Any northern or mountain Prius C owners planning on snows?

this is the first winter for this car pretty much..don't expect much from the users on here....

they will just say "snow tires". I live in north dakota..got my prius c II about 2 weeks ago....these are new tires....I'm not buying snow tires...plus I'm moving to hawaii by january.

 

I plan to go with Nokian Hakkapelitta studded tires in size 175/65 R15. This is the same as the stock tires, and I heard that the rolling resistance is good - for studded snows. This is the best snow tire you can buy (according to the experts), and it costs about 50% more than most.
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Ron

 

I drive my OEM tires (same tires as my liftback had) up and down mountain passes all winter long so they are certainly capable. But a nice set of snow tires would make thinks a bit nicer for sure, if I could afford a second set of rims and TPMS I would probably get some snow tires for the factory rims - Blizzaks are nice but I prefer the General Altimax Arctic's - they provided me with better traction than the blizzaks and they were about a third of the price.

 

OEM Rims, Les Schwab studded snows (not LLR -btw). I've been on black ice, deep snow (I was right behind the 18 wheelers when they reopened I5 to them into California last Christmas), and blowing drifting snow back in the Midwest in OCT/NOV. I used the TPMS that came with the OEM steel rims, and purchased programmable units when I purchased the alloys. The C runs great in snow and ice.

 

Little late to the post, but for future reference for others:

I bought the Michelin Ice X Xi-3 snow tires, and for the most part they've driven great in the snow and ice. Paid about $1000 for the tires and wheels plus TPMS, but I don't think you need the latter that much, so you can knock about $200 off without those. Yeah, it was expensive, but it's about the cost of a deductible on car insurance, and if you have a new car, you'll probably want it to protect it and yourself as much as possible. Plus the wheels are a one-time only expense (provided you don't crash of course), so it'll be cheaper to just replace tires from that point on.

If you've never had an accident in the snow/ice and/or spun out, consider yourself lucky. Snow tires greatly reduce your chances of that happening, but drive slower and sensibly, because physics still takes over if you're doing 60 mph on ice and that car in front suddenly brakes...

From personal experience, I hit a curb on my 93 honda civic doing about 30 mph on a slushy road a while back (there was a schoolbus on the other lane, and I figured hitting the curb is much more preferable than going under the bus), and spun out in it before (fortunately no one was near me so I didn't get hit).

Let me tell you, it sucks, though luckily I was able to limp the car home and to a mechanic garage nearby. I then had to pay $500 for new wheels and tires on the left side of the car, so I used this as a lesson to invest in snow tires. And you should learn from my mistake so you don't have to make it.

For the most part it drives fine, and in fact it seems the snow tires have slightly less road noise compared to the stock ones the car came with. Mileage suffered slightly, but I think it's because of the cold weather too, not just the tire itself. I'll gladly sacrifice a little MPG for much safer driving in snow and ice though.

 

You can stay on an "all season" tire all year if you don't have to drive on snow. Snow tires widen the safety margin by a lot when the going gets slick. Modern snow tire rubber compound formulations allow that all important grip in cold temperatures, where an all season will give up as thermometer readings head well below the freezing mark.

I never commuted, nor do I travel to the ski slopes on all seasons during Winter snow events. Just not worth the risk in the long run. I see way too many damaged cars in ditches or against trees or other cars all Winter long up here on all season tires. Snow tires have saved my bacon on many occasions, from big snow storms when plows couldn't keep up with accumulation, to ice events that stopped most from getting out of their driveways.

I worked strange shift hours, and experienced many weekend nighttime commutes during snow storms when plows didn't come out to scrape off the snow... and was never delayed or stopped from getting to, or coming home from work.

Two of my favorite snow tires are General Altimax Arctics (excellent snow grip, quiet on pavement for a snow tire) and the near old school Pirelli Winter Carving Edge. Both of these tires make a front wheel drive car into an aggressive snowmobile with a good winter driver at the wheel. We installed a set of Altimax Arctics on our 2005 Prius. Can't say enough about those snow tires, especially at the bargain price they sell for.