New Tires, size, brand, and results?

Just saw this thread today. According to Tire Rack, the max size on the stock 6" rim is 195/60-15. Larger will fit on the rim but rub on the bodywork.

 

Does anyone here select tires for their Rolling Resistance? I have an 02 with the OEM Potenzas and am looking to get feedback on tires as the first owner of the car has worn the sides of the tires more than half in the first 12k miles, so even at 44/42 I am seeing the end of these tires coming soon (16k now)
I read the Green Seal report on the tire test and too funny that the lowest cost tire passing their test criteria is also one of the best rated ones :lol: :
http://www.greenseal.org/recommendations/C...eResistance.pdf
I am considering switching to these - the Sumitomo has quite favorable reviews on the TireRack and the specs look good, I will only need to go to 185/65-14 to get more than 1100 lb specified load capacity. At 1168lb and 51 PSI the specs look superior and especially the 380AA is way over the Potenza's head. Since they are pretty good LRR (Low Rolling Resistance) tires and should get between 60 and 80k miles.
From the reviews I see that the harder pumped, the better these tires perform. Just what LRR tires and the Prius need....
Love to hear your experience, even though at this price there is little to go wrong on.... :mrgreen:
BTW - these tires may even work well for the 04 and 05 Prius although they start at 195 width for the 15", the $43 sounds right!
(I know these tires are supposed to be Summer/Performance, but the rolling resistance is good and I live in the SF Bay area - not much winter here... 8)

 

I have notice this "wandering" with my 08 prius as well. It started immeadiately after changing tires for the first time. I had 4 goodyear integrety tires originally. I had them replaced with michelin hydroedges. After about 6 weeks of complaining and getting the alignment rechecked twice I returned the hydroedges to walmart and tried the viva authority fuel max. The "wandering" issue was still there. Again I had the alignment check two more times since, and had the front end inspected for defect or repair issues, everything checked out good. The only thing that was different about the two newer tires was the speed rating for the new ones was T whereas the original integrety tire was S. I believe the higher the speed rating the harder the tire's rubber compound is. I would have thought a harder rubber tire would give a stiffer ride but not so in my case. The only other difference was that the treadwear grade was much greater in the new tires(800 & 620) vs the integrety treadwear grade(460). My current thoughts are to revert back to an S speed rated tire or back to the OEM integrety that the car came with and gave me 55,000 miles but were terrible in snow. I have to do something because this "wandering" drives me nuts and when I go to tell the dealer about they think I must be imagining it, after reading that others have had the same experience I feel somewhat relieved I'm not the only one.