A tyre question

It seems odd that the USA Prius use different wheel and tyre sizes. I wonder what the decision process is by Toyota - why not just use one size for all countries?

 

No problems with tyre pressure systems in the UK version Prius. Balancing the wheels is normal but make sure who ever does it uses stick on weights (ask first) to balance the wheels. Knock on weights damage the alloy rims and cause corrosion. You may see a small increase in fuel consumption at first (maybe for 2000 miles) till tyres bed in, on my car I got an improvement strait away and then improved more as the tyres bedded in.

 

Who knows I think they used the same logic that give the Prius in Florida heated mirrors but not the UK with our climate.

 

Yes I must admit keyless entry would be nice. How do you find the tyres now you have had them on a few days.

 

Do not forget that you are actually going about 103 miles when your oddo says 100 miles. The MPG shown on the MFD will now be fairly accurate where as before the tyres were fitted it read about 3 MPG to high "optimistic", so you are doing better than you think. I agree the cold weather does knock the millage down at this time of year.

 

Just thinking about low rolling resistance tyres on the Prius - I am guessing that the rolling resistance is most evident when pulling away, so given that the Prius normally uses the electric motor to pull away, do the LRR tyres have as much effect as on other non hybrid cars? Also thinking about the Hankook tyres, how can a wider B rated 205 tyre (which I assume is also heavier than the C rated 195) have a lower rolling resistance? I have contacted Hankook to see what their reasons for the difference in eco rating of the two tyres. Will post here when/if I hear back from them

 

After touring the tyre centres in my local area (North East London) I came to the conclusion that it would be cheaper to buy online - the local traders were not interested in shifting from their original prices (even though they had no customers). Non stocked Hankook and would have had to order them in - and it would be next day delivery. I placed my order with oponio.co.uk. They were amongst the cheapest that I could find and also take paypal which is convenient as I was in credit. Suprisingly when I received the parcel tracking info they appear to be posted from the Netherlands! Also the registered address for Oponio is in Poland. The tyres arrived and a local used tyre centre balanced and fitted them for £10 per tyre including new valves - I had hope for a bit less considering they sell 2nd hand tyres balanced and fitted for £20 but still cheaper than the online options which want to charge for disposal of the old tyre, etc so about £13 or £14 per tyre.
After a few weeks of use I can say that Hankook are definitely quieter and seem to have less resistance to turning the steering wheel when driving very slowly. From new the tyres did not have those little stubbles/nodules that are on many new tyres so I would expect them to start showing improvements in economy quickly but given the cold weather etc its not possible yet to make any comparisons with previous mpg yet.

 

I have the Goodyear Effiecient Grip tyres and they have been really good. Mileage and economy has been decent and I ordered them online at best 4tyres.com for a decent price. I have seen positive comments about the Hankooks but to be honest I will only fit the big branded tyres as they are in my view far superior. Have had cheaper tyres before and in the wet I really noticed the poorer performance.