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195 65 15 Goodyear Fuelmax Experience

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by SWprius08, Apr 12, 2011.

  1. SWprius08

    SWprius08 SoCalprius

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    I got all 4 Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max 195/65/15 stock wheels on my 08 Prius at about 41K. . Now I have about 3000 miles on my new tires, the experience is very good and would recommend. With the 185/65/15 integrities my prius has got the VSC enabled numerous times when driving on water puddles on freeway during rain, and it would shake a lot even on streets with high winds of the valley, no snow experience, it does not snow here. I used to think it was because of light weight of the car. But with these new set of tires both problems gone, much better control and feel a bit taller. The odometer is dead on (as said earlier), weight capacity increases. No MPG loss after considering the lower rpm. Initially the tire replacement shop had 35 PSI on all 4 tires. I then increased to 45 and 43, there was a problem here. Due to the stiffness and extra height of the tire it would rub with the bottom part of the shock absorber when going on bumps or while stepping on potholes. Reduced the PSI back to 37 and 35, that problem almost gone now too.

    4 tires, GY Assurance Fuel Max $ 360 (free ship + no tax) + $ 40 mail in rebate from discounttiredirect.com recieved in a week. Paid $ 40 at local tire shop for replacing. Extremely satisfied. Was quoted about $ 525 OTD at a GY dealer for these tires.

    [​IMG]
     
    #1 SWprius08, Apr 12, 2011
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  2. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    I have these same tires and like them allot. My FE has gone up about 10%. They do well in snow and on ice as well. In fact they are excellent on ice!Hal
     
    #2 Hal W, Apr 12, 2011
  3. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    #3 john1701a, Apr 12, 2011
  4. FirstFlight

    FirstFlight Member

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    Don't mean to hijack the thread but I have a specific question about this tire. I need to get a new set and these look pretty good. I checked Goodyear's website and they have 185 65 R15 to install on a Prius at one of their locations. What is the difference between a 185 and a 195 tire?
     
    #4 FirstFlight, Apr 13, 2011
  5. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    The 195/65/r15 is the next size up. A little larger in dia. and now my speed is bang on with the GPS. It really bothered me that I was adding on driven miles to my OD without actually driving them. 185 are fine if that is not a concern for you.Hal
     
    #5 Hal W, Apr 13, 2011
  6. SWprius08

    SWprius08 SoCalprius

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    185 65 R15 is indeed the OEM size tire and all tire companies will recommend that as first option but there are many unsatisfied prius drivers with it.
    - 195's are 10 mm wider than the 185's giving better stability,
    - 195's have more weight carrying capacity,
    - 195's are 0.6 inch taller than the 185's increasing the height of your car by 0.6 inch
    - As said earlier with 185's the speedometer is not accurate if your speedometer shows 72 mph you are actually going at 70 mph, with 195 65 15 your speed will be almost accurate, this also means that the MPG shown with 185's is a little higher than actual MPG.

    Hope this helps.
     
    #6 SWprius08, Apr 13, 2011
  7. SWprius08

    SWprius08 SoCalprius

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    Hal,
    What PSI do you run at? Had you had rubbing issues with higher PSI?
     
    #7 SWprius08, Apr 13, 2011
  8. redrockprius

    redrockprius redrockprius

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    One small quibble: it is true that the 195 diameter is 0.6 inches larger than the diameter of the 185 but the height of the car will only be increased by the difference in the radius, not the diameter; that is 0.3 inches, not 0.6 inches. The "other" 0.3 inches reduces the clearance between the tire and the wheel well which might cause rubbing under extremely rough road conditions.
     
    #8 redrockprius, Apr 13, 2011
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  9. FirstFlight

    FirstFlight Member

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    So if the tire is bigger and heavier, won't this cause a small drop in MPG's (even if really small)?
     
    #9 FirstFlight, Apr 13, 2011
  10. SWprius08

    SWprius08 SoCalprius

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    Yup you are right. Thanks for the correction.
     
    #10 SWprius08, Apr 13, 2011
  11. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    SWprius08:
    run at 51 ft. 48 aft. when roads permit. Rough surface roads make me go down too 36lbs.
    Cheers:
    Hal
     
    #11 Hal W, Apr 13, 2011
  12. SWprius08

    SWprius08 SoCalprius

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    I have not seen any change, am getting about 47 combined (60% highway & 40% city driving) and was getting very similar with the 185's as well. It could be that the LRR of Fuelmax is better than that of the Intergrity, just a guess. Also one should consider that the speedometer with the 185's is about 2% higher than actual. So if one shows 51 MPG on the car's screen with 185s for traveling between point A and B and uses 4.5 gal of gas, then that will show as 50 MPG with 195s. It may seem that 1 MPG was reduced due to 195, but in reality one is still travelling from point A to Point B and is still using 4.5 gal of gas.
     
    #12 SWprius08, Apr 13, 2011
  13. richbutler1

    richbutler1 Green Commuter

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    Thanks to all for the info. Pulled the trigger on a set of 4 of these on a new(300 miles) set of 2011 15" rims with caps and pressure sensors for a little under $400 shipped on ebay...a total steal! :rockon:
     
    #13 richbutler1, Jun 7, 2011
  14. Wolfie52

    Wolfie52 Senior "Jr" Member

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    I always start with survey results are TireRack They show results from real world drivers with 100K's or millions of miles of experience. On many tires they also have done independent tests such as on the tires I bought. As you can see from this chart your choice of tires are not rated all that highly; only 6 out of 10 would buy again. I think the buying tires simply because they are "fuel saving" is probably a bad idea. The savings is really going to be miniscule and will probably take years to pay for the higher cost compared to a similar tire.

    I mentioned in another post that I look for tires that are superior in handling for the conditions (rain, snow, etc) YOU drive most in. A tire that will perform exceptionally in an (once or twice a year) emergency will more than pay for itself if it saves you from an accident! I bought the Yoka ENVigor which as you can see here is excellent in emergency handling and braking situations. So would you be better buying a tire that will perhaps save your life in an emergency handling situation (because it stops 20' quicker or handles water on the road or grips better), or might save you 20cents a fill up? I know what my choice would be!
     
    #14 Wolfie52, Jun 12, 2011
  15. flareak

    flareak Fleet Captain

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    Well said. After the Integrities and the Comfortreds, I'm never going back to another Goodyear product again.
     
    #15 flareak, Jun 12, 2011
  16. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    6,000 miles on my set of Fuel-Max tires. They've been great so far.
    .
     
    #16 john1701a, Jun 12, 2011
  17. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    With similar criteria to yours I am going with the Primacy MXM4. I'm trying to find similar tires for those using 15" wheels. I think the Nokian enTYRE would be close.
     
    #17 F8L, Jun 12, 2011
  18. aerogowest

    aerogowest Junior Member

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    Actually, .6" taller tire means only .3" increase in car height, FWIW. aerogowest
     
    #18 aerogowest, Jun 14, 2011
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