Winter tire question

Hi there.
I have the same 16" alloys as you and I just got back from Toyota with a quote for winter tires and steel rims. They suggested 175/65/15 with either Blizzaks or Michelin ice. The Toyota quote was for around $1100 with the rims. I then went to Costco who also quoted OEM rims and the Blizzaks for $680 (including tax and installation). Good Luck!

 

You could also go one tire size larger for a little extra ground clearance in the winter. It won't hurt anything and will make your speedometer read more accurately. Just a thought.

The 185/65/15 should fit just fine.

 

Stock size tire will be best for winter. You want a narrow tire to slice through the snow, as wide tires float on top. 175/65-15 is the rational choice assuming your steelies are <7" wide.

 

The difference in width is very small. You're talking less than 3/4" (.70").

 

Not sure where you're getting 0.7". The advertised tread width difference between a 185 and 175 tire is 10mm, which is not a big change. That said, I can't think of a good reason to recommend a wider-than-stock winter tire.

 

The tread width change is not 10mm. There is a difference between tread width and section width. Compare the 175/65/15 Michelin X-iCE Xi3 to the same tire in a 185/65/15. Tread width is 5.5" vs. 6.2". My point was not that the wider tire is better for winter except in dry and wet conditions (not standing water). I was offering it as an alternative if you wanted a tiny bit more ground clearance.

 

Ok, now you're talking about a specific tire model which happens to not abide by typical [or rational] size deltas. I wish you had mentioned that previously, as that would've taken the confusion out of your earlier post. As a rule of thumb, most tires tread widths change in proportion to their section width.

 

We could use another tire of you like.

Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max: 5.7" vs. 6.1" = .4"
Yokohama AVID Ascend (T): 5.2" vs. 5.6" = .4"
Bridgestone Ecopia EP422: 6" vs. 6.3" = .3"

You see where I am going with this? I'm not saying your basic idea is wrong. I'm just saying the extra width is pretty small.

 

10mm = 0.39", so those tires are going by the rules. Unfortunately, there are no rules regarding absolute tread width compared to advertised section width, so it takes experience to understand how Tire X may be a bulbous snow-lover and Tire Y may be a super-square track hound, all while both are the same "size". Perfect example is the Conti 195's on my Prius C have a puny 6" tread width, but the 195 A048's on my Lotus front have an generous 7.8" tread width.

 

I've generally purchased snow tires one size wider than OEM Summer or all season tires on the car. Reason number one is gaining slight ground clearance. The second reason... snow tires are usually slightly narrower when measured against a summer equivalent from the same manufacturer. That has been my experience. I'm an avid snow skier, so I do a fair amount of Winter driving each season and have found this combination to work very well through the years on various cars I have owned.

Overly wide snow tires will definitely not produce good results on snow.

 

That's really curious. I've probably owned at least 10 sets of snow tires now, and not a single one save the Dunlop WinterSport 3D had narrower tread width compared to a normal tire with the same advertised section width. I suppose it's yet another case of "look at the spec sheet prior to purchasing", regardless what the "tire size" is supposed to be.

 

I went through a similar process, albeit with the 3rd gen Prius. Our model has the optional 17" 215/45R17 tire/wheel combo, but for snows I went with the 195/65R15 tire size (stock on the cheaper models). There's an additional wrinkle, in that 15" steel rims were not "officially" available through Toyo for 3rd gen Prius, only pricey 15" aluminum rims.

After talking to several dealership, one suggested Corolla steel rims, though even they weren't sure if it was compatible. So to be on the safe side I had them handle the entire install, and it did work out fine.

I strongly suspect if the base C comes with a steel rim and a 15" tire size, if you get snow tire in that size, mounted on that steel rim, it will work fine. For insurance, I'd say discuss with the dealership, and at least the first time round let them handle the whole install, just incase there are any issues.