What kind of tires are standard

You guys are spooky...like reading my mind or something?

I just went to the Gooyear store yesterday in Bellevue WA (Wedneday) to get smart about the Japanese Integrity OEM tire.

The U.S. equivalent in the same (may not really be aecactly same as Japanes version) Goodyear tire (same model name, etc.) is a 55,000 mile tire, shown on their display rack as the "mid-range" model. They pitch the Regatta 2 as their "best" tire at 75,000 miles for a little more money.

Neither is H-rated, however I truly wonder if the Prius is the sort of machine you really need to equip with H-rated rubber.

I think the discussion should be about what profile you need in a PZEV-rated vehicle, with the tradeoff issues being:

- rolling resistance (that pesky MPG issue, eh?)

- handling

- road noise

- wear

- sidewall strength

- wet/ice /snow/ handling or stopping

I confess to running nothing but Michelins for nearly 30 years, most recently the MXV on passenger cars. I currently run Michelin 6-Ply X Radial LTs on my Toyota T-100 3.4L 2WD XCab pickup. The latter tire doesn/t seem to want to wear out.

I haven't researched a Michelin replacement yet. Only because I expect the "Just OK" Goodyears to do pretty well due to my new driving habits in the Prius.

My only input on rims is that, after researching new rims for my '95 Benz 300E sefveral years ago, I determined that Mecedes had alread done this for the 300E, spending half a million US road testing rims and tires in 1986.

Mecedes suspension engineers determined that 15 inch alloys with 195/85 R16 H tires was the best overall configuration for the new (124 series platform) 300E. This remained the factory OEM kit until the 1994 E500 (what a car! Same body style but 5.0 litre V8 with Porsche-tuned suspension, other upgrades.

I ran the factory 15" package I ran on my 300E until I sold last fall to buy my Prius. Never had a lick of tire or rim trouble on the Benz, so I have to believe the manufactuer was correct on the tire/rim thing.

Is suspect the same level of research from Toyota suspension engineers in Japan when they selected the intergrity as the OEM for the '04 Prius. They sure caught hell on the OEM rubber for the Classic!

Back on '04 Pirus repacement tires and rims:

Perhaps we can all contribute to finding TWO PriuChat-Recommended replacement tires and or rims:

1. As a Value-added replacement for most of us in a year or two (three?).

2. As a "I drive my Prius pretty aggresiveley and need more tire/rim" replacement; tires only or tire and rim combo.

I have this to say about going up to 16-inch rims: 16-inch rims: It's a whole new topic, fraught with issues such as:

- speedometer, odometer, MPG calc
- CPU and VSC torque sensing
- cost of researching, testing and acquiring new rims.
- same for the tires

So let's all share our finding on tires and rims, OK?


Bob

 

In the Netherlands (and the rest of Europe I presume), the car will be delivered with 16" rims and 195/55R16 tyres (don't know the make, will have a look next week).

 

I run 195/60/15 Falken Ziex 512s. #1 rated by Consumer Reports and relatively inexpensive to boot. The speedo error should be 1 mph, but comparing to GPS it is +3 mph (+2 mph error in speedo with stock tires??) The tires are quiet, handle very well, including heavy rain (I have 6000 miles on the tires, including 500 miles of driving rain a few weeks ago). Impact on mpg appears minimal.

FYI, 2

 

Best tire I have seen, rode on, Driven on, and reviews is the Michelin Hydroedge.

http://www.michelinman.com/catalog/tires/M...tml?source=left

The reviews are from Michelin but if you look else where most people leave them at this level. For a tire that is supposed to last around 85,000 miles it is worth the price. This is the first thing I am doing to my prius when I get it. Off with the intergras on with the hydroedge.