Snow Tires for Prius

What tires do you recommend?

 

The factory studded Nokian "5" series winter tires are exceptional for winter traction. As Jon stated, if you live in an area that has real winter conditions, you *should* use real winter tires. Vancouver and area is receiving unusual winter weather, a good set of all-seasons should work there

Another good choice for winter tires, and far cheaper too, is the Goodyear Nordic from Canadian Tire. This is the same as the Goodyear Ultra Grip 500 sold in Europe, which is a well respected winter tire. I have a set on my Prius, studded, and they work well in snow and on glare ice. Noisy on dry pavement, but the superior winter traction is worth it

Another good winter tire from Canadian Tire is the General Altimax Arctic, which also accepts studs.

Regarding studded tires, I have tried various studless winter tires, and they offer nowhere near the glare ice traction that a good studded tire does. My FJ Cruiser runs Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus studless winter tires, which are kind of pricey.

Great in snow, but only a bit better than the "all season" tires on ice. My Prius has a clear advantage on glare ice.

I tried to order factory studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 Sport Utility but due to the new winter tire law in Quebec, I was SOL. I'm on the wait list for those tires, for next year.

 

For sure, if I lived in Vancouver, I'd just run a decent set of all-seasons. Unless I regularly went out to Whistler or took the Coq Connector

When my Aunt first arrived here, she was complaining about the cold. Watching the news, all that snow and miserable weather out your way, she's pretty happy now to be here instead of in PoCo

 

I purchase snow tires for my 1st winter with the Prius and am very glad I did! It's been tough going here and there even with the snow tires. I have the Touring and picked up the Michelin Alpins from tirerack.com.

 

Alot of it comes down the level of risk you're willing to accept. Some folks feel fine driving a vehicle with M+S rated tires whereas others use winter tires. Some folks go their entire lives driving M+S and never have an incident whereas the one poor guy that buys a new car wrecks it on the way home because he hit a patch of ice.

For me, I purchased a set of Sam's Club studded tires made by Kelly (they're legal here in Alaska) to drive during the winter because my tolerance for risk is very low. And for us, it's paid off as we've never wrecked a car in 22 years of marriage. In addition, it gives us the added maneuverabily we wouldn't normally get with a regular set of M+S tires.

Now, with that said, if I were in Vancouver, I'd be hard pressed to purchase a set but it would also depend upon the winter and how I was driving the vehicle. If it was my commuter and I HAD to be at work and it was a bad winter, I'd buy a set and plan on them lasting a long time as you may not have to run them every winter. Then again, keep in mind it's not just your driving affected by tires but the fool closing in on you with the big 4WD truck that thinks he's untouchable - until he slams into you. Thus, it's a crap shoot but for me I'll take the extra margin of safety.

By the way, I was raised for a time in central Nebraska (Broken Bow) and saw a few winters where snow tires should have been a requirement so I can fully appreciate Husker4thSpurs comments. They're cheap insurance and alot cheaper than a deductible.

 

Here in SE Michigan I'd have had big trouble last week if I hadn't got new snows. I got Michelin Primacy Alpin P3 in 205/55/16, and they are super. My Potenzas were real low on ttread and couldn't transmit much force before starting to spin, and hence getting limited by VSC. With the new snows the tires hook up much better and it accelerates a lot better before VSC kicks in. Better directional stability, too.

Recommend good snow tires!

 

We put Michelin X-Radials (all-season) on our Prius in October. We only had 2700 miles on the Integrities but I knew they were junk because the same tire came on my Corolla a few years back. The X-Radials have gotten us through a number of snow storms in Minneapolis (as much as 6" of snow) without issue. They sell them at Costco and sometimes you can get a good deal with $60 off. They also have low rolling resistance which will help you continue to get good mileage (after the new tire break-in period).

 

Hakkapalitta 5 studded snow tires are AWESOME. After spending much of my first Vermont winter at the bottom of the driveway because my 06 Prius couldn't make it up the hill, I was determined to stop that trend. Hak 5's to the rescue! They turned my Prius into a little SUV. The only trouble I've had is on deep fresh snow on a steep incline, where it feels like the snow is deep enough that the studs can't make it through to get any grip. Otherwise, these tires are incredible. I really feel like I can drive anywhere in the winter now!

 

I agree. I'm on a wait list for the same tire for my FJ

 

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