Best tires for 2017 Prius Prime?

Fuel max are best for range and nothing else.

Other brands ride or handle better but usually decrease EV range

 

What's least road noise and softest riding tire? Would the next wider tire be better for this purpose? If so size?
Thanks

LG-H932 ?

 

I hate the nanoenergy. Terrible in the rain. I can’t wait to replace them. I’ve been looking at the Yokohama ascend as they seem to have fantastic grip and tread life. Don’t care about fuel economy. Don’t believe in sacrificing safety for a few mpg.

 

Just purchased Goodyear Assurance Comfortred tires. They are definitely softer and smoother riding. Quieter too. Lost a few mpg in the process. Mpg on original tires seemed to get better on dash meter as they wore down. Now mpg lower due to softer and bigger diameter. Calculated mpg higher than meter. Maybe 2-3 mpg lower than normal. Well worth it.

LG-H932 ?

 

https://www.tirerack.com/content/tirerack/desktop/en/tire_decision_guide.html

There is no "best" tire. It is your choice to maximize dry traction or wet traction or tread life or noise & harshness or low rolling resistance or.... You decide what factors you value most and which you value less.

About tire size...I'd stick with the stock width. The original 195/60-15 tires are about 25" outside diameter. Maybe 205/60-15, 24.8" OD, but if it rubs, it's on you. Best choice would be to use the optional size on the other Gen 4 Prius line, the 215/45-17 on some nice 17" wheels.

 

If I get a tire like the Michelin Premier A/S, that performs better, what's the mileage hit as compared to an energy saver tire?

 

Typo? The original 2017 stocks are 195/65-15, not 60's.

 

MIchelin Defenders did not change the mileage much, maybe 1 mpg -- well worth the improvement in handling & wet road traction. We do about 2/3 to 3/4 or our driving in HV mode -- if you do majority in EV, might effect the mileage a bit more.

 

I wouldn't expect there to be much (if any) difference between the driving modes. Rolling resistance is still the same - the tires don't know what is driving the wheels.

At low driving speeds, rolling resistance will be a higher drag than aero, so there might be a difference relative to the speed. I would think that would be the same regardless of driving mode.

 

@jerrymildred went with Yokohama Avid Ascend GT all season and is happy with them.

 

I like 'em!

Wet traction is rock solid. Noise is less than the original Toyo Nanos. Comfort about the same, I guess. Fuel economy seems to be about the same now that they're broken in. It might even be better, but I won't know till it cools back down to the temperatures we were enjoying before I got the Yokohamas. According to reviews, the snow performance is pretty good for all season tires, but there are some a little better.

I would recommend them without hesitation.

 

But are the Fuel Max okay if you are not too worried about snowy conditions?

 

I drive them year round even though they are meh in snow

 

Had the stock Toyo Nanos on my 2017 Prius Prime until 47K miles then put on Michelin Defenders at Costco. The Defenders were highly rated by Consumer Reports. I expected some mileage hit (traction vs rolling resistance) but was surprised by how much. Using the car mileage meter, went from 90 combined mpg empg to 50-60. My commute then was half electric, half gas. Was so surprised at drop, had Costco re-inspect install but was fine. Being in SoCal and no rain, the Nanos worked well for me and didn’t notice any diff in road noise.

 

We just saw a huge mpg hit changing from the OEM Dunlop Enasaves to Michelin Defenders on our 2019 Prius LE, a typical 100mi. round trip went from 62mpg indicated to slightly under 50mpg, repeated several times. Some of this was to be expected from thicker tread/larger diameter when new, and the Defenders not being LRR - we've used Michelins for decades on our other cars and love them, but this was shocking. No complaints with the Enasaves, they even made a few decent panic stops on wet roads.

 

I've had the Defenders for 57,000 miles. Have about 5/32 left. They are wearing evenly, maintain balance and have been getting low to mid 50s mpg in summer. It's been a great tire for me. Have you checked that the tire pressure is the same as your old tires?

 

Yes, set to proper pressures.

 

Also, its december, so we're on winter fuel and probably using more heating. I have defenders too in the bay area and with the recent rain and cold weather, my mpgs dropped a little compared to nov/oct. During the winter, my primes on the Toyos barely got 4miles/kw and EV range was constantly around 24-25. The same as the Defenders during the winter.

 

Here are two interesting write ups on tire rolling resistance and fuel economy by a retired tire engineer. Barry's Tire Tech and Barry's Tire Tech There is no industry standard for which tires can be labeled as low rolling resistance. So...buy the tires that first give you the traction and NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) attributes you want, then look at the rolling resistance in the tires on that list. The engineer also writes: "There are three properties that can be traded off with one another - Tread wear, Traction, and Rolling Resistance. You can maximize one of these properties, but it has to come at the sacrifice of at least one of the others." For my driving here in the Pacific Northwet, I want to maximize wet traction for safety and low NVH for our comfort. I'm willing to give up some tread life and rolling resistance.