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prius winter tires

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by lmarks, Jul 21, 2007.

  1. lmarks

    lmarks New Member

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    I am a new Prius owner and from research before and after buying, I know I need to buy new tires. My dilema is the need for driving in Colorado weather.....some snow, little ice, wet roads and summer heat. Can anyone advise what is the best all season tire to buy? Or do I need to buy both summer and winter tires?

    Keep in mind - I am a little old widow lady who does not know anything about tires - sizes, treads, studs or no for winter.......what is the best advice?
     
    #1 lmarks, Jul 21, 2007
  2. bobdavisnpf

    bobdavisnpf Member

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    You'll generally get better traction than most folks in Denver due to the heavier front end and excellent traction control in your Prius. In 1 to 5 inches of snow, you'll be picking your way around most other cars, and the occasional SUV, as you work your way through the neighborhood snow after that gotta-get-home-before-we're-all-buried, 3pm commute on the ol' 25.

    The real trick I've found in Denver is when it's, like, 10-20 out and the streets have a half inch of packed snow on them. Not quite ice, but no snow-loft for snow tires' big tread blocks to bite into. Unless you're skiing or going to studs, the all-season tires will do almost as well as a dedicated snow tire. And 2 days later, when it's all melted off on a 60-degree sunny midday, your all-season tires have better dry traction than the snow tires do.

    I suggest the Goodyear Integrity 185/65R15 as an excellent first tire for the Prius. Great mileage, good traction, smooth and quiet ride. Cornering and evasive-maneuver performace is not so great, but in most other respects this is a good tire choice.

    We've got the Goodyear ComforTred 205/55R16 on one car and, while it is a big improvement over balding Integrity's, the Integrity's are still good enough to hold their own for the first 20K to 36K miles.

    After considerable research, I've settled on Continental ContiPro Contact and Goodyear ComforTred as the tires best matching our needs (better cornering and evasive-maneuver traction, without sacrificing too much ride or noise comfort).

    I would definitely not bother replacing new Integrity's with new anything else unless you are either getting full price back on the Integrity's or changing wheel size to 16x7, 17x7, or 17x7.5.

    Then again, I don't think it's a significant upgrade to change from the Integrity's to any 15" tire, and that's what the vast majority of us PC'ers do.
     
    #2 bobdavisnpf, Jul 21, 2007
  3. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    I run Michelin MXV4+ Energy all season tires in the stock size, and they work well in the winter. Michelin no longer makes that exact tire, but they do have a replacement.

    Tom
     
    #3 qbee42, Jul 21, 2007
  4. lmarks

    lmarks New Member

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    Thanks, you must have lived in Denver at some point to know about the 3:00pm rush to get home! Mine is not down I-25, but out around on E-470 which is generally better plowed the any stretch of highway most of the time....guess the tolls help pay for that.

    I already have the Goodyear Integrity tires on my car.....came from the dealer that way. Is that normal? I thought from my resarch the "dealer" tires were not the best, so just made the assumption that what I have needed to be replaced! Maybe they provided an upgraded tire and I was just not aware.
     
    #4 lmarks, Jul 21, 2007
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