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How long do 17" tires last on a Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by pwrstick, Dec 25, 2013.

  1. pwrstick

    pwrstick Junior Member

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    Couldn't find a good answer to this through my search terms (sorry if this comes up often), so hoping y'all can chime in. How many miles do 17" tires last for?

    I'm weighing the costs of buying more expensive tires more often on a Package 5 vs. cheaper tires less frequently on a Package 4. (Just filling out my spread sheet as I weigh all the pros and cons).

    Thanks!
     
    #1 pwrstick, Dec 25, 2013
  2. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    They're very soft- 25-30K maybe?
    Realistically, you also take an almost 4-5 mpg hit with the 17"s and the ride is much harsher too.
    They look great on the Prius- but too many negatives for me...
     
    #2 ny_rob, Dec 26, 2013
  3. Grren4ever

    Grren4ever Active Member

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    My buddy has a mazda 3 with 17's and low profiles oem. I believe they lasted him to 60,000kms and he's a gentle driver. Not sure how many miles that is...perhaps 40,000?
     
    #3 Grren4ever, Dec 26, 2013
  4. pwrstick

    pwrstick Junior Member

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    Thanks for that. I drive about 520 miles per week. So if we are generous and say the ($200 per) 17" tires last 50,000 miles and the ($115 per) 15" last 90,000 (factory warranty), that's an extra $3,000 over 10 years of owning the Prius when we go with 17" tires.

    If we say the 17" tires last 35,000 miles, that's an extra $5,000 over 10 years. I'm using tire costs from Costco's web site.

    Obviously that can all change depending on the tires one would purchase and miles one would drive. But it's something I'd never really drawn out before, so I thought I'd share in case someone else finds it interesting.

    Cheers
     
    #4 pwrstick, Dec 26, 2013
  5. nwprius

    nwprius Member

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    I have the 17 inch TOYO Proxes A20 and with 24000 miles still have 8.5 mm of tread. So still have lots of mileage left.
     
    #5 nwprius, Dec 26, 2013
  6. dhancock

    dhancock 2 Prius Family

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    Our 2011 Model 5 came withBridgestone Turrenza tires and I was generally very happy with them. After 52K miles (and a winter coming) it was time to replace them. Not bad for wide profile OEM tires!

    Unfortunately, it did not appear that I could purchase those tires at a reasonable price - so I ended up with Michalean Primacy MXM4 tires.

    To your question, my experience with 17" OEM tires was excellent (twice the tread life as we experienced with the OEM Goodyears that our 2007 Prius came with.

    However, you are talking about costs: it is prety well documented here that the 17" wide profile tires get 3-4 mpg poorer milage than the standard 15" LRR tires.
     
    #6 dhancock, Dec 26, 2013
  7. BrianPB

    BrianPB Member

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    I have Michelin Pilot Hx Mxm4 tires with almost 40000 miles on them and they still have a lot of life left!
     
    #7 BrianPB, Dec 27, 2013
  8. pwrstick

    pwrstick Junior Member

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    Thanks everyone. It sounds like the 17" tires are lasting a fairly long time. Good to hear!
     
    #8 pwrstick, Dec 27, 2013
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    My 2 cents: there's no significant connection between tire diameter and tread life. You can find long and short wearing tires in either size.

    There is modest reduction in fuel economy with wider 17" tires. FWIW, We've got Michelin Pilot 215/45R17 (all seasons) as OEM, and run Michelin Pilot X-Ice 195/65R15 (snow tires) through winter. We seem to be getting about the same mileage with both.
     
    #9 Mendel Leisk, Dec 28, 2013
    xpcman likes this.
  10. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    I swapped out the OEMs at 60000 miles. I could have run them a bit longer. Lower tire pressure will cause the tires to wear faster.

    Timing is everything. Shop early so you know what you want then wait for the "4th tire for a dollar" sale that seems to come around regularly.
     
    #10 JimN, Dec 28, 2013
  11. pwrstick

    pwrstick Junior Member

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    So I guess the type of rubber matters, which makes sense. The Prius Performance tires are rated at "substantially less than" 24,000 miles on the Toyota web site, but they're probably really soft.

    Also fwiw I test drove a package 5 and personally didn't feel like the bumps were super bumpy. I was purposely driving over reflectors on the freeway and didn't seem to find any issue with it. Reinforces the fact that the car driving experience is so subjective and that you gotta get out there and test drive to really know.
     
    #11 pwrstick, Dec 30, 2013
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Alternating between our low profile 17's and winter tires in 195/65R15, I can definitely feel the difference, but it's not extreme. I set pressure on the 17's lower, around 36~38 psi. With the 15's I set higher, around 42~44. They still feel a little softer. The main irritant with the 17's is going over speedbumps, you need to slow to a dead crawl to avoid bumping your head on the ceiling, lol.
     
    #12 Mendel Leisk, Dec 30, 2013
  13. pwrstick

    pwrstick Junior Member

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    Do you throw your arms up in the air too like a roller coaster ride? Ha!
     
    #13 pwrstick, Dec 31, 2013
  14. -1-

    -1- Don

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    :)Fact, and I concur.

    :)Fact , "not extreme", and I concur.

    :confused:Houston, we have confusion? I hope that's a over dramatization? My Prius Plug In came with 15" wheels. I replaced them with the Prius 5, 17" wheels. Two perpetuated comments on this forum regarding 17-18" wheels. First, some loss of MPG with 17" and wider tires. True. Second, rougher ride. One comment I distinctly remember, the term "bone jarring", to describe. My opinion, rough, bad roads and any size tire results in a rough ride. Better roads, and well, you will not notice the difference. If you care about appearance, 17 or 18" wheels, are worth the expense and any loss in MPG.
     
    #14 -1-, Dec 31, 2013
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