Driving over 85mph?

All tires have a speed rating, and LRR tires generally have lower speed ratings than those built for speed and grip. Our tires by design are for less grip. I think the 85mph stems from 80mph being the fastest speed limit in the states (85mph now in Texas I believe) so they are saying don't speed.

But checking your tires is a good and valid point. A blowout can occur anytime and higher the speed, higher the risk.

The Prius itself can do triple digit speeds sustained. Your MPG will drop like a rock. And the C is optimized for the City, so it will drop even faster on the open road.

 

People said they can drive over 100 in this thread.

 

T rated or higher tires should be good enough for any stock Prius. Slow down on the emergency spare and snow tires.

Tirerack.com (where the quote above is from) thinks a c three has Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02 tire, H rated to 130 MPH.

 

I don't see Z rated.

 

Nor W or Y because they have a separate chart do to bad planning with the Z rated specifications. Unless you can beat the World Land Speed record holding Prius, this is not an issue.

 

Early 2012 April, I drove 82 mph on a 2010 Prius III in the rain on I-70 in Ohio (going eastbound, speed limit was 70 mph) using my original tires, Yokohama Avid s33D ( front 38 psi rear 36 psi) -- that particular Saturday the Ohio state police was giving out speeding ticket on a consistent and regular basis for vehicles that were zooming pass me and which undoubtedly were going faster than 85 mph on I-70 -- so I felt it wasn't wise to push the Prius over 82 mph. The Yokohama Avid S33 tire traction in the rain was reasonably good but the Prius only got about 44 mph (calculated at the pump). I've read that Al Gore's son got a speeding ticket for clocking about 100 mph on a 2nd Gen Prius. Reportedly the maximum speed of a 2nd/3rd Prius is about 112 mile per hour[1] - this top speed is controlled by the Prius' main computer and is designed to protect its two electric motors (which are always connected to the transmission) from burning out.

[1] 2011 Toyota Prius Five vs 2012 Chevrolet Volt

 

If you plan on driving at 85+ for extended lengths of time then increase your tire pressure accordingly. If this is going to be a regular thing then step up to one of the H rated LRR tires and use appropriate pressures.

 

85 MPH = Legal in Texas!! Sweet!!

Now if I could only afford the toll on that road.

 

You can do a legal 80mph for miles and miles and miles on I-10 in west Texas; not tolls.

I did 88mph in my Volt tonight. Why are all the girls wearing poodle-skirts?

 

Testing my Prius C above 85 MPH a while ago:

 

Your average MPG is 35.6?

 

35.6 MPG @ 100 MPH would be amazing. Oh, and that's "from start", and based on the cost of the trip, it was about 28 miles to that point, assuming he has his fuel cost set at $4/gal.

 

Fuel at that time was 3.40/gal. And still drive stable at that velocity.