wheel comparison

The OD of 195/65/15 is about .4-.5 " larger than the 215/45/17. If you're going to buy 17" rims, the OD of 205/50/17 is really close to the OD of stock195/65/15's OD. As for handling I've never driven a Gen III Prius with 15" so I don't know how much better the 17" has over the 15" I can tell you that you'll see improvement over the 15" in terms of handling.

 

handling?
You can probably get the same handling improvement by using "better handling" tires...

Do you want the wider tires for handling w/out sacrificing mileage?
it will not work...

Try these in the 15" wheel and your handling will improve noticeably...

Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum (Grand Touring All-Season)

 

Yes, but not as big an improvement as going to a larger diameter wheel. You can only make the sidewall so stiff, the larger diameter wheels have shorter sidewalls, less flex=better handling.

 

Here is a thread of with pictures of upgraded wheels

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ermarket-wheel-thread-post-your-pictures.html

 

Just driving around town I do not believe you will notice any difference, what you will notice is a rough ride with 17 over 15
Where I notice the biggest difference is on ramps

Our other car is a BMW 3 series cab with a sport package

Driving normal I do not notice any difference

 

I want to change into winter tires on the 15" original wheels. Then next summer I'll get 17" wheels with a new set of tires, thus keeping the winters with the original wheels stored untill next winter.

In spite of the additional cost of the extra set of wheels and tires, I think this is actually cheaper in the long run, 'cause it's way cheaper to just switch wheels with tires already installed and balanced, and better for the wheels and tires too avoiding the dismounting and mounting of tires 2 times every year.

Now where can I store that extra set of wheels and tires? Come to think of it, that also means that my set of original Eco tires will be wasted after being used for 1 summer!

Darn, back to the drawing board! Any better ideas, anyone?

 

I'm pretty sure the OEM 215/45-17 tires are low rolling resistance type, so, may want to see if LRR 205/50-17s are available.

 

If you can't tell the difference in the handling between a BMW 3 series, one of the best handling cars on the road, and a FWD Prius, one of the worst...you're not a very good judge.

Can't find a much more distinct difference than that.

As for ride, I thought the ride between the 17s and the 15s was pretty similar. The 17s make the Prius look so much better, to me its worth a slight ride difference...since the Prius isn't a great rider anyways.

 

I agree completely. I have a set of 17" wheels for my GenII that I regularly swap on and off and the difference in handling is very dramatic. I've had 3 different brands of tires (Nokian i3, Integrity, Yokohama dB Super E-Spec) on my stock 15" wheels and none of them come close to the cornering ability or steering feel of the 17" wheel with a good tire. Unfortunately I have an ultra high performance tire on the 17" wheel so my MPG takes a big dive (4-6mpg) when I have them equipped.

 

I swapped from the OEM 15" to my friend's 17" rims and the handling difference is quite noticeable. Not so much for straight line driving but the car feels much more planted in turns and when changing lanes.

 

I drive them back to back all the time
What difference are you going to noticed on a straight road in town or on a hiway
And between those ride I also drive extend cab pick up, with 16"s, and it just soaks up the bumps around here

 

The BMW is much more stable when driving in a straight line at highway speeds than the Prius. You don't only drive in a straight line, you have to turn, change lanes, roads curve, offramps and onramps...

May be that you just don't appreciate the difference...doesn't mean the difference isn't there. Like...red wine to me is red wine. But the issue is with my ability to detect and appreciate the differences...not the wine.