1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Installed 15" MB Wheels "Viper" in an effort to maintain MPG

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by F8L, Oct 5, 2012.

Page 4 of 4
  1. 2010_Prius_I_White

    2010_Prius_I_White Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2012
    62
    14
    0
    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    I
    I'll inbox you. :D Easier.
     
    #61 2010_Prius_I_White, Oct 20, 2012
  2. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    3,193
    2,319
    0
    Location:
    CA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Sorry, I didn't know you were looking for 17" tires. For 17" tires, get the sucessor to the RE960AS Pole Position - the RE970AS, which comes in the 215/45-17 size.

    And F8L - there's no such thing as an "overkill" A/S tire. Anyone can benefit from more grip and traction - as these attributes will ALWAYS result in a safer car.
     
    #62 The Critic, Oct 20, 2012
  3. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,080
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Ultimate safety yes but I still feel it is overkill and the fuel economy and comfort hit may not be worth it in a lot of cases. The average Prius driver does fine with most of the good LRR tires.

    Someone once told me you "are about as fascinated with grippy tires as Condoleezza Rice was fascinated with overbuilding our defense system." :p
     
    #63 F8L, Oct 20, 2012
  4. jlulu

    jlulu Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2012
    13
    20
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I had the opportunity to meet one of our PC top posters today - F8L - and purchased his viper wheels. And I'm happy to report that the wheels are on the road again on my 2010 Prius. Along with the improved looks and maintaned MPG, I noticed right away an improvement in the ride quality (still running at the normal air pressure).

    Let me know what you think of the looks! priuswheels.JPG
     
    #64 jlulu, Oct 20, 2012
    F8L and 2010_Prius_I_White like this.
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,080
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    It looks great! It was good to meet you. I hope the game went well. Sorry if I made you miss any of the action with my jabbering. :)
     
    #65 F8L, Oct 20, 2012
  6. sdtundra

    sdtundra Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2008
    1,314
    193
    0
    Location:
    Sacramento, CA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Needs to be lowered ;)
     
    #66 sdtundra, Oct 20, 2012
  7. SuperchargedMR2

    SuperchargedMR2 Diehard Rams Fan

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2011
    673
    179
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, WA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    So I'm confused reading this thread. You bought some 17" Lexus wheels & tires & but then didn't like the mpg decrease that you knew would happen so you traded them in for some 15" Viper wheels & Energy Saver A/S tires. Now you sold those and are going back to the 17" tires? What is going on?????? This is what I get for not being on PC for a while. :LOL:
     
    #67 SuperchargedMR2, Oct 21, 2012
    wotcher, 2010_Prius_I_White and chiefseattleprius like this.
  8. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,080
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    It's a long and very complicated story. :)
     
    #68 F8L, Oct 21, 2012
  9. SuperchargedMR2

    SuperchargedMR2 Diehard Rams Fan

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2011
    673
    179
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, WA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I've been trying to follow it on your different threads. So you went back to 15" tires & now you got rid of those again to go back to 17"? So to make a long story short, why all the switching?
     
    #69 SuperchargedMR2, Oct 21, 2012
  10. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,080
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I didn't like the mpg loss of the 17s. I also didn't like the ride comfort of the 205/50/17 PureContact tires I had purchased. So I swapped those for the Primacy MXM4 215/45/17. The mpg got worse and I didn't like all the extra wheel we'll gap so I decided to exchange the tires for a set of wheels and a new set of 15" Energy Saver A/S tires. I should get my mpg and comfort back right? Nope.

    The wider wheel and increased offset changed the way the 15" tire felt compared to the OE 15" wheels (which still hadnot sold). Handling increased dramatically but ride comfort went down. I also missed the way it looked with the Lexus wheels. Sooooo I decided to sell everything (except the Lexus wheels which were not selling) and buy the EP422 205/50/17s in hopes of reducing my mpg loss, increasing ride comfort over other 17" tires and get rid of all the stuff cluttering up our garage before my girlfriend killed me!

    So part of the decision was based on what would sell the fastest and the rest was based on my desire for the 17s. Confusing I know but I was trying to roll with whatever America's Tire would do for me as well as not lose too much money with all the swapping.

    In the end I met a couple of really nice PC members and their cars are the better for it! :)
     
    #70 F8L, Oct 21, 2012
  11. SuperchargedMR2

    SuperchargedMR2 Diehard Rams Fan

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2011
    673
    179
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, WA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    So you are sticking with the 17's that you have now? I'll be curious to see how this combination works for you. You always seem to get a lot better mpg than I've ever seen even when I had my 15" oem tires & now with my 16" Energy Savers.
     
    #71 SuperchargedMR2, Oct 21, 2012
  12. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,080
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I'm sticking with this combo. I'm very happy with the ride and the handling has gotten better. Mpg took a hit of course but even driving around at high speeds and cooler weather I am still getting 48mpg plus. In hot weather high 50s should be easy and 60mpg is doable with plenty of work! I won't know until next summer though.
     
    #72 F8L, Oct 21, 2012
  13. eco-icon

    eco-icon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2012
    137
    8
    0
    Location:
    California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Looks really good:)

    Nexus 7 ? 2
     
    #73 eco-icon, Oct 21, 2012
  14. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    Who are you, and what did you do with F8L ?
     
    #74 SageBrush, Oct 23, 2012
  15. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,080
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Muahahahahaha!
     
    #75 F8L, Oct 23, 2012
  16. wotcher

    wotcher Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2012
    403
    97
    16
    Location:
    LA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    can still change again with a trade in for a pip + 17ins.
     
    #76 wotcher, Oct 23, 2012
    F8L likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 4 of 4