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

LRRs and Winter tires

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by OutandAbout89, Jul 23, 2012.

  1. OutandAbout89

    OutandAbout89 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2012
    14
    1
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    So I don't actually own a Prius yet, see Shopping for a Prius c. Two, Three or Four? (I am brand new and not sure how to post links. I will do my research on how to do so.) My long term plan is to buy a PC without a wheel/tire upgrade. Swap the stock tires for winter tires. Michelin X-Ice is highly recommended here. Although Xi2 or Xi3, not sure what is more compatible with the stock 15" steel wheels. The original tire spec is 175/65R15.

    From there buy a set of 16" alloy wheels and LRR tires. But are all alloy wheels created equally, as far as function? Are there brands anyone can recommend over others and not purely for style? Do dimensions of compatible wheels vary at all?

    Now for LRRs. From member reviews to tire company user reviews, there a a few that stand out to me. I use Yokohama on my current car and love them. As a brand alone I like them, but I realize tire designs and quality vary within companies. That said, the Avid Ascend and the dB Super E-Spec seem great. Also the Michelin Energy Saver A/S is highly regarded as a mpg must. But I have a bit of an issue with performance reviews. And lastly the Bridgestone Ecopia EP422. Using the option upgrade of the PC4, the 16" alloys use a 195/65R16 tire. If I am to buy my own alloys, should I stick to this? I am looking to improve handling, as stated within many PC4 with wheel package reviews, and reduce reported road noise, an apparent drawback of the upgrade.

    What LRRs are you using if not stock? What preferences over other brands brought you to this tire? How is the balance between performance and milage? Are there
     
    #1 OutandAbout89, Jul 23, 2012
  2. ftl

    ftl Explicator

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2009
    1,812
    790
    0
    Location:
    Long Island NY
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    The Four with 16" wheels has a different steering rack (with a much larger turning radius) to allow more clearance for the larger wheels. If you put 16" wheels on a standard C you'll have to make sure they clear the body.
     
    #2 ftl, Jul 24, 2012
  3. OutandAbout89

    OutandAbout89 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2012
    14
    1
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Didn't think about that. So if I plan to do aftermarket 16s I should only do it on the 4. Every other model should only get 15s, to be completely sure. Another question, the 4 has improved handling with the 16" package, but is it as much the wider tires as it is this other steering rack?
     
    #3 OutandAbout89, Jul 24, 2012
  4. vernon birdman

    vernon birdman Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2012
    330
    141
    0
    Location:
    Vernon BC Canada
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    Let us know how what winter tires that you decide on. I have the Cdn equivalent of the C4 with 16" wheels and I will also be shopping for good winter tires. I am only about 5 hours north of you but we don't get very much snow in the Okanagan Valley but I still need good winter tires as they rarely use salt on the roads up here.
     
    #4 vernon birdman, Jul 26, 2012
  5. crebble

    crebble Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2012
    176
    47
    0
    Location:
    Shohola PA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Myself as well. We use road salt here, but there are times when PENNDOT does not touch the roads at all. You can find yourself driving on inches of snow. The tread pattern of the OEM Turanza El400-2 does not inspire confidence for winter driving. I have had good experience with the Conti ExtremeContact DWS which is available at TireRack in 195/50R16.

    Winter Testing at the Arctic Circle: Ultra High Performance All-Season
     
    #5 crebble, Jul 26, 2012
  6. OutandAbout89

    OutandAbout89 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2012
    14
    1
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Whether it's certain roads or even entire neighborhoods, there can always be unexpected snow. I live close to a major road in town, but my parents, just a few miles away, live in an area that doesn't get plowed very often. Visiting them often includes pristine ice/snow free driving until midway through the turn seeing a much as a foot or so some winters. I have heard good things about the ExremeContact DWS before, but wasn't aware it was a winter tire. Probably confusing it with another in the product line.
     
    #6 OutandAbout89, Jul 26, 2012
  7. Ryephile

    Ryephile The Technophile

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2012
    418
    151
    24
    Location:
    Metro Detroit
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Chances are the c's equipped with factory steelies will not have any trouble with rubbing with aftermarket wheels/tires unless you get greedy with tire width or foolish with wheel offset.

    There are a couple members here that's already installed aftermarket wheels & tires, hopefully they'll chime in regarding tire rub at full lock on a "steelie" steering rack. If not, I'll find out in the coming weeks how much tire we can stuff under the car and at what offset.

    -->Outandabout89: I think your plan is very good. Use the stock steelies and swap snow tires for winter. The Michelin Xi3 are phasing out the Xi2, but that doesn't make the Xi2 any less good. Tire Rack has Xi2's on closeout to make room for the Xi3's arriving next month. If you want to save $100 on the Xi2's, buy them before the rebate window closes on Saturday. Both will work perfectly fine on the stock wheels as long as you stick with 175/65-15 or 185/60-15.

    Regarding LRR's, keep in mind they're kind of a dichotomy of fuel economy and outright grip. FWIW, the OEM tires are not LRR's, something I find curious given the cars' intent. Personally, I'm going to be going for a slightly wider LRR [195/60-15] to hopefully improve outright grip without losing fuel economy. I had ContiProContact LRR's on my Golf TDI and was very pleased with them as far as them being a good balance between cornering grip, fuel economy, life, and price. Of course there are tires out there that give better performance in any one of those categories, but to me, getting the magical mix of cornering grip and fuel economy is top priority, so that's what I'm shooting for.

    The stock wheel is a 15x5 et40. Sticking with a 40 offset wheel will not introduce any scrub radius or otherwise mess with the suspension geometry, and hopefully adding wheel & tire width won't rub, but that's TBD.
     
    #7 Ryephile, Jul 26, 2012
  8. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,081
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    #8 F8L, Jul 26, 2012
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)