New Tires for 2010 Prius V with 17" wheels

I have the factory Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02 tires on my 2011 V they are okay but not LLR. My next set will be an LRR tire like the Michilen Primaxy MXM4's.

 

The new Primacy 3 just came out - I don't know how better they are than the Primacy used on the 17" 215/45 and delivered, at least, on the EU market.
Press Release here

 

Here is my review of the new Primacy MXM4. Summary: I really like them!

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-fuel-economy/95554-michelin-primacy-mxm4-review.html

 

They look very interesting, hopefully will become available in north America, but that's just it: the link says they're scheduled for availabity Europe in February of 2012, so...

Also, the press kit lists sizes and 215/45R17 isn't on the list.

To the OP: you could try entering your vehicle on Costco site. It's a little funny: you need to pick "standard", and then look around on the results page, there is an option to show 17" tires. Costco US has 8 selections right now (you can click view all 8).

The Michelin Primacy's are there. Also Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 (eco), which I find interesting, for a couple of reasons:

1. On the Canadian Costco site they're bot also available (in a more limitted field), and while on the US site Primacy and EP422 are quite close, the spread is more in Canada.

2. Miichelin availabilty seems spotty. Also, Bridgestone's EP422 might be lower LRR than the Primacy, not really sure.

http://tires2.costco.com/SearchResults.aspx?SearchID=875008a0-88f1-4e1f-ad73-10402102f8a9

 

One could also use a 205/50/17 instead of the OEM size. This would increase ride comfort and may increase mpg at the expense of a bit better handling.

 

I'd recommend you forget about the 2xx/xx/17 size and target the revs per mile that makes your speedometer more accurate. That's close to 835 RPM.

Gen III ~835 RPM 17" All-Season tire choices based on tirerack survey data and specs

844 215/45/17 Michelin Primacy MXM4 with Green X ($162, V Speed rating)

835 205/50/17 Continental ExctremeContact DWS (Not LRR, $126, best "Ultra High Performance All-Season")
833 225/45/17 Michelin Primacy MXM4 with Green X ($167, H Speed rating)
833 225/45/17 Michelin Primacy MXM4 with Green X ($178, W Speed rating)
833 225/45/17 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus (Not LRR, $176)
832 205/50/17 Goodyear Assurance ConforTred Touring (Not LRR, $166, best "Grand Touring All-Season)
828 225/45/17 Continental ExctremeContact DWS (Not LRR, $124)
828 205/50/17 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus (Not LRR, $177)
824 205/50/17 Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S (Not LRR, $150, best "High Performance All-Season")

If you want LRR tires I'd go for the 833 225/45/17 Michelin Primacy MXM4 with Green X ($167, H Speed rating).

If you want cheaper tires with good traction and don't care about gas mileage/gallonage then I'd go for the 835 205/50/17 Continental ExctremeContact DWS (Not LRR, $126, best "Ultra High Performance All-Season")

It's a trade off of $40 per tire up front for who knows how much gas over the life of the tires and similar tread life.

 

Wow! The price of the Primacy MXM4 went up since I bought mine at $139.99/ea.

That being said, they are excellent tires! I would purchase them again in a heartbeat. See my review of the tire by clicking the link in my signature.

I noticed that the EP100 is now available in the 215/45/17 size but the price is nuts at $212.99/ea. (Costco).

As a side note. I will work on updating my LRR tire list with new tires and new info gained from dhanson865.

 

How many miles did your get on your OEM tires?

 

With the 215/45-17 OEM Toyo Proxis A20 tires and the Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires I have now my speedometer is off by a little over 3%. To correct that I would need to go to tires that had about 820 revolutions per mile vs the 844 my present tires have. If I did that the odometer would be way off because it is about right now.

The present speedometer error is there to meet an old United Nations regulation on speedometers that says they can't be slow, but fast is OK, so most car companies make them a bit fast to be sure they meet the requirement.

If you check the MPH on a ScanGauge you will find it is very close to the actual speed read from a GPS receiver so the car "knows" how fast it is going. Best solution is to mentally subtract a couple of MPH at highway speeds an maybe 1 MPH in town.

 

I have had both on my Prius. When I replaced the OEM Toyo Proxis A20 tires, which I liked, I put on a set of Pilot Sport AS Plus. I picked up a vibration after they were rotated the first time. I tried to have them balanced several times with no luck, I think Costco got tired of seeing me so they offered me a great deal on 4 new Primacy MXM4 tires so I put them on.

I have about 2K miles on the Primacy tires now and so far I would say they are very similar to the OEM Toyos, which is to say pretty good.

From what I have observed so far:

Pilot Sport AS Plus are listed as ultra high performance all season tires and they live up to their name, handling is great and although I didn't test them at the limit I think stopping and adverse weather traction would be equally good. Mileage and ride are not so good. Some road noise but not to bad, no squeaks or squeals.

Primacy MXM4 are probably a better choice for our cars. Compared to the Pilot Sport they ride a little better, they do get better mileage by 2 or 3 MPG, and they do everything else pretty well also. I haven't had them in the snow yet. Quieter than the Pilot Sports.

Both types have excellent tracking and show no tendencies to wander.

 

My Toyo Proxis A20 tires were replaced at 42K miles and had about 3/32 tread left. Despite using fairly high pressures (from 42 to 48 lbs usually) they were worn flat across the tread and showed no signs of unusual wear.

 

WOW, that's great mileage! My Toyo Proxis A20 tires are down to 4/32 after only 22000 miles. I run 37/36 tire pressure. Think I'll pump them up some. Did you get an alignment with your new tires? What pressure are you running with your new Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires?

 

I am reading this thread with interest as I have 25000 miles on my Toyo Proxis A 20. Has anyone tried to get the Toyo Proxis for replacement, or are they not available? On another thread I read where several are saying the Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires cut their MPG 2-3 from what they were used to before replacement.

 

I think it is hard to say if that is a long term loss or not since most people replaced a worn set of tires with a new set. This always incurs a loss of mpg unless you go from a non- LRR tire to a tire. I doubt the MXM4 is the lowest rolling resistance tire out there but the seem to be the best all around tire that we have to choose from and their wet traction can't be beat.

 

I had no signs of unusual tire wear and the car drives great, so no alignment. I talked to the shop foreman at the local Toyota dealer, a pretty straight forward guy, and he said if the tire wear is OK, the mileage is good, and it drives the way it should don't bother with an alignment.

I usually ran somewhere between 42 and 48 lbs in my Toyo A20s, I plan to try several pressures in the Primacys and see what works best, I'll go in 2 or 3 pound increments from 36 up to about 46 lbs. So far I'm still at 36 lbs at 40 degrees F.

 

I priced the Proxis A20s, I don't remember the amount but the price was way out of line with Michelins or Bridgestones. Also only a few places have them, mostly car dealers.

I have noticed no decrease in mileage with the MXM4 Primacys, but it will be next summer before we can tell for sure. I think some of the people who reported lower mileage put their new tires on about the same time we were switching to winter gas and had colder weather and they may not have taken that into account.

 

I'm not sure how many miles I have on the MXM4's yet but it's well over 3,000. There are no signs of wear and I generally keep them at about 45/43psi. I tried running them at 50psi before the cold weather hit but they were pretty rough riding so I was going to drop the pressure. Then the cold winter weather hit and lowered the pressure to 42psi. I liked the ride much better so I am trying to keep them in the range of 43-45psi.

Unfortunately I got tired of the mpg hit and don't like to subject my shiny wheels to winter conditions so I switched back to my OEM 15s with the Yokohama dB Super E-Spec tires. My MPG jumped back up to 53-55mpg from 47-49mpg. I'll put the 17s back on when the warm weather returns. Until then I will miss the awesome handling and cornering ability of the MXM4s. The 15s scream at me when I try to take corners fast. lol

 

Regarding 3%, are you thinking 2% due to the UN regulation, and 1% due to the smaller OD of the V model's 17" tire? I wonder if the latter is factored in by Toyota? Or not?

One quick-and-dirty way to test: two owners, one with a V, the other with a model with the 15" tires, reset trip meters, then convoy through some course, a few miles long if possible. Follow precisely the same route, stick to the same lanes pull back up in the same positions at the start point, and compare trip meters.

I've been finding when the car says 50 kmh, my ScanGauge says 52. I just ignore it, and stick with what the car's saying.

BTW, I kinda miss your old avatar: dog-in-the-car-window

 

The dog says "thanks" I decided to give him a break, he's been my avatar for 6 1/2 years (that car was my GenII Prius).

Yes I think some tests would be interesting. When my speedometer reads 60 mph my ScanGauge and my GPS both indicate about 58. My odometer reads a little high but not to bad, I'll have to check it again.