UK/EU LRR tyre information

Consider going up one size of tyre to 205/55/16.

I know the only way you could do this is to buy 4 tyres but if you look at the price of 205's you will find they are:- 20% cheaper to buy, there is a much greater choice of tyres in this size, you will find at least 2 tyres rated (B) "Hankook and Michelin", and going to this size with the LRR will pay for the tyres in there lifetime.

The improvement in road manners and noise with these tyres is enormous. The Bridgestone OEM tyres were not good tyres for thePrius

There is no problem with clearance with these tyres as they are only 10mm wider (5mm inside, 5mm outside). I and many others with 16 inch rims run this size. I use the Hankook Eco Kinergy tyres 205/55/16 rated (B) for RR and (B) for wet grip. I also gained about 3MPG over the Bridgestones.

Hope this helps.

John (Britprius)

 

GC unfortunately the OP has 16 inch rims on his car and runs a gen2, and the 195/16 tyres for some unknown reason have a much higher rolling resistance than the 15's and are also much more expensive. Making in my opinion the move to 205/16's with there LRR and cheaper price the best choice.

I found the Bridgestone ER300 very noisy, so noisy I changed them with 4 to 5mm of tread left on them. Could be a difference between gen2 and gen3 suspension or side wall height of the two sizes.

Michelin's are a good choice if you get the correct ones rated (B) LRR and (A) wet grip but more money.

John (Britprius)

 

GC, the Ecopia 001s is a new tyre and in theory is available in the UK/EU.

It is rated (A) for RR and (A) for wet grip so should be a great tyre for the Prius but only available at the moment in your size.

I have contacted as many major suppliers as I can and no one has them yet, but by the time you are ready for tyres they should be in stock. No price published.

John.

 

Unfortunately no you cannot mix the two sizes as you request.

The reason is that they have slightly different circumference and this confuses the ABS system (thinks wheels are doing different speeds so must be skidding) you can get the same affect when you put the skinny spare wheel on.

The guaranty you were talking about I find dubious at best you are better off putting the money on one side in case anything happens, if it does not you still have the money.

Looking on "Black Circles" the Hankook's are £71-50 each fitted "I was able to get this down to £60 at a local tyre dealer" and the Michelin are £84.

I can understand money is tight at the moment so you must do what is right for you. All the best.

John (Britprius)

 

Blanik, just a few numbers for you:- The difference in the amount of fuel used in UK gallons between 5o MPG and 53 MPG over the life of a set of tyres say 40,000 miles, is a little over 45 gallons, at 50,000 miles it becomes 57 gallons saved. I'll leave you to do the rest of the maths on money saved.

John (Britprius)

 

The Bridgestone ER300 according to the UK tyre charts are the noisiest tyres apart from some snow tyres at 73db.

 

Just discovered the Goodyear EfficientGrip in your size and 205/16 is now available rated (B) RR (A) wet grip and noise level of 68db very quiet. Wonder what they wear like.

 

They are one of the cheapest tyres in the well known brands.