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2012 Prius V 5 Tire question

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Bluegrassman, Feb 18, 2019.

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  1. Bluegrassman

    Bluegrassman Active Member

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    Hello all. I've been absent for a long time due to a life that has been much too complicated the past 2 years, but I have returned with a tire question.

    Has anyone tried the 215 50r17 Nokian zLine A/S tires on the Prius V? It's a W rated tire and has a decent price.

    Background, I just bought a 2012 Prius V 5 with ATP to replace my son's 2009 Prius 4 (2nd owner with only 64,000 miles) that was unfortunately totaled last month thanks to oblivious left turning, non-yielding driver :-/ but I digress...
    I am having an issue finding a decent tire locally for this car. Dealer says they can't even get Michelin's for it, and Sam's Club has them but won't install a non "W" rated tire on it. We've had good luck with Nokians on my wife's van but I'd like some real world Prius driver input on this.

    Thank in advance.
     
    #1 Bluegrassman, Feb 18, 2019
  2. tvpierce

    tvpierce Senior Member

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    The only experience I have with Nokian is with their Hakkapaliita snow tires on my old Volvo. They were great tires.

    RE: unavailability of Michelins... where do you live? I just searched my local tire shop's web site, and they offer 4 all season models and X-Ice winter as well -- all in 215/50-17 V rated. Check another tire shop. In my experience, Michelin seems to control their prices very tightly -- their tires are the same price (or within a few dollars) whether you buy them online, at Sam's/BJ's, or tire shops. Also, my local tire shop (a regional chain in northern New England) will price match internet offers if you do find a better deal.
     
    #2 tvpierce, Feb 19, 2019
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  3. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    If you want Micheline or any other specific tires, there are a lot of on-line tire stores that will deliver the tires either to the installer shop or to your door most free of charge. The price, IMHO, are mostly better than local tire shops. Discount Tire, Tire Rack, Simple Tires. I bought from all those three stores, and had no problem.
     
    #3 Salamander_King, Feb 19, 2019
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  4. Bluegrassman

    Bluegrassman Active Member

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    I wasn’t very clear in my original post. What I meant was finding a W speed rated Michelin locally is difficult. And unfortunately local installers don’t seem to want to mount anything not specifically rated to match this car’s specs. Even the Toyota dealership which sells and installs a lot of Michelin’s including 2 sets on some of our other Prii) say they can’t get/sell me Michelin’s for this car
     
    #4 Bluegrassman, Feb 19, 2019
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  5. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Why W rated? W is Up to 168 mph. It would be an overkill for a Prius. I would think you will find W rated only on high performance tires, don't you? That said, I thought, the manufacture's tire spec is for minimal. Putting on an over rated tires shouldn't be a problem. Then again, I had to put an underrated winter tires on my son's car, but our local shop didn't give us any hustle. I would check a few other installers.
     
    #5 Salamander_King, Feb 19, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2019
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  6. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    We went to Continental PureContact 225/50R17 98V tires and have been very pleased with handling, ride, MPG, and the slightly larger radius trues up the v’s speedo indicated vs GPS actual speeds.
     
    #6 Air_Boss, Feb 19, 2019
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  7. Bluegrassman

    Bluegrassman Active Member

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    Update:
    Had the 215/50r17 Nokian zLine A/S tires installed yesterday. Just under $500 installed (tax included)
    We’ve had good luck with Nokians on my wife’s car so I was willing to try them again. Hopefully they’ll be good on the v.
    I’ll try to update again once they have several miles on them.
     
    #7 Bluegrassman, Feb 21, 2019
  8. 200Volts

    200Volts Member

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    On my 3rd Prius, and now I only put on the Brdigestone Ecopia for maximum mileage. They're slipppery in the snow, but not needed in CA. Not cheap, but some 2-3mpg better than most others I've tried.
     
    #8 200Volts, Mar 23, 2019
  9. Eddie25

    Eddie25 Active Member

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    Have another update on these tires @Bluegrassman ? How are they in the rain? Gas Mileage?

    They are about half the price of the Yokohama Avid Ascend GT I've been eyeing. I drive A LOT so price is a concern, since whatever I get will wear quickly.
     
    #9 Eddie25, Mar 30, 2019
  10. Bluegrassman

    Bluegrassman Active Member

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    Son reports they are doing well. With ~ 1000 miles on them he reports averaging 42 mpg. I’ve ridden in and driven the car several times. They seem pretty smooth riding. Average in noise level. They also seem to handle nicely. If they last a reasonable time mileage wise I’ll definitely consider them again.
     
    #10 Bluegrassman, Apr 12, 2019
  11. Eddie25

    Eddie25 Active Member

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    Price was too good and I got them about a week ago. $400 installed from my local place, which was a price match from walmart. They would have been about $510 otherwise. I was happy to see that they are officially LRR tires and seem to get pretty good reviews. First tank was the best gas mileage I've ever got. To be honest though my second best was the previous tank before that with my old tires. They did great in the rain on a long highway trip, but too early to give a good report.
     
    #11 Eddie25, Apr 15, 2019
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  12. Bluegrassman

    Bluegrassman Active Member

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    Glad they’re working out well for you. That’s a great price!
     
    #12 Bluegrassman, Apr 16, 2019
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