17 Inch Wheels? Would You Get Them?

Couldn't have stated that better myself. Wotcher was making a blanket statement and I had to prove a point. As for me, I put on about 10,000 miles per year. I routinely switch out tires after 5 years. I read somewhere some time ago about the age of tires matter in terms of safety. It was around the time of the Firestone/Ford Explorer (Exploder) fiasco. The older the tire, the higher the chance of failure. It would be pointless for me to get 90,000 mile warranty tires only to switch them out after 5 years and 50,000 miles. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the tire industry and tire experts recommend replacing tires that are 6 years old. I'm a little more cautious and replace them at 5 years. Plus, up here in Seattle, it would be foolish to drive a tire down to the wear bars considering all the rain we get.

 

I see your point now and totally agree. Sorry for misunderstanding.

 

geez. how would the world be without blanket statements and stereotypes. how else would get answers that can't convey nuances and complexities? pacanes, you might valid points. For me (wasn't clearly expressed in previous post), I'm only looking LRR tires.

 

Thanks for summing it up that way. That is exactly the info I was looking for. The bigger wheels and tires will cost more to buy, probably last less miles and there will be a hit in gas mileage.

 

Just purchased a 2012 5 with 17's - huge difference in handling and ride over the 08 (2) and it's 15's. Well worth it in my opinion.

 

Even the 2012 with 15s is a huge improvement over the GenII with 15s.

 

I think it is all what you really are interested in - I purchased a new 4 with sunroof and immediately switched to the 17" wheels due to the difference in handling, ride, looks, etc.. The drive difference with the 17" wheel/tire is really huge. My spouse who has a very base Prius drove mine yesterday for the first time, and was really amazed at the level of difference. I knew that mileage, etc. would take a slight hit...but absolutely well worth it to me - it is just all personal choice.

 

But check the turning radius and how wheel size affects it. May or may not matter to you.

 

Air up her tires to 44/42psi. That will reduce the difference in handling between the 17" and 15".

 

Food for thought for future readers: I have Forged 17" wheels that came on my Prius, and my average is 47mpg. Most of my driving is done in the city with speed limits of 35-45mph. Based on projected mpg for the city I've lost about 4mpg. Although for me, where I live distance means nothing, if a destination is 13 miles away it can take up to 45 minutes to get there and generally it does which could account for part of the 4mpg loss.