New wheels hit brakes on 2013 Prius Five

It seems to me the stock 15" wheels have a 45 mm offset. If you have a Five I guess your stock wheels were 17" (I've never looked up the offset for those). Either way, 16" with offset 41 seems like an odd choice. Did the shop not have something closer?

-Chap

 

These rims work fine:

Corolla 15" black steel rims p/n: 42611-02471
With lug nuts p/n: 90942-01007

(With 195/65R15 sized snow tires. Our Canadian Touring also has 215/45R17 OEM.)

When I bought them (new) in 2010, about a week after car purchase, the rims were $70 apiece, and the set of lug nuts $31 (Canadian funds). They have advantage too, that the hub opening is exact match, no need for adapter rings.

I would not disable traction control, btw. You're probably reading about Maintenance Mode, which is (as the name implies) for maintenance only. Not meant for use when driving, no real advantage, just a good way to toast the transaxle. I believe there's strong cautions in the Repair Manual (where the mode is described) against driving in Maintenance Mode.

You're problem is tire traction, disabling Traction Control is not going to help matters.

Out and about yesterday:


(I'm using a 2" ABS end cap as a hub cap.)

 

That seems to be missing the actual behavior a bit. Toyota's literature shows the system is programmed to target a wheel speed that is slightly above the actual vehicle speed, that is, to build in a small amount of spin (just as the antilock brakes target a controlled amount of slippage, wheel speed slightly under actual vehicle speed, based on their tests of where maximum braking is really achieved).



This post here has some video examples of Prii where the driver makes optimal use of the traction control (by providing a steady, moderate go pedal input, just as in the graph above). What I like about the snowy-driveway example is how close it comes to being an exact translation of the graph into video.

-Chap

 

I'm rather surprised reading that you mentioned there being a Federal Law, since my local dealer (I also live in NH) had no problems obtaining a set of Blizzaks and fitting them to a set of steel rims I'd purchased from TireRack.com, balancing them and installing them (without TPMS) and swapping the wheels back to the summer wheels (shod with Michelins, and with TPMS) back in the late spring. I'd done some research about TPMS here on PriusChat, and asked the dealer about it, and they said no problem, if you don't like the flashing NagLight (my term) you can always put some black tape over it! BTW I always check the tyre pressures every couple of weeks, and have never been caught out (well, yes I've had punctures (haven't we all?)) and in my 50+ years of driving I consider TPMS to be merely another expensive complication, invented by the manufacturers and supported by the Nanny-State government (…and dealers) as another $$ source! (…in my view TPMS is in the same category as self-dimming headlights, and auto-dimming rear-view-mirrors!) (…end of rant)

 

Passenger airbag status light is more noticeable than TPMS light!

 

As I mentioned in other threads, my TPMS system is not disabled, in fact if I park the car in the garage where the summer wheels are stored (or even nearby) the system in the car detects the sensors, and the light goes out, however it comes on and flashes after about half an hour of driving, eventually staying on continuously. My car has its state inspection in June at which time the summer wheels (along with the TPMS sensors) are on the car. My last wheel swap was done (at the end of October) by the local Town Fair Tire (where I had purchased a set of summer tyres back in June, and which they had fitted, balanced, and offered lifetime swap for as long as I own the car) and they never queried the lack of TPMS on the winter steelies. My Prius is a 2009 Gen II and so is not exactly "new" but I understand what you're saying - perhaps TFT are giving me a break!

BTW Welcome to PriusChat, I'm in Nashua, so perhaps we're neighbours!

 

I think it is illegal in the states, for a tire place to mount tires without TPMS, if the vehicle has the system. I wouldn't assume it's an upsell. It's probably a royal hassle for them, problematic.

If there's a tire seller willing to forgo TPMS, they're likely flying under the radar (don't need publicity). And worth their weight in gold.

Can you do an end run around the whole issue if you come in with loose rims? I'd guess no, and then again you can be gambling regarding fit. Isn't legislation great?

It's still ok to waive TPMS in Canada btw, for now.

 

TFT's recommendation of the Antares Ingens A1 as a replacement for the Michelin Energy Savers (worn out, noisy, and sidewalls developing fine cracks) was spot-on! The Antares are less than ½ the price of the Michelins, whisper quiet, and very smooth, and all-season not needed since I have Blizzaks which are amazing in the snow, so here's a shout out for Town Fair Tires (Nashua) to which I have no affiliation or connection, BTW…

 

Exactly right. Your last sentence is especially ironic.

 

I'm pretty sure the depth of the temporary cutback is affected by how high the slipping wheel speed got. If the tire patch has enough traction on the surface to hold at 100 pounds of thrust and the right foot on the pedal is asking for 115, there will be a small slip and a small correction from the computer. If there's enough traction for 100 pounds and the right foot is asking for 700, the wheel speed is already high by the time the computer reacts, and the reaction is big. So a careful touch pays off.

There can always be circumstances that reach the limits. If the tire-to-surface traction drops to 100 pounds and the driveway is steep enough that 2 ✕ 100 pounds won't pull the car up, prospects are not good without better tires, traction aids on the tires, or improving the surface. You started this thread with the idea of better tires, and that's the real solution. With adequate tires, you can let the traction control work with you, instead of suspecting it of working against you.

-Chap

 

@ChapmanF : My brain is full, but that sounds good! Especially the last sentence.

(Again, I'm thinking with the third gen: disabling traction control via Maintenance Mode, for driving in the snow, is foolhardy. There are strong cautions against doing this in the Repair Manual, especially hard/sudden acceleration needed when you're stuck.)

 

Any reason for not going with stock, 195/65R15? Please god, don't say it was due to a typo in one of my posts, lol.