try to find used wheels, reconditioned or otherwise, unless i thought the oe wheels were fugly. decent (non chinese) wheels ain't cheap, and i wouldn't want to put poorly cast wheels on my car.
Look for 2 reconditioned OEwheels and put new tires all around since your current ones are likely past the safe point if they only have 5k left on them. The OE 17" wheels are in hi demand and they look nice on the car. I bet you can find two for a decent price. The next best option is to replace all four wheels with a 17" MOMO Winter 2which are around $100/ea. and put new tires on those. The cheapest option is to pick up a set of used 2010-2012 15" wheels with tires. They are cheaper to replace, tires are cheaper, and they offer better mpg.
Thanks for all your input. I chose to replace with 16" wheels and LRR tires and am seeing a good improvement in mpg over the OEM 17" wheels. The 16" wheels are not as awesome looking as the OEMs, but after logging about 400 miles so far I am enjoying the smoother ride and better mpg.
