Snow Tires Questions

Good pick. There may be others with a snow traction "edge", but the X-Ice are also very quiet and assured on bare pavement, decent low rolling resistance too.

 

I had X-Ice Xi3 on my previous Gen3, and really liked it. It was very quiet and smooth. I did not do too many driving on snow last winter, but few times I did drive on snow, I felt super secure compared to OEM Ecopia. That said, I am sure those sale will come back again before Nov, so I don't think you need to be rushed into installing them now, if you want to wait a bit longer.

 

Will you be doing any non-standard driving (off ordinary roads)?

I live in Minnesota and have many generations of Prius since 2000 and simply don't see the need.

My recent upgrade was from a 2012 Prius PHV which got around just fine for 5 winters using just all-season tires.

 

If you're thinking to use separate rims (good strategy) I would not hesitate, buy them now, before the rush, and possible supply run out.

 

Also check out the thread "Wider Tires on Stock Rims" in the "Prime Accessories and Modifications" section
Wider tires on stock rims? | PriusChat

Some snow-tire specific comments got injected into that discussion.

 

5 year old all seasons in Minnesota winter does not sound good to me...

Having two sets of tires they'll for sure last longer too.

 

I had a friend from Winnipeg who never used snow tires. Then again, when I lived in North Dakota, I never had snow tires either. Good thing was that there are no hills there, and I was young then.

 

It was 5 winters with all-season tires... not the same set though. The first all-season wore out. I replaced then with another set.

The point was at no time were snow tires used or needed for ordinary winter driving.




SM-G920V ?

 

On my Prius c, I used Nokia Hakkapeliitta R2, studless. According to reviews, these are one of the better studless winter tires, although more expensive than other options. In my experience, I find these to be somewhat fair performance on ice. The tires worked well in slush and snow, with some slipping, but less than the all seasons, and worked excellent in packed snow. The general road noise is low with these tires and grips well in city traffic on dry and wet roads (unlike studs...). On the highway and backroads, I had to go much slower when there was heavy rain because of increased hydroplaning compared to all seasons.

To save money, I'm probably going to use these again, on my Prime, since tread is 9/32, and since the 175 width (compared to the Prime's stock 195) ought to provide more pressure on packed snow/ice for improved traction.

 

And this is why I want the Edit button back:

No.

 

Good pick. We have X-Ice2, since the car was new, November 2010. Around here snow is very infrequent, it's more just icy conditions. I've found the X-Ice2 are very smooth/quiet on bare roads. These are the rims I got:

Corolla 15" black steel rims p/n: 42611-02471
With lug nuts p/n: 90942-01007 (utilitarian, open-ended, galvanized)

I put an 2" (nominal) ABS end cap on the centre hub, with a section of bicycle inner tube acting as a gasket, locking it on. Also a drop of oil on the end of the wheel studs, to slow down rusting. Acorn nuts are nicer looking, but it seems like all the Amazon options are extremely long, sort of one-size-fits-all I guess.

They're utilitarian looking, but the hub opening is tailored for Corolla/Matrix/Prius, so no adapter ring is needed.

If you can get away without getting TPMS sensors, just get plain valve stems, I would go that route. Some US States will fail the car at inspection. See if you can get inspection during the summer, lol. Also, some tire places will insist on TPMS install, they risk fines if they don't. Perhaps with loose rims/tires you can skirt the issue??

 

Friendlier TPMS can't happen too soon.

 

The first link here:

Ask TC Motor Vehicle Safety - Transport Canada

Says new vehicles sold in Canada don't have to have TPMS. But then the second link, regarding "winter and replacement tires" says it's up to the province. I think we're ok, the preponderance seems be no. One of those issues it's best to not ask about, lol.