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Recommended replacement tires for Prius Touring 195/55R16?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by joecraw, Jan 21, 2010.

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  1. joecraw

    joecraw Junior Member

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    Can someone recommend replacement tires for my 2007 Prius Touring. I do not want to replace them with the OEM Bridgestone Tourenza EL 400 since they only lasted 21,000 mikes. The tires are sized at 195/55R16 with a speed rating of V and options are limited. I want an all-season tire that can handle a little snow in the winter (I am in southern NY), has a low resistance that won't hurt my gas mileage and will last longer than 21,000 miles.

    I have looked at a few tires, but I have concerns about each one.

    Continental ContiProContact SSR - Expensive, not sure if run flats are a good option for the Prius and don't know how it will effect gas mileage.
    Bridgestone Ecopia EP100 - Considered a 'Summer' tire on some web sites so I'm worried about handling in the snow.
    Falken Ziex ZE-912 - Worried about how they will handle in the snow

    Any feedback on these tires or recommendations of others would be appreciated.


    Thanks,
    Joe
     
    #1 joecraw, Jan 21, 2010
  2. Ricochet2U

    Ricochet2U One PriusChat User

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    It's about time for me to think about tire too. I am thinking Nokian WR G2. What is your thought?
     
    #2 Ricochet2U, Jan 21, 2010
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I've just ordered the Bridgestone Ecopia tires for my 2004 as there's little chance of snow in southern AZ. I would not recommend them for you in NY though, as they are definitely considered summer tires.
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Jan 21, 2010
  4. joecraw

    joecraw Junior Member

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    I haven't read a lot about them.
    They only have an H speed rating. (and they are expensive)
    The H speed rating is what made me eliminate the Bridgestone Potenza G 019 Grid, which I did read some good things about.
     
    #4 joecraw, Jan 21, 2010
  5. joecraw

    joecraw Junior Member

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    Thanks Patrick.
    That is what I thought.
     
    #5 joecraw, Jan 21, 2010
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The Prius can only go ~106 mph (which fits comfortably into the S speed rating category) and the standard tires for non-Touring are Goodyear Integrity (S-rated). You will be OK with a replacement tire that is H-rated, if that is the only concern.
     
    #6 Patrick Wong, Jan 21, 2010
  7. joecraw

    joecraw Junior Member

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    I thought the V rating was a little overboard, but then I read the Consumer reports guide to buying tires and they don't recommend buying tires with a lower rating than the OEMs. Why would Toyota put V rated tires on the Touring edition when the standard only have S rated? I was worried about moving away from what Toyota put on the car.
     
    #7 joecraw, Jan 21, 2010
  8. halpos4

    halpos4 "Taxi"!

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    Here in Ireland options are also limited with 195/55/16 and bloody expensive so i switched to 205/55/16,more options and therefore different price range..cheap to bloody expensive,i've chosen a middle price range,Dunlop SP Sport 01 for my 06 Prius Taxi,generally get between 56,000klm -58,000klm out of the fronts.
     
    #8 halpos4, Jan 21, 2010
  9. rwhoyle

    rwhoyle Member

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    Joe,

    My wife and I both drive 2008 Tourings and I have decided to replace the 195/55R16 with 205/55R16 due to the very limited choices of the former and the abundance of choices of the latter. I strongly recommend you consider this option as well. There are many threads on this subject in PC.

    My shortlist of 205/55R16 replacement tires for my Tourings is as follows:

    Goodyear Tripletread: 740A/B, 89H, 80,000 Miles, 25 lbs wt., $116.00
    Goodyear Fuelmax: 580A/A, 89H, 65,000 Miles, 18 lbs wt., $99.00
    Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S: 400 A/A, 91H, 45,000 Miles, 23 lbs wt., $119.00
    Michelin Primacy MXV4: 620 A/A, 91H, 60,000 Miles, 23 lbs wt., $125.00

    Dealer pricing on these tires will vary across the country, so check with your local tire dealers to verify your local tire costs. These tires all rate very well and are worth the extra expense for the peace of mind they provide when riding on them.
    Good luck with your final selection.

    Rich
     
    #9 rwhoyle, Jan 21, 2010
  10. joecraw

    joecraw Junior Member

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    Thanks Rich.
    I have read some of the threads regarding moving to a different size tire, but I did not like the side effect of the speedometer/odometer being thrown off. My head started to spin with all the math and I concluded it would be simpler to stay with the same size.
     
    #10 joecraw, Jan 21, 2010
  11. halpos4

    halpos4 "Taxi"!

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    Moving to 205/55/16 shouldn't affect your speedo Joe,tyre is a little wider and therefore a little bit more rubber on the ground,as a Taxi i found my Prius handled much better using the 205s over 195s especially when i have a full car,4 adult passengers and myself [i'm an adult although sometimes my wife tells me to grow up!!]I changed to 205s when the OEMs wore out and have used 205s since,I now have 272,000klm on my Prius
    Obviously there are pros and cons and depending on your regular use/weather etc choosing a tyre could become a head melting experience,best of luck with your choice.
     
    #11 halpos4, Jan 21, 2010
  12. joecraw

    joecraw Junior Member

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    Head melting is right!!
    Because of the lack of choices at the OEM specs so many people have tweaked the specs in so many ways your head starts to spin keeping up with the options and pluses/minuses. If moving to 205 from 195 doesn't affect the speedometer than that definitely gives me another option.
    Thanks.
     
    #12 joecraw, Jan 21, 2010
  13. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    It will affect the speedo, just not by much.

    Based on the assumed values of the Miata Tire Size Calculator, the speedo will read approx 1.8% slower with the 205/55R16 tires. So when the speedo shows you going 60 mph, you will be going 61.1 mph. Also, your odometer and gas mileage readings will be similarly affected.

    Tire size calculator

    Given that there are only a few non-run-flat tires available in the Touring's OEM 195/55R16 size, personally I'd move up to the 205/55R16 size where there are a huge number of tires available.
     
    #13 Boo, Jan 21, 2010
  14. joecraw

    joecraw Junior Member

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    So if it does effect your speedo, I would think lowering to an H speed rating would be the better spec to tweak. It keeps all of your gauges accurate and it opens up the options of the:

    Nokian WR G2
    Bridgestone Potenza G 019 Grid

    Both seem to have a fair amount of positive reviews.
     
    #14 joecraw, Jan 21, 2010
  15. freo-1

    freo-1 New Member

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    I would strongly recommend the Nokian WR-G2. I put them on my 09 touring when the weather got bad, and they are a great tyre. They are also recommend by Consumer Reports in the most recent review.
     
    #15 freo-1, Jan 21, 2010
  16. ibmindless

    ibmindless Member

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    What width did you buy - 195 or 205? Any noticeable differences in ride, noise, fuel mileage?

    My 2007 has 22,500 miles and I'm guessing I have about 2,000 miles to go before I need replacements.
     
    #16 ibmindless, Jan 22, 2010
  17. rover

    rover Junior Member

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    I have an '07 Touring and got 45k out of the stock EL400s. Replaced them with the same size Ecopia EP100's and hate them. The ride is really hard. Reduced the air pressure (below recommended) to keep the car from becoming a rattlebox.
     
    #17 rover, Jan 22, 2010
  18. joecraw

    joecraw Junior Member

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    Thanks for the feedback.
    I already removed the Ecopia EP100 from my short list because they are summer tires and wouldn't work well in NY. Do you still have the Ecopia's or did you change them?
     
    #18 joecraw, Jan 22, 2010
  19. B. Roberts

    B. Roberts Hypah Milah! Ayuh.

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    Go with the 205/55s and don't wory about the math. I decided to try a set of Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum all season tires on the car I drive (Prius is wife's commuter) and found them to be very quiet and smooth riding. They will get you by in snow, but there's no substitute for a good snow tire, and up here in Maine, I run a set of snow tires in winter.

    We put 205/55 16s on the Prius, shortly after we bought it. They made a big difference in handling and linear performance. Did not affect fuel mileage. Best thing is the choices that size opens up.
     
    #19 B. Roberts, Jan 22, 2010
  20. freo-1

    freo-1 New Member

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    I purchased the 195 size. The ride is better overall, less road noise, slightly better gas milage, and signifigantly better handling.

    Highly recommended.

    By the way, I puchased them at Tire Pros, and got a good price. The owner of the shop uses Nokian tyres for his personal cars.
     
    #20 freo-1, Jan 22, 2010
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