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

2" Makes A Big Difference

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by StevieB, Jul 10, 2009.

  1. StevieB

    StevieB New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2009
    34
    0
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Just this week my wife and I took delivery of her Series V (w/AT). So far so good.

    Before deciding on the Prius V, I had an opportunity to take lengthy test drives in both a Series IV and a Series V that friends had recently purchased.

    During those test drives it became very clear very quickly to me that the 17" low profile tires on the Series V made a big improvement difference in handling and just overall road feel compared to the 15" tires on the Series IV.

    Although we only have 150 miles on our Series V, I am pleased with the handling. It seems solid on the freeway and stable in turns.

    I know that we will be giving up some MPG but we can live with that. And we like the much sportier look of the car with 17" wheels a lot more.
     
  2. drspielman

    drspielman Grand Master Chief

    Joined:
    May 8, 2009
    112
    6
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    I am very glad to hear this, as I am picking up my V very soon & it is one of the reasons I went with a V, not the IV. I think the handling is an important aspect, more so than 1-2 miles extra..... :)
     
  3. eglmainz

    eglmainz New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2009
    887
    141
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoland, IL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    I have been driving my V w/ Nav since June 4th. I just crossed the 4,000 mile mark, and usually average between 55 and 62 mpg per tankful. I am new to the Prius family, but even with the mpg hit on the 17' tires, I could not be happier with the results. Now if I could only consistently stay above 60 mpg.
     
  4. accordingly

    accordingly Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2009
    268
    63
    0
    Location:
    Madison, WI
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    After my first set of tires wears out, I'm going to replace the stock wheels with 17" ones that are much lighter than the bloated stock ones (24 lbs if anyone's counting). Then I'll have better mpg to boot.

    I do wonder how much of the perceived improvements in handling and road feel are due to the quicker steering on the V.
     
  5. LaMesaGuy

    LaMesaGuy Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2009
    103
    11
    0
    Location:
    La Mesa, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    I also have a 2010 Prius V w/ATP and also find that it handles very well making those 'S' curve turns on the mountain road going to Julian. A narrow one lane in each direction road.
     
  6. royrose

    royrose Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2009
    1,389
    951
    4
    Location:
    Foot of Pikes Peak
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    Limited
    When you did those test drives, did you notice a difference in noise at highway speeds? I have a Scion tC with 17" rims. It is very noisy at speed unless the road was recently paved, have to crank up the audio a lot just to hear it. Even though I love the road feel, the noise has biased me against low profile tires. Maybe the Prius suspension does a better job of isolating the noise, so I will look forward to your comments. I have a Prius IV on order.
     
  7. stream

    stream Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2008
    2,977
    452
    14
    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Agreed. The 17" wheels/tires do have better handling and road feel, and look so much better, than the 15". And the MPG hit is a rounding error.
     
  8. Actor with a Prius

    Actor with a Prius '10 Prius : 50 mpg & '90 Nissan 300ZX TT : 5 mpg

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2009
    52
    2
    0
    Location:
    Miami Beach
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Hey Stevie....question...do you think its the 17" wheels that give it the better handling ? Or the tighter steering ? Im going with the III with all the options, and then buying aftermarket 17s (after someone answers my post and tells me what the correct offset and width I need to get). But, I keep hearing about this tighter steering making a big difference. Now, the Prius isnt a sports car, so I'm not all that worried, but just wanted your $0.02 on it
     
  9. danl

    danl New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2009
    231
    6
    0
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Has anyone determined approx how much MPG is lost going from 15" to 17"?
     
  10. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2005
    4,089
    468
    0
    Location:
    Bahstahn
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Anyone compared cornering roll between the 17" setup and the 15"
    with the tires up at useful pressure, like 60psi or so? Bet
    there's very little difference once you eliminate sidewall roll.
    .
    _H*
     
  11. asv

    asv New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2009
    23
    9
    0
    Location:
    Philly Area
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    We got a IV, and plan on replacing the wheels with nice light 17in wheels and good tires. I didn't see the crappy stock wheels and OEM tries as a good reason to get a V.
     
  12. p626808

    p626808 New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2004
    292
    15
    0
    Location:
    NJ
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Hey hobbit.. how are you?

    Well the 17" do not have any side wall to speak of.. very small.
    I don;t think.. no matter how much psi you put in a 15".. you are going to stop the side roll..
    But.. I don;t think i would risk putting 60psi in my 17" just yet. :D
     
  13. stream

    stream Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2008
    2,977
    452
    14
    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    The only definitive info I've seen is a Toyota spec doc from the UK (it's been posted so do a search if your interested), and the difference was ~1 MPG. Keep the gas tank at half full instead of full and you'll likely offset that. ;)
     
  14. tony2654

    tony2654 New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2009
    26
    3
    0
    Location:
    Norway
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I have ordered my new Prius with solar panel, and thus no 17'' wheels. Understood there is a weight problem combining those two, but does anyone know the true nature of the problem: fuel-economy, handling or safety? If it is the first case, then I guess I'll try to fit a set of larger wheels as soon as I get my car (My dealer has assured me that there is no problem doing that) and use the stock wheels for winter driving.
     
  15. cairo94507

    cairo94507 Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2004
    923
    36
    0
    Location:
    Auburn, CA, USA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Wow! I tried my 17" tires at 50 lbs. once and it rode very hard going down the freeway.

    I decided that 36F/34R is just fine with me on my Gen II Prius with TRD springs and struts, front strut tower brace, BT frame brace, rear sway bar, and 205/45/17 tires on Gram Lite wheels. Mine actually handles pretty nice.
     
  16. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2003
    5,341
    920
    251
    Location:
    Surprise, AZ (Phoenix)
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    N/A
    I know the subject is tempting - but please keep the responses "clean".
     
  17. StevieB

    StevieB New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2009
    34
    0
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Gosh they don't seem "bloated" or "crappy" to me.
     
  18. Peterun

    Peterun New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2005
    4
    0
    0
    The 17's and the quicker steering ratio transform the V into more of a "Germanic" vehicle. Amazingly tight, reactive, responsive. I tried the IV and then the V. My mind was made up before I got out of the parking lot.
     
  19. Jon S

    Jon S Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2009
    185
    84
    0
    Location:
    The Aloha State
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    well, responsiveness would be due to the pack and pinion gear ratio... steering feel would be due to the larger wheels....
     
  20. ambrueck

    ambrueck New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2009
    9
    0
    0
    Location:
    Ashburn, VA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I have not done a designed test, but recently I did a 170 mile trip and achieved 56.8 mpg. I drove in a normal manner with the cruise control set 3 mph over the speed limits (55 to 65). The terrain was all flat and traffic was light with open roads. The air conditioning was on throughout the trip. I am satisfied with that and glad I have the 17" diameter wheels.