Prius and Michelin Tires in Snow

Hi John,

I am a prius rookie so take that into consideration
I just bought my first prius, a 2008. It came with Goodyear Integrity's and they are also terrible in the snow. I just ordered a set of Michelen Primacy MXV4's that should arrive next week. I have ran Michilen's on several of my vehicles and to me nothing else compares.
With that said, most of the guys in Michigan recommend running winter tires. I think next fall I will buy a set of the Michilen X-ice Xi2 and run them from December to March.

Good luck

Jim

 

how many miles on them? how much tread is left? can you see lincolns nose?

 

I ran Michelin MXV4+ Energy tires on my 2006 Prius, and they worked well in snow, at least until they were worn down. Snow and ice performance will disappear long before the tread is gone, so don't expect to drive them until they are bald.

I replaced my Michelin MXV4+ Energy tires with Nokian WRg2 all-season tires. They are nearly as good as dedicated winter tires. The Michelins were good, the Nokians are ever better.

Tom

 

Lots of threads on this...
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/88450-prius-dangerous-vehicle-in-snow.html

 

if your driveway is the worst you will typically encounter, then you'll probably be ok with the Nokians mentioned above. They are pricey, but apparently the first ever real. "all weather" tire. Meaning from all reports the are truly good in snow, ice, rain and dry. Plus they last.

HOWEVER, in Wisconsin winters I wouldn't drive a Prius without some aggressive, studded, winter tires. The General Altimax Arctic, are an excellent example of what I would use. I'm in NY and I have tried Blizzaks and Xices on the Prius. Both are good (slight preference for the Blizzaks), but I'd feel more comfortable with something better. I use the Generals (unstudded) on my Subaru and they are excellent even w/o studs.

Zhe Wiz

 

Well, that'd be a GREAT video IF he owned a 2010. According to his bio, he doesn't.

Zhe Wiz

 

There are only a few differences in vehicle that can make a difference driving in snow.
Ground clearance
Traction control, anti skid, drive wheels
Tires / tire pressure / size / type
Driver

 

Take this comment with a grain of salt. (Our Prius is garaged for the winter - the 2003 Corolla is our winter workhorse.)

But back to the subject. My neighbor drives a 2008 Prius and uses his car all the time,. This year we have a real Canadian winter so I asked him abut how he likes to drive his car in the snow. He LOVES it! Here is the caveat: he has installed Bridgestone Potenza All Season tires, a 'size larger' - not rim size - than the originals.

Personally I would drive on snow tires in the winter. (Michelin X-Ice works fine on our Corolla.)

I have spoken

 

I agree with Qbee -- switch to Nokians, and if that is not enough then bite the bullet and have two sets of whees+tyres.

I honestly do not know why so much fuss is made over exchanging tyres a couple times a year. I doubt it takes much more than 20 minutes.

 

Hello John and welcome to the forum

I used to have a '04 Prius, it came with the awful Integrity tires. After a hydroplaning incident, I switched to Michelin Harmony

I have frequently posted on how poorly my Prius did in snow and especially on ice. It essentially came to a stop while other cars were able to keep going

Tried a variety of studless winter tires, finally cured the problem with aggressive Goodyear Nordic studded winter tires, which are sold at Canadian Tire here.

This tire is identical to the recently discontinued Goodyear UltraGrip 500 sold in Scandinavian countries

I would have run winter tires anyway. I tried studless winter tires - Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus - on my FJ Cruiser. On snow, and slush, they were great. On ice, although better than a typical SUV "all season" tire, so-so.

I then went to factory studded Nokian winter tires for the FJ



and never looked back. Anybody who has to drive in "real" winter conditions is a fool to drive on "all season" tires. I have had cars and pickups spin out in front of me after hitting a snow-drifted or icy stretch at the overpass on Fermor eastbound. With my studded tires I was able to brake, steer, go around the vehicle, and remain in control

We have a similar opinion on the Prius winter performance, and I completely agree with what you have stated. However, Wisconsin is one of the states that prohibits studded winter tires

The Province of Ontario used to also prohibit studded winter tires. After a couple of decades of driver frustration, fatalaties, and lawsuits, the Ministry of Transportation Ontario relented and finally changed the rules

The stipulations are that studded tires can only be used in an area of Sault St Marie and north. The tires must use "Scandinavian" design studs that greatly minimize road damage. There is also a seasonal restriction too

I'm ok with most of the MTO requirements. My FJ with factory studded Nokian winter tires is proof that a "Scandinavian" stud design offers superior ice traction with very minimal road damage

The Swedish road engineering institute, VTI, has done countless tests to determine if road wear is really that bad with "Scandinavian" studs. The answer - no, it is not. Large vehicles cause far more road wear, and frozen pavement is highly resistant to wear anyway

VTI also examined if the reason Japan banned studded tires - very high PM pollution in winter - was valid. It was not, but there was confounding data. Spreading sand on icy roads, which is then ground up by passing tires, contributes to PM loading

VTI discovered that "friction" tires, we call them studless winter tires, actually caused the most PM loading when driven on sanded roads. Their recommendation was fairly simple - use vacuum trucks to pick up the sand once the ice is gone.

I have driven on dry sanded roads here that are so bad its like driving in a sandstorm

In the final analysis, the Prius doesn't have a very optimal TC system. My FJ has a "real" TC system, but no defeat button. I find it very interesting that for the 2010 FJ, Toyota added a TC defeat button

 

I have a 2005 Prius and have used it in the snow many times in Colorado. The Integrity tires are terrible. I also tried Goodyear Comfort Tred and they were better but still poor. I used Blizzaks in the winter and they were great! This last year I decided to stick with an All season tire and I bought the Goodyear TripleTreds. They worked much better this season than any other all season tire I've used. If you want the best (studless tire), then go with the Blizzaks for winter. The best all season tire I've used in the snow are the TripleTreds.

 

Jbur,

I have a 2008 and relpaced the OEM tires with Michelin Ice. I have 2000 miles on these tires, they provide good traction on my Prius in 4 to 5 inches of snow.

I am very happy with the improved traction of these tires over the old ones.


Hopes this helps,

DBCassidy

 

I would second the Blizzaks comment. If you're looking for a winter/snow tire, look at tirerack.com and get them mounted onto a set of separate wheels. Over the course of a couple years, they'll have paid for themselves.

I ran my 2010 with the factory AVIDs for about 1 month of winter. I then upgraded to the blizzaks and haven't had any issues since. I'm pretty sure you guys up in WI get more of a soft/powdered snow compared to the typical wet snow we get here during winter. I for one, definitely recommend getting snow tires rather than trying to run with all season. It took me roughly 30 minutes to swap my Blizzaks on this year. I felt like it took me longer to get all my stuff out of the garage and put back away than it did to actually do the swap!