Will a 205/70/15 tire fit on my 2012 Prius?

I am getting about a 5% increase over the original tires. I have 9,000 miles on the Energy Saver A/S and still have 8/32 left, and they started out at 9/32.


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Tires never last me near their warranty since I drive aggressive.

Sorry I missed this part. Aggressive drivers should put an emphasis on great traction and less on LRR. Maybe the ProContact with EcoPlus is a better choice for you. I liked my Ascends in this respect as well.

Thanks for the info.

Decided to just stick with the 195/65/15 size. Five T-rated Ascends which has the same speed rating as the governed limit of the 2010 or newer model Prius of 112mph (2004-2009 model year is 102 mph). T-rated is also longer lasting vs the H-rated plus still has better handling than the OE S33D tire being only S-rated. They're coming in later today for me at Discount Tires. All for a total of about about $477. 00

That price includes a $55 new steel wheel so I have a full size spare to put under the cargo cover on long trips. They gave me a $200 credit for all four of my S33D tires towards everything would have been $677.00. So, a great deal. The OE tires would wear out too fa. I rather have a $200 credit than those cheaper tires. I had a blow out last year so I now set my air pressure right at 40 psi on all tires. Not too low or high. Spare tires suck cause of 50mph speed limit and about 50 mile range.

FWIW, i sized up to 235/50R17 Michelin Energy tires and just put 1000 miles non stop getting 49mpg highway calculated. I lost 5mpg in town but i knew this before i sized up. My reason is the car is on it's way to pothole heaven eastern europe and will be doing lots of highway driving there the next few years. The ride is now night and day on crappy roads with so much less rattling in the cabin and much more forgiving smoother ride. I no longer worry so much about damaging the rims when parking as i have done so easily before. The Energy tires wore cheaper and are 2lb heavier, much smoother and quieter. For some reason the speedo is only 1mph of at 70mph, i tested this with 4 different gps devices. Not sure why. In the end i am happy with the trade-of and personal balance for my needs. I will be putting another 1400 miles next month crossing Europe and will post EU octane gas calculations.

We have 18X8

We have 18x8's on our Prius, Odometer is fine, But we took a big hit in MPG.

A couples days ago, I finally got some 205/70/15 Yokohama AVID Ascend T-rated tires on my Pearl White with dark Gray interior 2012 Prius III with remote Solar Sunroof:

Tire Details - Discount Tire Direct

I went into the local Discount Tires last week. I told them that I was reading in different places online that the taller size tires should fit.

I advised the manager that his employees talked me out of that taller tires size saying the tire won't fit. I told him there are very few "2-plies sidewall passenger car" tires. About 99% of all car tires are merely a 1-ply sidewall. SUV or truck tires comes standard with 2-plies. But, starting at 205/70/15 or larger the Ascend car tire has a 2-plies sidewall.

So, I told the manager that he needs to put the taller tire 205/70/15 & see if it rubs. It didn't rub when they tried. So, my new tires now measure 26.4" across vs the the much smaller 25.0" OEM size 195/65/15.

I believe the Yokohama AVID Ascend T-rated tire is the best all around of any tire for any vehicle little alone the Prius for the following reasons:

1. Is a LRR fuel efficient tire.
2. Has a massive 800 treadwear rating & 85K mile warranty.
3. Has a great 2-plies sidewall starting on 215/70/15 or larger size tires. 2-plies are more difficult to puncture and are therefore more reliable.
4. Made of orange oil making them more environmental. A particular bonus for Prius owners.

No other brand or model tire has all 4 of these excellent features.

So, the manager only charged me the $64.00 difference since I had bought a set of 4 Ascends just in 195/65/15 back in July 2012.

So far, I love the whopping 1" increased ground clearance. It feels like in between an SUV & a car now. Thanks to the 7/10's of an inch increase in height. I'd never go back to the plain boring OEM size 195/65/15.

I'm taking a road trip to the L.A. area on May 23rd and I'll be back around May 27th. I'll let you know how my mileage is. I read in the places online that the taller tires get better gas. Also, read the future (plug-in without gas gets 30 miles) 2015 Prius might have taller & narrower tires as well:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1080514_2015-toyota-prius-rumor-roundup-60-mpg-awd-lithium-ion-battery

This link seems to agree with my idea as well as Toyota's on the possible tire size idea (taller) for the 2015 Prius:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/taller-tire-test-5-7-mpg-increase-observed-23055-2.html

Actually, the Ascend is not that great of a tire. Testing has proven that the wet traction is dismal with this tire and the fuel efficiency lags behind other commonly available LRR tires with similar treadwear.

Yokohama AVID Ascend Review | PriusChat
Tire Test Results : Testing Passenger and Touring All-Season Tires

Your opinion on treadwear vs. fuel economy has merit BUT in the example where you used the Energy Saver A/S you are wrong. If the Energy Saver A/S provides a 3mpg benefit vs. another 80,000-85,000 mile tire, the Energy Saver A/S is still cheaper to run in the long term. If treadwear creeps up to 90,000 miles then the costs start to even out because you'll have to pay more taxes and mount/balance fees for the extra set of Energy Saver's. My point is, treadwear is not the end all be all of tire economics. It must be weighed heavily with overall efficiency and annual miles driven. A 90,000 mile tire is a bad idea for those who drive less than 10,000 miles a year. In fact, it is unsafe because most tires start to crack and dry rot after 6 years or at least lose pliability and traction suffers. If exposed to the elements tires will degrade even faster. I've seen tires as young as 3 years start to crack and get hard when exposed to summer sun and or repeated cycles of extreme cold.

Total lifetime cost for fuel and tires over 150,000 miles | PriusChat

You don't have to take my opinion though.
Life of Your Tires - Discount Tire
Driver's Handbook

Personally I feel such a tall tire looks silly on the Prius but opinions on appearance are subjective. The extra ground clearance is nice, however. Just make sure you make note of your new speedo and odmoeter error so you can properly calculate true mpg. I am very interested to learn from your experiences.

But, I only need the best government traction rating of an A which this tire possesses. I live in the Southwest (Phoenix area) where it rarely rains. Soon to be moving to Sunny Southern California.

It is hard to precisely determine my gas mileage since the speedometer is now 1-5 MPH slow. But, doesn't matter the speedo difference since my Garmin GPS says my actual speed. My speedo may say 45 but I'm really going about 48 now.

But, nonetheless its nice to know that whatever I calculate my gas mileage as being. The actual gas mileage is better since I'm really going 1-5 MPH faster at any given speed. So, my actual gas mileage is better now after calculating.

It's almost a given that the gas mileage is better since I only added height not more width vs a normal 195/65/15 tire which usually has a tead width of about 6.2" which is the same as my 215/70/15 at 6.2" as well. So, the engine has lower RPM's and a slightly altered transmission gear ratio in favor of engine longevity & gas mileage.

Bottom line is no matter what tire is on my car. It will always be among the best gas mileage vehicles. A Hummer regardless of the tire you put on it will always get no better than half the gas mileage of what a 2012 Prius gets.

Fact is no other tire has those 4 great attributes that I listed earlier in my last posting above.

My Yokohama AVID Ascend 215/70/15 is a true 85K mile warranty tire with a 800 treadwear rating tire unlike this 215/70/15 tire with a false advertising 100K mile warranty with merely a 700 treadwear rating:

Tire Details - Discount Tire Direct

Left click on "Testing" on this page:

AVID ASCEND Tire Details

Yokohama Tires states:

1. The AVID Ascend lasts 17,000 miles longer.

2. The AVID Ascend tires rolls 11% easier that even the LRR tire: Michelin Hydroedge.

3. Save 58 gallons of gas or $204 (through the life of the tire) in gas. Based on 22mpg & $3.50 a gallon but only 12,000 miles a year vs Michelin Hydroedge.




The Ascend gas mileage is

Interesting. Thanks for verifying the speedometer changes. I know what they are for the normal tire size changes but not this one.

Do you have any pictures of the car with the new tires? Up close of the wheel well and a distance side profile shot would be great. It could help others looking to do what you did.

Here's photos

Again, lets all use a lot of common sense.

No matter what tire I put on my car within a reasonable size. My 2012 Prius will always get better gas mileage than most cars. A Hummer no matter what size tire will always get among the worst gas mileage. I drive fast in my Prius unlike most Prius drivers who try to Hypermile and get 70MPG. My roommate said I should be given a medal by a cop if I'm pulled over since most Prius drivers drive like the elderly.

Personally, I prefer the whopping 1" increase in ground clearance of my 215/70/15 tires on my 2012 Prius. Which will never fit the 2004-2009 Prius.

dj,

I like the idea if you want more ground clearance! And maybe $ savings in the long run!

Just to clarify, the discussion of "Gearing change" or "Lower RPM" is not relevant to the Prius.
The RPM is where the system wants to be. Hopefully the most efficient RPM...
There is no 'gear ratio'. It is constantly variable. You go around a bend in the highway, cruise set, you're now in more of a head wind and the RPM is now higher.
Another 'benefit' is you are now spinning the final drive section of your transaxle and your wheel bearings
2-3% less! Less spin for the final result = less wear. (maybe/maybe not)

You are increasing you car's frontal area by two rectangles-- 1" tall x ~6.2" wide.
That, and there will be more air taking the low-road under your car.
This may affect hiwy mileage.
Only time will tell, right?
And fuel mileage comparisons need to consider the average temp during each tank full.
You almost have to compare this month to last year's, if you keep a log.

And now, you always have to add a correction factor to your odo numbers. Use your Garmin to get some accurate odo numbers to figure out your correction factor. Do you know where the Trip Computer is?
But then, we should all do this. You will have to wait for your Garmin to boot up before driving for accurate odo.

I thank you for pushing the envelope and sharing your results !!

When I had my 2007 Prius I hit some blown tire on the right edge of the carpool lane on Hwy 91 in the L.A. region. It ripped off part of my black plastic that covers the bottom of the car. That 1" higher ground clearance can be the difference of a costly repair such as that. That repair wasn't covered under my Toyota Platinum Extended 100K mile Warranty either.

I don't consider the 6.2" tread width a disadvantage. Since, here's a different model Yokohama (LRR) low rolling resistance tire that's the OEM size 195/65/15 that's even wider at 6.3" tread width:

Yokohama dB Super E-Spec

which states:

Currently Selected Tire Size(s)
Size
Service Description
Load Range UTQG Max
Load Max.
Inflation
Press. Tread
Depth Tire
Weight Rim
Width
Range Meas.
Rim
Width Sect.
Width Tread
Width Overall
Diam. Revs
Per
Mile Country
of Origin*
195/65R15
Load Index 91 = 1356lbs (615kg) per tire
Speed Rating “H” = 130mph (210kph) 91HSLMax Load = 1,356 lbs
Max psi = 44 psi
LRR: Low Rolling ResistanceLow Rolling Resistance Tire Technology Treadwear: 460
Traction: A
Temperature: A460 A A 1356 lbs. 44 psi 10/32" 19 lbs. 5.5-7" 6" 8" 6.3" 25" 831 Country of Origin "JP" = JAPANJP