Help ... Wheel Upgrade - Wider Tires and Bigger Wheels?

Check out bino's gen2 rolling on 17" Volk TE37s. Hot stuff. Then there's turnerdhr with his Hellaflush fit 19s in VIP style. I have 16" Volk CE28n Eco Drives on 205/55/16 extreme performance rubber (I pay a ~5mpg price for extreme grip). The MPG hit is variable with the wheel size/weight and tire combination.

 

You remind me of myself. It sounds like you are going for looks (suggesting taking off the trim rings) and handling. Wider profile tires on 15" rims will be very subtle in terms of handling and more grip. If you buy new tires I would just go for the larger size and new rims. FYI you will see a decrease in mileage particulaly if you go with rims above 15 lbs - which I believe is the weight of the stock rims. The stock rims are very aerodynamic and are optimized for good mileage, but let's face it, not racing. A larger tire diameter will also require more energy to rotate the mass.

If style and handling is what you want though, use these parameters to narrow your search.

- 17"+ (don't bother with anything 16" and below - to me it doesn't seem worthwhile to upgrade then)
- 15 lbs or below for minimum mileage decrease
- ~40mm offset
- 5x100 bolt pattern which fits the prius
- I would also recommend lowering your car 1-2" if you're going to upsize (it usually doesn't look right otherwise)

I'll be honest these types of tires aren't cheap. A set of lightweight 17s may cost $1000 at least.

Happy shopping!

 

Chassis stiffening plate and TRD rear sway bar will help more than tires.

 

Strongly disagree - Maybe the TRD rear sway bar helps a little but the BT chassis stiffening plate is useless - as one member described, it is a placebo - the guy's wife couldn't tell the difference, she said it improved the car when it wasn't actually installed. Rip off.

Your tires are the only thing that have direct contact with the ground. You better believe that wider and/or larger tires have the most impact on handling - to the extent of the Prius' limited abilities.

 

If you are going larger, stay lighter. Forged wheels can get super pricey the bigger you go. I'd look for some used volks on ebay.

Another option is enkei RPF-1's. They make them in offsets/bolt patterns that fit prius and are super light for a cast wheel. A 17" rpf-1 is going to be under, or at the stock wheel weight last time I checked.

Pics?? What finish??

I had 17" Volk CE28n's in Time Attack finish on my s2000. Awesome wheels.

 

It's really hard to find 17s that are as light or lighter than the stock rims. Forged Volks place in that weight range, but be prepared to PAY. My 16" ce28ns were over $2000 for 3lb weight loss at each rim. The larger the rim, the more expensive.

FYI (the price has increased sicne 2007) Volk ce28n: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...-racing-ce28-eco-drive-wheels-prius-only.html

This statement seems to indicate that you have never fitted high-grip performance tires to your car (as opposed to some all-season tires you got at Costco because other PriusChat people said they were good). A set of Toyo Proxies R888 tires (for example) will be completely beyond the gains made from chassis stiffening or the swaybar. Increased driver training, however, is better than all of that.

 

I have the standard spark silver finish on my gray Gen2. Haven't taken the Prius out on a proper photoshoot since mounting them (always been meaning to put some tire shine on, but alas...). I'll get around to it....

They look fantastic and the finish really is, for lack of a better term, radiant. It's hard for me to quantify performance benefit to the weight loss on the rims specifically, since they're fitted with ADVAN AD08s which change the characteristics of the car so drastically.

 

the chassis stiffening plate keeps the rear end from "lifting" (that's what it feels like)... in the gen II prii, you can feel the back end twist.

i also have a hitch to help keep the back solid.

you will take a MPG hit with 17s... i would not recommend wider tires on 15's as you may notice the car get twitchy. i've ran several tire setups on my car. the best is what i'm currently running. (check signature)

take in account that the tires are very tall for those small stock rims.. this give you a floating feeling along with delayed turning.

be sure to not get tooo creative with this... the worse tire setup i've ever had was 215 up front with 225 in the rear.. sure.. it was very cushy... but the smaller front end made the car super twitchy at speeds.... hard to control.. harsh ride... a matter of fact... i would NEVER recommend 215/45's in Los Angeles.. unless you want to destroy a rim. (my tire setup is just enough better where i don't feel like i'm breaking my rims in potholes)

 

Oh, Yea, I forgot about "the guys wife", technical expert in car handling.
Have both on my '05, can quantify the benefits of both.

 

lol @ wife comment... that's how i feel. i notice a difference with the brace... and a difference with the hitch.. and both independently.

 

That is exactly what a placebo is - you "notice" a difference only because you know its installed.

I'd like to see your quantitative results.

 

Drive the car in San Diego where the roads have grooves in the concrete and over the Coronado Bay bridge every day, 6 days a week. Prior to installation of the chassis brace, car would hunt in the road grooves and any wind on the bridge would cause movement within the lane, easily gauged with the barrier on the bridge. After installation of the chassis brace, hunting in the road grooves and being blown around ceased (not lessened, a subjective measure, ceased, a non-subjective measure). Put the OEM brace back on just to check results and the hunting and blowing around came back.
I also used to drive competitively, and still do get to the track occassionally. Installation of the sway bar reduced steering force for a 90 degree (freeway on/off ramp) turn on my Prius from 3.4 Lbs to 2.2 Lbs and reduced steering wheel movement (a measure of understeer, but somewhat subjective as entry and exit speeds and angles are a factor) from 40 degrees to 32 degrees.

Enough for you?

 

You sound like that TV promoter dude from "Magnolia"

 

Well maybe if you put some clothes on and took a **** INSIDE the house, your wife wouldnt have to be such a *****.

Kidding of course.