Snow tires!

I'm a big fan of snow tires for the Prius here in Buffalo NY. I would recommend dedicated snow tire rims to ease the pain of seasonal changeovers. (check online sources like tire rack and discount tire direct)
I found without snow tires I was replacing the all season tires prematurely (was worried about the lack of tread depth for snow driving)
When I move on to a different vehicle I have always had good luck recuperating a large portion of the cost of the snow tire rims by selling them on craigslist.

 

Welcome to PriusChat! Being at the beginning of winter, there are lots of recent posts on this very subject! You might find the search function to be quite useful for helping you out. Here's my solution. I have a 2009 Gen II (touring) (which has 16" alloy wheels) which I bought used in Jan 2014. The almost worn Michelin Energy Savers were pretty useless in snow, so this year I decided to get a set of snow tyres. I was recommended to look around for a set of used 15" rims (15" means bigger choice of tyres) but all the junk-yards (and eBay) wanted ~$100 per rim, so I ended up getting a set of steel rims (15x6) from TireRack.com ($52/ea plus shipping) and made use of the local dealer's offer "Buy 3 tyres and get the 4th for $1!" (includes road hazard insurance, fitting, alignment check, valves). I researched reviews and tests, and bought a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS-80s. I didn't bother with the TPMS (too expensive to keep swapping/re-programming - much easier to just ignore the NagLight and manually check the pressures regularly). I almost went with studded, but decided that would be too noisy (even though they're legal between November and April here in NH). I think having a set of snows on rims the ideal solution since it's much easier to swap the wheels than having to keep swapping the tyres, and also is less stressful to the seals on the tyres . Hope this helps! - Wil

 

This Corolla rim works, and doesn't need any sort of adapter rings, a perfect fit:

Corolla steel rim, part no: 42611-02471 (2003-2008 corolla or matrix, CE, LS, S?)

And these utilitarian lug nuts:

steel rim lug nuts: 90942-01007 (plain, open-ended, galvanized)

 

Tirerack, Michelin X-ice3 on the black, steel rims. $653 ($583 after rebate) shipped to your door. Direct bolt-on, no shims or adapters, lugs included. This is without TPMS sensors. Live with the idiot light, cover it with electrical tape or turn off using Peef's excellent jumper tutorial from post #54 here:

Idea to fool the tire pressure sensors | Page 3 | PriusChat

This is assuming you have a 15" wheel Prius. If you've got the 17" wheels, you need to size down to 205/55-16. If you want TPMS sensors you can add them for ~$50 per, plus cost of having them programmed.

I use this set-up on my '07 and '10 and it's hard to fault. You're welcome to check them out in the for-real if you like.

New Steel Wheel Black Painted

Michelin X-Ice Xi3

Use the "build a tire and wheel package" prompt and it will guide you through it.

 

Not sure I understand. Our Prius came with 215/45R17 (Canadian Touring model), but 15" steel rims and 195/65R15 snow tires work fine. Bottom line, I don't think there's anything different in the wheel well, apart from the different wheel and tire size.

 

Yeah, that's fine, too, Mendel. My point being the low profile of the 17" is not ideal in a snow tire specific package. So your 15's, with even more sidewall than the 16's, may be an ever better option. Also, Tirerack doesn't offer a 17" steel option, so the cost would go up considerably building an alloy wheel package.

 

Regarding rim cost, the 15" corolla rims I got were $70 apiece, new through a dealership. From what I've been reading lately that might have been a sweetheart deal though, maybe they had surplus of them.

Plus, I was buying a complete package, with tires. So maybe the tires were at cost, and they recouped on the tires. All in all it was a safe way to go: if there had been a fit problem I wouldn't have been out of pocket.

 

I did best pricing at TireRack for the Blizzak MS80's mounted and balanced on steel rims, without TPMS, with shipping then went shopping locally. Discount Tires beat their price by $100 for the same...negotiated. If you live near one of TireRack's warehouses in Indiana, Connecticut, Louisiana, Georgia, Nevada or Colorado and choose to pick-up you save the shipping charges, but have to pay local tax. Still came out better at Discount Tire on that price and it was one stop shopping. Be advised however, that by law, they can and usually refuse to install these wheel assys on cars manufactured after September 2007 when TPMS became required by law in the US. Brought mine home and swapped them out in about 30 minutes.

 

Sounds like you made a good choice. FWIW the TPMS "NagLight" comes on each time I take the car out of the garage after about 30 mins, but it goes out when I return to the garage where the summer wheels (with TPMS) are stored.

 

Don't have that option at my Denver apartment. Good price?...yes. Good choice?...I will let you know in the Spring, but I've done 4 snows ranging 1"-8" so far with good results.

 

one of the best winer tire, with low resistance easy on mileage and silent is michelin x ice that what I use on my v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) and they are really good

 

That was the other side of the coin I flipped...because I am big on Michelin.

 

I have Michelin Energy Savers on my summer wheels, but having suffered through last year's harsh winter, being about 80% worn, they were just about useless in the snow, so I sought advice, and Blizzak WS-80s came highly recommended, and seem to do well in the user-reviews and in the real-world tests (TireRack.com) - I very nearly went with studs, but the WS-80s looked good, and they're quieter than expected, and certainly quieter than studs - just over 1,000 miles on them so far, still no white stuff or ice, but actually at 40F/38R they're a better ride than the Michelins (46F/44R) (could be that they're so new, and I'm running them at slightly lower pressure) - the steering seems lighter! (?)

 

I love my Blizzak WS-80s as it gets rather snowy, sleety, icy, cruddy, crummy or any other kind of inclement weather you can think of in Wisconsin. I am able to remain in control in the worst of weather and also keep a higher speed while travelling on the highway with them. I did lose about 6 mpg with the tires, "winter gas", and cold weather combined.