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

stock tire life expectancy?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Adam Lee, May 22, 2008.

  1. Adam Lee

    Adam Lee Kung Pao Master

    Joined:
    May 10, 2008
    22
    3
    3
    Location:
    Metro DC
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Hey, I'm a newbie here....with my stock 2007 Prius, original tires with just at 10,000 miles (hiway), what can I expect from them as far as durability before replacement?

    thanks!

    Adam
     
  2. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,073
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I replaced mine at 8,000 miles, and should have done it earlier. The OEM tires are pretty poor.

    Tom
     
  3. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,080
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I have over 30k on mine and the tread is still great. I've had them over 40psi for most of that time and lately I've had them at 60+psi.

    I swaped back to my 17" wheels yesterday for some corner carving on my new commute.
     
  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,073
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    A clarification: My OEMs were still in great shape at 8,000 miles, but they were still bad tires. I gave them to a Prius driver in California, where the roads are warm and dry.

    Tom
     
  5. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2007
    5,051
    481
    97
    Location:
    Flushing, NY
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    The treadlife limited warranty for the Integrity is 50,000 miles.

    I replaced mine at 1000 miles because I wanted wider and better tires.
     
  6. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2004
    15,140
    611
    0
    Location:
    South Puget Sound, WA
    Vehicle:
    2013 Nissan LEAF
    Model:
    Persona
    i think it all depends on how you drive. many here report the tires completely worn out after 25-30,000 miles while i have nearly that and they are still like new (less than 20% treadwear according to inspections done during oil changes) but we do little freeway driving... probably 20% and i think that is the contributing factor

    i have adjusted my routes in order to get better mileage whenever possible, coupled with being in a very fast growing area and having ONLY ONE FREEWAY going north-south, with the traffic on I-5....its easy to avoid that nightmare.

    so we drive speeds at 25 to 40 mph probably about 50%. then 50 mph (common surface rural/outlying suburban speed) at 30%.

    we run 42/40
     
  7. Adam Lee

    Adam Lee Kung Pao Master

    Joined:
    May 10, 2008
    22
    3
    3
    Location:
    Metro DC
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Thanks for all the feedback! I am going to just do what I can to make do with these stockos until I win another lottery and buy some performance tires!:D

    Adam
     
  8. morpheusx

    morpheusx Professor Chaos

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2007
    1,555
    81
    0
    Location:
    Akron, OH
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I was initially fine with the OEM tires. Somewhere around 25,000 miles though they became inadequate for bad weather even though they appeared to have plenty of tread left. Now at 32,000 miles I can see the wear bands in the tread. I'll probably stick them out through the summer driving season though and dump them at about 40,000 (should be barely legal at that point).
     
  9. Jay Ayers

    Jay Ayers New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2007
    2
    0
    0
    Hmm, I'm at 20,000 or so right now and they seem to act fine. I had to put some air in them, but they still give me a smooth ride. I'm lazy though as I tend to let the Toyota maintainance folks take care of stuff like that.
     
  10. enerjazz

    enerjazz Energy+Jazz=EnerJazz

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2004
    256
    144
    4
    Location:
    Fairview, TX
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Just replaced my original tires at 44,750 miles (3 years and 10 months). They were all down to between 3/32 and 4/32 of tread depth remaining.
     
  11. Genoz World

    Genoz World ZEN-style living

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2008
    797
    21
    0
    Location:
    La Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    ADAM, be careful with your next choice of tires. remember, the entire design team at toyota chose every part on the prius for a reason. the goodyear integrity's have a very low rolling resistance, which helps a great deal in fuel efficiency.

    i will be in your shoes in a bit, i will tend to listen to the more experienced members here for advice in which tire to use later.
     
  12. bac

    bac Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2008
    863
    52
    0
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    What tire pressure did you run? ThanX!

    ... Brad
     
  13. Genoz World

    Genoz World ZEN-style living

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2008
    797
    21
    0
    Location:
    La Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    BOO, did your TTreds take away mileage?
     
  14. enerjazz

    enerjazz Energy+Jazz=EnerJazz

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2004
    256
    144
    4
    Location:
    Fairview, TX
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Over their life I ran between 40-44 for the front and 36-40 for the rear. I rotated every 5,000 miles so wear was pretty even.

    I don't live in a snowy climate or I probably would have had to replace them before the past winter.
     
  15. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2007
    5,051
    481
    97
    Location:
    Flushing, NY
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Genoz,

    I assume/think that my TTs decreased the milege by roughly 2 mpg. But this was probably due more to the wider tire tread size (195s) than increased rolling resistance.

    BTW, I hear, but don't know for sure, that the Integrity is not a particularly LRR tire.

    BIG BTW: Food for thought -- According to Consumer Reports the Touring Prius with its 195/55/16 tires, gets 2 mpg less than the Standard Prius with its 185/65/15 tires. I assume that this is entirely or mostly due to the wider tread of the Touring tires.

    Similarly, and (IMO)more importantly, Consumer Reports found that theTouring Prius has 10 to 12 feet shorter 60 to 0 braking distances. The 60 to 0 braking distances of the Standard Prius are subpar ... they rank only in the 30th percentile of the ~ 270 current model cars Consumer Reports has tested. But the braking distances for the Touring Prius are very good.

    I would trade 2 mpg for 10 to 12 feet shorter braking distances any day of the week.
     
  16. Genoz World

    Genoz World ZEN-style living

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2008
    797
    21
    0
    Location:
    La Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    TOM,

    i totally agree with you, but i have a question, is this stopping distance based on DRY or WET conditions? if the answer is DRY too, i'm gonna do something about this asap. if wet, then i can wait through the summer.

    pls respond and thanks again always for your experience.
     
  17. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2004
    15,140
    611
    0
    Location:
    South Puget Sound, WA
    Vehicle:
    2013 Nissan LEAF
    Model:
    Persona
    any tire that is wider will have higher rolling resistance, likewise a wider tire will stop faster simply because the coefficient of friction is what determines the ultimate stopping distance (it will be virtually the same for tires of all kinds at the same pressure) and its going to depend on how much of the tire is touching the ground. the more tire touching the harder you can brake without skidding and the fast you can stop...

    in standard inclined plane tests, (the sliding block test) you can have a block hold steady at an angle, say 60º, but after it starts moving, its angle to stop again can be lower by more than half

    the extra stopping distance can be very much worth the sacrifice of a few mpg... runnning a lower tire pressure also allows the tire to flatten out causing more tread to contact pavement when braking as well. all of these things will make the car safer but at the sacrifice of a few mpg's here and there.

    granted, no one can predict or really prepare themselves other than being alert to their surroundings in an emergency maneuver situation...

    but, i have considered all this, and i choose to drive more conservatively (actually much more conservatively!!) to reduce the need for quick evasive action.

    now, not an easy thing to do as most can imagine, but it does save me a lot of gas, and to be honest with ya, i simply try to not live my life in a hurry... can not do without a schedule, but i have found its not all that tough to schedule 10 extra minutes to get somewhere.
     
  18. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2004
    3,790
    152
    0
    Location:
    Park View, Los Angeles, CA. U.S.A
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Just my .02

    get your tires aligned asap. If your rear axle needs to be replaced, don't believe it! they can be shimmed. Shimming tends to not be a service that a local dealer provides. I would ask.

    my tire alignment is off. I didn't notice it until i read an in-depth post on tire alignment by tread wear and heat patterns. I notices my rear right tire was developing strange patterns on the inside... one high, the next low.. and so on... I notices this from the post i read. I got down and looked... i can see it. I checked the other side and the passenger side doesn't look strait. I'm assuming this is what's causing my front right tire to wear prematurely on the inside. (as if pushing it causing it to wear on the edge instead of a full tread.. think shopping car wheel.)
     
  19. Pinan

    Pinan Member

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2007
    173
    5
    0
    Location:
    Murrieta, CA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I'm almost to 34K on mine. Outer edges are almost bald, but middles still have another 10K easily. Running at 42/40.
     
  20. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2007
    5,051
    481
    97
    Location:
    Flushing, NY
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Genoz,

    Consumer Reports said that the Touring had 10 feet (DRY) and 12 feet (WET) shorter 60-0 stopping distances than the Standard Prius.

    Specifically, Consumer Reports found the following 60-0 mph stopping distances for the Standard and Touring Prius:

    -- Standard: 143 feet dry; 152 feet wet.
    -- Touring: 133 feet dry; 140 feet wet.

    I attribute all or almost all of these shorter stopping distances to the wider tread of the Touring tires. Others may point to other factors like better tires or better suspension.

    In any event, I have no doubt that my wider (195/60/15) and better TTs produce shorter stopping distances and better handling and traction than the Integrities. But new tires cost money. So I fully understand why one would rather run the Integrities until they wear out.