We moved to Southern Colorado this summer and the first snowfall has me shopping for snow tires. I'm wondering if it's okay to swap in 185/65/15 mounted on 15x5.5 rims. Someone has a set of 4 locally off of a Honda Fit. Will they fit and or is that a bad/good idea if they do?
185/65R15 is 2% smaller than the stock 195/65R15 tire. That is the practical limit for variation. So, it’ll work, but you’ll see 2% worth of error on your speedo/odo. Also this will impact your fuel mileage slightly but again, won’t be much. EDIT: I remembered the stock size incorrectly, see below CORRECTION: With 185/65R15 in place of 175/65R15 the snow tires will be 2.1% oversized. Slightly larger error in the opposite direction. 2% is commonly cited as the largest variation you’d want, so that makes these an iffy call. Snow tires are very much worth it, they help a lot. We use a slightly undersized set on our car. Good luck!
I have read narrower and taller sidewall snow tires are better on deep snow and I can see the reasoning behind it, but do they help on plowed snow or on ice?
Ah sorry, I think my prior post was poorly worded. I meant to indicate that having snow tires helps a lot. I’m not trying to characterize the sizing as an improvement. That said, I’ve found narrow/high profile to work well in situations where there’s better traction under the surface. Wet Eastern states with salted roads generally qualify.
I decided to pass on the used set and purchased the stock size winter tire as well as aftermarket steel wheels. Paid $425 + the cost to mount/balance. Not too bad considering the safety of my wife and her 70 mile a day commute through a mountain pass.
The stock Prius c tire size is 175/65R15? Still not matching size, anyway. Hub opening, lug nut seat style, lug nut bolt-circle, offset, brake clearance, and so on: I'd guess they wouldn't work.
Aha! That I agree 100%. I have always picked the same OEM size snow tires for my daily drives. I never picked smaller snow tires, that is until this year. I had to buy a set of snow tires for our Pathfinder that came with 20 inch low profile tires and wheel. Trying to find snow tire for that size was difficult enough but if I wanted to buy a set of wheels of that size, the cost becomes prohibitive. That's when I realized that the car came with smaller OEM wheels and tires on lower trim models. I was able to source cheap used wheels in that smaller size and I just ordered a set of 18 inch snow tires to fit on them. But I was just curious if the smaller snow tires would help on plowed and icy roads compared to larger 20 inch tires if they are the same model of snow tires.
Just checked for 2017 Prius C and 2017 Fit OEM wheel spec. Your Prius C year and what you found on Fit may be different, but they do have the same bolt pattern. If the wheel that comes with the snow has 15x5.5 rims, that may not be OEM. At least Fit's center bore size is larger than Prius C, so that should not be a problem, though you may need a center hub ring. If the wheel's offset is close enough to the C's and clears caliper and brake, I think they should fit, but now you are placing slightly wider but overall slightly smaller tire than your OEM. I am not sure if that has any adverse effect on your driving. How much for the Fit wheel and tires is he asking?
Oh, wait. OP said the snow is 185/65/15 mounted on 15x5.5 rims. That tire size (and rim spec) are not Fit's OEM. If that's the size of snow tire to be compared to Prius C OEM tires, then it is both wider and overall bigger. About a half inch in both directions. Again, I have never used off size tires on my cars, so I can't comment on an effect it has on your driving. Maybe @Rob43 can give you better advise.
Welcome to PriusChat ! ************************ Good for you and congrats ! What Exact snow tire (brand and model) did you buy ? Rob43
Great choice, I bought 4 Hankook Winter iCept iZ2 W616 a few weeks ago based on some incredibly great snow tire test results that were done in Norway during the 2018 season. Rob43
Same here, fellas. I also bought my own Hankook winter tires. I have to admit, I was just buying for my car's main tires, but after experiencing the smooth ride, I might visit 4WheelOnline again and go for spares.
let me Hijack this post for a suggest Since this Prius C with stock tire 175/65/15, but I found a deal set of 4 Kumho new tires 185/65/15. I know it isn't recommend and MPG may reduce. Can 185/65/15 fit this Prius C for just daily drive? Will it little too large and hit the side when make turn?
Installed a set of Nokian WRG3(185/65R15) in 2017 and 40000km ago without any problems whatsoever on my 2014 Prius C that came with 175/65R15 as oem tires. It rides as smooth as a Camry without any negative handling or acceleration issues. The wider-than-stock size also assure the rims are free from curb scratches.
