Critical Tire info for Prius v 5

W rated tires on a Prius ...? Here’s what I learned ...the hard way. W rated is generally used for speed but it also has to do with sidewall strength and more.
I purchased a set of Bridgestone Ecopia 422+ V rated LRR tires for my v 5. Mileage didn’t drop a bit and maybe got better. BUT, I couldn’t stand the way they drove as I felt like I was driving on marshmallows. I felt if I had to ever avoid an accident, the response time would be too slow. I would notice the sidewalls would completely compress when I looked at them while parked which was odd. HERE’S THE CRITICAL PART. In the first year I had to replace 3, yes 3 tires, with sidewall problems. Then finally a guy at Costco explained the problem and replaced all four tires.

The W rating was needed because of the lower profile “50” of the v 5 tire. (The v 2, 3 and 4 only require a V rated tire because they are “60” in terms of profile. ). The W rating isn’t required for speed, but for sidewall strength and especially when purchasing a low rolling resistance tire. The LRR sidewalls, combined with a low profile in V rating were not strong enough. Because of the problems I had, I switched to a beefier tire, a non LRR tire, but still in a V rating and it has been great since. With the Ecopias, my mileage didn’t change a bit but the tires felt unsafe. With the non LRR, Michelin Premier A/S V rated, I’m down 10-12% in mileage but the car drives way better. I just won’t be setting any new record mileage

 

I don’t know the load rating. The OEM were Toyo Proxes A20 215/50r17.

 

I didn’t change the speed rating in the 2nd replacement set. I just went away from a LRR tire so it would be a heftier tire. The originals were Toyo Proxes A20, and are you saying Bridgestone’s were a step down from those? The funny thing is I actually requested the Michelin Energy Savers at costco and the guy put the Bridgesones in which I didn’t realize until after I left. It was a miscommunication at Costco and the guy said they were just as good. I could see the sidewalls completely confessed when I’d park. They had no strength to them.

 

Did you buy them? Do you have a v Five?

 

Ok. I looked up the load ratings.
OEM Toyo Proxes A20 were 90W
Bridgestone Ecopia 422+ were 95 V XL
Michelin Premier A/S are 95V XL.

The guy at costco said the speed rating is a lot more than just speed and said that was why I had had the problem, when combined with LRR and low profile. I literally could see the sidewall compress almost down towards the rim when parked at times. And that tire had the highest load rating so that makes me think that is BS. The non LRR ones barely show any compression when parked. I should also add I was running psi of 39 front 35 rear.