I have a 2008 Prius Touring that of course has the 195/55/16 tires on it. Not sure what has happened but, one of the rear tires has developed a "tear" in the sidewall. Not a cut or puncture but, a jagged tear. We drove the car yesterday, had no problems, got in it this am and found the tire flat. Not really concerned with trying to pursue any type of warranty claim on the tire since I am sure I wont get very far and of course not knowing why the tire did that I am sure would lead to all kinds of this and that and never get anywhere. So, a tad under 35k on the Turanzas and the other 3 have "decent" tread on them and the 4th, decent treat with a tear in the side that cannot or should not be replaced. I would love to be able to get into the Michelin Energy Savers or even the Goodyear Fuel Max (maybe) but, cannot find them in the EXACT 195/55/16 size. Which leads me to this..taking mpg and the speedo into account...am I better off sticking with the 195/55/16 size in the Bridgestone Ecopia Series or bumping up to say a 205/55/16 in the Fuel Saver? I dont think the 215/55/16 in the Energy Savers is even a possibility so, Im trying to determine what I should go with....OEM size Bridgestone/possibly another brand...or trying to "one up...or two up" to a different size in the Michelin Energy Savers? Greatly appreciate the help. I have spent the majority of the day researching on PC and the web trying to determine which way to go to get this ordeal taken care of ASAP.
Since you say you are concerned about mpg and speedometer accuracy, you should stay with the correct tire size.
Honestly... The mpg hit isn't all as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I'm running 215/50/17's and I always get 40mpg+... cruising on the highway the other day I was averaging 52... These are non Eco wheels... Heck... They are all mismatched used tires... The stability at speed and through the corners are worth it. 225's rub the rear fender wells... And it oversteers (steering is super sensitive as it is...) ... 215 and lower is perfect... I once had it mixed up with 225s in back and 215s up front which made it scary sensitive at high speeds...
Thanks for the replies...both are very valid/simple, correct responses IMHO. Just trying to figure out if the higher cost of one brand would be offset by increased mpg on the other in the long run. I am beginning to think I am too much of a nit picker!
I would first try to determine if your speedo is actually correct. Most of the GenII and GenIII cars with 15" wheels tend to have speedos that are 2mph too fast. Once that is done you may decide to change tire size to correct for any speedo errors. Use this tire size calculator to compare different tires sizes to your OEM tire size. Tire Size Calculator - tire & wheel plus sizing
Hello, I just did a comparision between the OEM tires of the base model (185/65/15) and touring ed (195/55/16). Found out the revs and the over diameter are almost exactly the same. So I would think that the odo on the touring should also have the same 2 MPH too fast problem. On my base model I changed the size to 195/65/15, with 25" dia & 836 revs, by doing so my ODO is dead on correct. Checked it on my GPS and steets speed signs, I was able to get this in Good Year Fuelmax, so my MPG actually got better. If you can get something with 25" over dia and 836 revs in LRR you should be able to overcome the odo problem while keeping good mpg. Here are the 2 options I found for you in LRR Michelin - Hydroedge with Green X 205/55/16, 24.8 dia, 839 revs or Goodyear - Assurace fuel max 205/55/16, 24.9 dia, 840 revs. Hope this helps.
Thanks! If you click the LRR link in my signature you will find a few more options in that size although the revs/mile will differ a bit. Shouldn't be enough to throw off the speedo too far from dead on accurate.
(in a fit of stupidity, Walmart makes it impossible to link to tires) When I go on Walmart.com I can buy Michelin Energy Saver Tire 195/55R16
