What type of Winter Tires do you use on a Gen II Prius?

I replaced the OEM tires after they wore out (30,000 mi.) with Goodyear
Assurance tires. I have 46,000 miles on them and they go great in the snow.
It's snowing here in MPLS, MN so I will get to test them out yet again tonight when I go skiing after work.

 

Nokian WRG2 tires in the stock size. They work well all year, with no loss of mileage.

Tom

 

I now use Nokian WRg2 (Finland) all weather tires on my 2004 Prius and will shortly buy another set. They have done well in snow/ice and now after 43k miles are good enough for normal use but are getting a bit weak in snow/ice.

If you are looking for true snow tires I would consider the Nokian Hakkapelitt tires along with the better known brands.

JeffD

 

Nokian Hakkapellitta R. Spelling might be wrong. I like them a lot.

 

Goodyear assurance F/M here. Great on ice and snow. I am surprised how well they grip for a all-season tire. H

 

I'm on my second set of Nokian WRG2's and the tires have been awesome! The traction they provide from rain to slush to snow is best in class. I've driven in 6-8" snow with out issue and slush to 2" snow too- the tires perform awesome. That all said, the WRG2's use a super soft compound to accomplish the superb all weather performance magic. What that means is even though the tire is rated for 50K miles, you'll end up wearing down to the wear bars around 40-45K and might make a claim to pro-rate the new set of tires. Given that these tires are not cheap you may want to look at other tires, but to me the extra bucks up front buy me peace of mind and handling not matched to tires I have had on the prius in the past and on past cars. This tire sticks to the road and keeps your mileage the same as the OEM Goodyear's; and boy did those tires suck! You'll be hard pressed to find a better set of tires. The only other set I was recommended was the Michelin HydorEdge, but those were ~$15/ea more and did not provide the same winter stability as Nokian. I have driven these tires in Chicago and Wisconsin Northwoods winters where black ice is common and winters are brutal. Best tires around- Nokian WRG2's....wish I were paid for that plug...

 

I've run Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 and WS70's on our Prius', and I've run Firestone Winterforce on different vehicles (4). The Firestones are great, the Blizzaks are awesome (Blizzaks of course cost more). The Firestones are priced very well though, so the frugal part of me can't help but continue to buy them. I've also run Dunlop Graspic's and they were so-so for a snow tire. They were slightly better than all-seasons, but not by much. I run dedicated snow tires in the winter on stock wheels, and I run LRR tires on nicer aftermarket wheels for summer use. I don't care for the look of the stock Prius wheels, so I don't mind if they flake/peel from salt. We can't run studs here in Minnesota (unless you are a visitor or postal carrier), so I can't provide feedback with studding. I'm thoroughly impressed with what snow tires can do, and I can only imagine how much better studding is. Regardless, we have NOT had any of the traction control issues some people on this forum have described. I run snow tires an almost any vehicle now, not just the Prius. Snow tires have come a long way, and they are no longer just a mini "mud tire."

 

Also happy with Nokian WRG2s here in western NY.

 

I'm currently using a set of Continental Extreme Winter Contact tires on steel rims ($547 for the package from TireRack). After a couple thousand miles and a few good workouts in the snow I'm impressed. They are much quieter and less "mushy" on dry and wet roads than other winter tires that I have used (Gislaved and Blizzak mainly). In the snow I do think that they give a little something up to the Blizzak WS-50, which are now on my wife's Prius. Looking at the tread it kinda makes sense. The Blizzak has a big, wide, blocky tread pattern to bite lots of snow. The Continental has an asymmetric tread pattern that seems a bit closer-spaced to keep some dry-weather handling.

Still, the Continentals did great in the storm on Wednesday. I was on the road early enough that the plows hadn't had time to get to all the roads. Other than a touch of traction-control stutter when pulling away from a dead stop in a snow bank (didn't have much choice) the car was very secure and stopped well. No problem with hills or cornering. In the evening I had to slog through about 8" of relatively powdery snow in the driveway and that was a non-event.

To summarize, I think there are more aggressive winter tires out there but the Continentals do the job well for a reasonable price.

 

Many posts talk about this. Do a search, you will find lots of input.
Nokian's always get excellent reviews. They do command top dollar as well.
I put Toyo G02 on my 04 Prius...Excellent traction and control...I'll give then a 4 out of 5 with noise really being the only downside. They have lasted well.
I just put Hankook iPikes on my 2010...So far I like them but I need more miles before I'll give them an overall score.

UPDATE: I've had the iPikes on for six pretty snowy weeks here in NewEngland and they have been rock solid. I went with 205/55/R16 and I don't regret it. As others have mentioned the slightly wider tire might not be as good as a narrower one in snow but I believe it helps to have a little more contact on ice and they are already so good on snow I could lose a little and still be in very good shape.
Even with sub-freezing temps, winter gas and wide snow tires, I'm still consistently getting 48mpg so I can't complain.

 

I'm using Blizzak's, don't know the exact model offhand but they are three years old and have the "snowflake" rating. They are awesome in the winter, compared to any all-weather tire I've ever had on any car.

 

You may want to consider the Continental Pro Contact Eco Plus +. It's an inexpensive 80,000 mile tire that's highly rated by Consumer Reports. Indiana had a bad ice storm recently and I drove past dozens of wrecked cars and slide offs without any problems.

 

Within a week of purchase last mid-November, I swapped our stock 215/45R17 Michelin Pilots for 195/65R15 Michelin X-Ice xi2. They are very smooth running, and while I've got next to no mileage on the stock tires, they seem very good for mileage, feel very free-wheeling.

I'll be able to compare better when they come off in spring. Also, I understand our stock 17" low profile tire size imparts a bit of mileage penalty, so maybe it balances out.

 

I am running the Michelin X on the Prius - great grip in the snow. I am very happy with them so far.

DBCassidy

 

Blizzaks... WS60s. On their own rims so I don't have to get them remounted every half year. They work very well, although I don't have a feel for how they affect mileage since so many other factors change around the same time I change the wheels.

 

I'm close to ready to buying a new set for my 2008. Moved to Michigan from louisiana and snow is a new challenge for me. From reading the forums, seems like the most(in number) positive posts are for the Nokian wrg2, Now that Bridegstone has come out with the ecopia 422 does anyone know if there has been a comparison between the two? Might just be too new on the market for a review yet.
thanks

 

The Nokian WRg2 is a great all-weather tire that is as good as many winter tires in snow/ice and saves gas. I use them year around in CT.

There are some very good true winter tires that you should consider. A few are:

• Bridgestone Blizzak - very good for the first half of tread life, but then performance drops off quickly
• Nokian Hakkapeliitta R - One of the best true winter studless tires and they save gas
• Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 - Their studded version

JeffD

 

Something you need to understand is that there is a wide gulf between dedicated winter tires and normal all-season tires. The WRG2 is an exception by all accounts because it was designed with snow in mind. You might get by on the Ecopia, but I doubt it will be stellar.

If you are new to winter driving I think you would be wise to get a set of dedicated, no-BS winter tires on their own wheels to put on the car for the 3 or 4 months out of the year when you need them. The rest of the time you can run normal all-seasons on the stock rims. The WRG2 would be a reasonable compromise if you really don't want to swap, but they aren't cheap and don't last all that long.