Goodyear releasing a 195 50 R19 tire sometime soon

Did you get a new car?
You should change your profile.

 

That train left the station for me. I bought 2 sets of aftermarket wheels, 17's for summer-16's for winter

 

Why would you install a tire that does not have low rolling resistance on a Prius? Isn’t the whole idea of getting a Prius to get the best fuel economy?

In my experience, OEM tires perform best on the Prius, and I am really happy with the Dunlop Enasave 01 A/S 91S on mine and would not stray from them. They still have zero tread wear in 45,000 miles, and it looks like they will last as long as I own my car. I am averaging 70 mpg since I bought the car. If Dunlop, which is a Japanese company, ever makes tires for your Gen 5, go get them without hesitation.

 

Maybe not a good tactic, to lumber a low sales volume model with an obscure tire size. Tire companies are rightfully reluctant to gamble.

 

Good lord, a miracle tire.

 

Not everyone has a singular reason for buying any car. Yes, Prius gets good fuel milage but I also want a car for other reasons and a tire that performs on my winding mtn roads, rain and snow.

 

Jokes aside, rubber does have a life span even if a lot of the tread is present.

 

That is why I had the perfectly good timing belt replaced on my 2000 Tundra. Trusting 25 year old rubber is just ASKING for trouble.

 

How's the selection for 17's?

I'm thinking of doing without snows for the first time in a long time.

I'm retired, single. Near Albany, NY.
Can likely wait for the plows and me to blow out driveway.

I've mostly done snows mounted on wheels although I have gone the approach of having the tires changed out twice a year.

Shopping rims that look halfway decent is always a hassle, but the mounting/demounting can be tough on tire.
Payback time on rims would be, what 4 years, depending on what you got and if you changeout the wheels yourself.

Usually got a Nokian studded product-noisy as hell.
Michelin X-Ices were quiet and long lasting, but not as good as studded.

Perhaps I should have started a new thread, lol.

 

I'm sold on Bridgestone Blizzaks for a dedicated winter tire. Our State troopers have them. There's deffinitely a better selection of tires for 17's and 16's
I purchased mine from TireRack

 

I can just see the title: "Retired and Shopping For Tires".

 

I would have expected a retread joke. Maye that was before your time.

 

Easiest solution: Michelin X-Ice Snow. Comes in both the 17" and 19" stock sizes. Not sure which version of the X-Ice you ran before, but the current X-Ice Snow is supposed to be much improved over the X-Ice and X-Ice 2 that came before it. I have them(2 winters) and like them.

If you want something else, you have to go with a non-stock size. You can go with a Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5(non-studded), 9(non-studded) or 10(studded), or you can go with a Blizzak WS90. The Blizzaks are fantastic in serious snow(which is why people from the Rockies like them so much). The Hakk 10 is fantastic in serious ice(because of the studding). The Hakk R5 and the new Blizzak 6 seem to be made a little more for efficiency. Pirelli also makes some great winter tires, but I'm not sure we get their best ones in the US. Europe gets their full line, and even Canada seems to get a few more models than we do in the US.

Take this with a grain of salt, but I've seen them most often ranked:
Best Ice - Nokian Hakk 10
Best Heavy Snow - Blizzak WS90
Best all-round(including dry) - Mich X-Ice Snow and Hakk 9 (maybe Blizzak 6?)
Best if efficiency is a priority- Hakk R5 (maybe Blizzak 6?)
(haven't seen Blizzak 6 testing yet, so I don't know where it should be slotted)

There are other very good winter tires out there, but these are the ones I've done at least some research on and there seems to be a consensus among the reviewers that these are all top notch. They are all extremely good in all categories, and some are outstanding in particular areas(Hakk 10/WS90).


If you think you can make it through this winter on the stock all-season tires, you might consider waiting until next year and then get the Michelin CrossClimate 3 all-weather that should be available by next winter. Won't be quite as good as a dedicated winter tire, but should be good enough for your situation. It's especially a good choice if you'll be driving less than 15k miles/year on average. Currently no stock OEM sizes announced, but they've got a 205/55-17 coming that will work on the stock 17" wheel and a 205/50-19 that will work on the stock 19". And they've only announced half the sizes that they're going to produce(63 announced out of 130 planned), so it's still possible we'll see stock sizes eventually.

 

Well, low rolling resistance or the lack of it is the first thing you should check when you buy a Prius tire.

Reviews/ratings don’t mean a thing. Completely ignore them. They always bash the OEM tires, just because. Do you intend to drive like a racecar driver around the corners? I am guessing not. Neither does the treadwear rating on the sidewall of the tire mean much.

Goodyear is one of the worst tire brands as far as I know.

I am not the only one who is raving about Dunlop. I also drive more gently than most people, which explains even less tredwear in my case.

Well, @Mendel Leisk, replace “zero tire wear” with “unmeasurable tire wear” then. I thought it was obvious what I meant.

Gotta brag on those OEM Dunlop Enesave tires | PriusChat

 

To be fair, even with minimal tread wear, rubber does have a lifetime of use. The rubber can harden/dry rot over time and require replacement in order to stay safe. But thats something like 5-6 years I think. So you may still be okay for a while

 

The conservative estimate is six years; so, I will multiply it by two. You will start seeing cracks when the rubber gets old anyway.

 

My true lifetime HEV mileage for my Gen 4 Prius Prime PHEV, verified by fill-up receipts, is 67 mpg. (It shows about 72 mpg on the dash display, which overestimates it by about 5 mpg.) This fuel economy is similar to what is reported by actual Gen 4 Prius Eco HEV and Gen 5 Prius LE HEV owners. It is hard to say which of the three is the best in fuel economy. Other Gen 4 and Gen 5 trims get worse fuel economy. The 67-mpg HEV fuel economy does not include my about 30 miles of BEV driving a week. With that, I get about an 80-mpg PHEV fuel economy.