tire size question -- 195 vs 185

Some people run 195s on the Gen II Prius. That said, narrow snow tires are better than wide snow tires.

Tom

 

Should be OK. Your spedo will read about 2.1% slower than you are actually going.

 

the only change above is in tire width (195 v. 185), how does that affect speedometer reading?

 

The Height of the tire is expressed as a percentage of the width, 65% in both these cases. (Other tires may have other percentages, also called profiles) 65% of 195 is just larger than 65% of 185.

105/80R13 is as tall a tire profile I found.

315/35R17 is as short a tire profile I found. (Neither fit a Prius)

 

thank you for correcting, my mistake, i thought it was a percent of something else.

 

Neat online calculator showing the difference is size and what it will do to your speedometer.
http://www.miata.net/garag​e/tirecalc.html

 

Actually, his speedometer will most likely be more accurate than stock because stock reads about a couple of percent high.

 

Yep, but the odometer will still be a bit off.

 

For some odd reason only in the US Toyota supplies 185 with the Prius rest of the world gets 195. I recently replaced my tires and went with the 195/65 size and noticed the car handles much better.

 

Yes but please note that it's generally195/60/15 (not 195/65/15) that's the factory fitted standard outside of the US.

 

Thanks for the correction UART. My bad :doh:

 

We got the 185s too, and we actually aren't part of the US.

 

I tried 195/65/r15's on my 206 and I found the car liked the standard 185/65/r15 better. Better FE and much better driving auto with standard size. My 2 cents! Hal

 

In Europe the standard size is actually 195 / 55 / 16

 

The 185 is 24.5" the 195 is 25", no big deal, more torque with the 185 better mileage with the 195
Run all 4 the same size, either 185 or 195 don't switch them up, winter driving and braking will go smoother.
In the tools menu on you screen you can adjust for larger or smaller tires to adjust your speedometer error.

 

The MFD should read higher mpg with the 185s because they are smaller in rolling diameter than the 195s. This is assuming you are comparing the same model tires with the same wear condition.

 

Bought my Prius in Jan 2008, used with 30k on it with the OEM 185's I drove it for the remainder of that winter (Buffalo NY) and thought about getting a four wheel drive before the next winter. I replaced the tires when they wore down with 195 60-R 15 Bridgestone Turanza LS-T tires from wal-mart in Sep 2008. I have now driven two more winters on them and haven't bought a four wheel drive for winter yet. I just replaced them today with four new tires same make from wal-mart for only $10 more than I paid two years and 80 some thousand miles ago. I'm not sure if it was the tread change or the tire size but I know these tires have done the Buffalo winters and the buffalo to Boston trip once a month for the last two winters with no issues on the highway. On side streets nothing moves in Buffalo without more ground clearance or four wheel drives.
as far as mileage or speed changes I have noted a 1MPG drop over what I was getting with the 185's (I remember reading on this here so I kept track the first few months) I also noted a 2MPH change from what the "speed in Zone" signs say I'm going compared to the dash display.

I don't know if any of this helps answer your question or not but it’s what I have noticed with my Gen II and my tires.

 

Sorry to revive old thread but rather do than start a new one.

I replaced the 185/65/15 on my Gen 2 with 195/65’s and I deff do NOT like the look or performance. The prius has decreased noticeably in MPG and performance. It is now giving me a consistent 42-43 mpg vs 48-49 mpg and tires look way too meaty for my liking. I will def be going back to 185’s at least for this prius because the 195’s being the stock tire size on Gen 3’s they def do not look good on Gen 2’s IMO and if there is any handling improvement, I cannot justify trading handling on a 90hp prius over MPG which is wha the car is made for, SAVING fuel not decreasing.

 

We’re North America though, and the US and Canadian Prius are very similar, with any variations due to different reg’s.

yeah I now, old thread.