Will 17 in wheels improve ride quality?

and a larger turning circle IIRC

 

Hmm, wonder if it's just due to the wider tires, they figure to stop it sooner.

 

Yes, have to limit the steering angle of the wider tires to prevent rubbing on the inner wheel well. Don't know if people who mount the oem wheels on lower trim models with the non limited steering rack have clearance issues.

SCH-I535

 

On my ride home from work yesterday, I made a point to pay close attention to conditions of the road, bumps, noise level, etc. Overall, good roads, but not perfect. I have the 17" Prius wheels and Continental DWS tires inflated 42 front and 40 rear. Being objective, I found the ride smooth and road noise quiet (EV mode). Most of my driving is EV, but HV mode is consistently 52 MPG plus. I see no negatives running 17" wheels regarding ride quality or fuel mileage, only the cost of a additional set of wheels and tires.

Why would there be a difference? I impressed with the short turning radius of my Prius from other vehicles I've owned. The worst was my 2004 Mazda 6. No rubbing issues running 17" wheels and tires in tight turns.

 

The prius with 15" rims has a brush steering motor and the 17"a brush-less steering motor. I don't know what this means in technical, reliability or safety terms.

 

DoubleDaz you are correct. If I remember correctly the 15"Michelins had a max pressure of 44 psi which i ran at 42 & 40. The 17's have a max psi of 51 psi which I run at 33 & 32.

 

The mileage ratings are the same because Toyota is not required to file different reports for different trim levels or even vehicles that are 'substantially similar'. The Prius enthusiast community has reverse-engineered virtually every element of this car. When you're told that there is a mileage hit, it's not being made up.

17" wheels are not exactly uncommon so I don't know why you think so few people have experience with them. You reduce the height of the sidewall, you reduce the cushion of air available to protect the rim and absorb shock. It will ride harsher than an equivalent diameter tire of smaller rim size. This is simple physics.

Cars like the Model S and ELR use larger wheels primarily because it is the current styling fad and customers expect them. Their cars wouldn't look contemporary without them. That doesn't mean they provide any benefit other than the ability to run larger brakes, which the Tesla, with its huge regeneration off-throttle, hardly needs other than for looks. Increasing the overall diameter of the wheel/tire combination will provide better ride quality, but as someone who owns perhaps 9 sets of wheels for my 3 cars, I think a 50-series aspect ratio is generally the sweet spot. It keeps crisp handling, looks good, while still riding acceptably.

Most race teams agree. Not too many of those 35-45 series tires to be found at the track.

 

The 17" wheel equipped Prius have a different steering motor because it had to be stronger. The 17" wheel/tyre combo are heavier and require more force to steer. Some will tell you it's different because the 17" type is for "sport driving" and therefore the power steering system is "sportier". They may delude themselves if they like.

If you think about it, this may tell you that putting 17" wheels on a Prius that came with 15" wheels might be overloading the steering system, shortening its' life. I can't say if it does or not, but I guess they will find out after a few years.

 

I stated what I saw on the Toyota web site. My reply to a mileage hit was, "Mileage hit? Possibly, but not a issue on a Prius for me".

Considering only the Prius 5 and I believe the Prius V model 5, have 17" factory wheels, and a slight few have switched to 17" and 18" wheels, they are a small percentage compared to the total Prii produced. You say "17 inch wheels are not exactly uncommon so I don't know why you think so few people have experience with them". They are in fact uncommon, the opposite of common, and very few Prius owners and drivers have experience with 17" wheels on a Prius. Based on numbers, I'll conclude it a fact.

 

wouldn't it be cool to have a 15 x 6.5 wheel under 10lbs? I think that would definitely make the Prius accelerate like there's no tomorrow.

 

When I purchased the 2013 Prius version2 and negotiated the 17" rims and Michelin premium tires. You take about a 4mpg hit BUT the handling around turns is greatly improved. Yes a slightly rougher ride but safety is a bigger concern. The stock rims are blah looking. Have had several remarks about the look of the after market rims. I checked with TireRack.com and the tires alone were $175 a piece and rims were? Total package from Tirerack was $1200 BUT I still would need to have mounted with air pressure sensors.. Got the 4 tires, rims, mounted for $950.

 

Is it possible to install an oversize wheel cover which visually blocks part of the tire, make tire wall look thinner and sportier?

 

I was with you until you said resistance to aquaplaning. I would like that explained in detail. I am not an expert but from being an owner of about 20 different cars or so from experience wider tires are way safer and feel way more stable in the rain. I could be completely wrong but I am not the expert.

For that reason I am contemplating getting new wheels. I am new to the Prius and honestly have not have a car with narrow 15in wheels in about 15 years. At speeds of 70mph (which you need to drive in SoCal) this car wonders a lot. You actually have to hang on a bit. It plain just doesn't feel safe. I am thinking that wider tires will help.

 

If there is too much water on the road to be handled by the grooves, its easier for a narrower tire to push water away to the side. I can't recall where I read about this but it makes sense to me. I think of the aquaplaning risk as a consideration but not a major one, particularly in SoCal where potential aquaplaning conditions are not that common.

I know what you mean about the SoCal highways. At 70 you are at times the slowest vehicle on the road.

I was unhappy with the stability of the OEM tires at higher speeds particularly if here were crosswinds or ridges along the road surface. Things improved quite a bit when I got the Michelins and it no longer seems to be a problem for me.

 

That is good to know that just new 15" tires can fix things. I have the Yokohama Avid S33 tires that it came with. I may just look into that.

 

We own at 2010 w/ 17" wheels. I rent Prius all the time with 15" wheels. The ones I drive with the 15s feel like they accelerate faster. I do get into trouble on exit ramps with the 15s as they do not handle as well as my 17s.

 

We owned a 2010 Prius IV with 15s and now have a 2013 Persona with 17s. Handling is night and day better with the 17s. I don't really notice much if any ride quality differences. There may be other differences you get when you order a car built with the 17s (e.g. shocks, steering, etc.) vs mounting 17s on a car intended for 15s. I really can't say. I will say that our 2010 with 15s got around 3mpg higher than our 2013 with 17s gets - hardly a scientific test, but it is the case (47 vs 44) in SoCal everyday driving. In my mind, the handling and appearance are worth it and I'd do it all over again and probably will.

 

Forgot to mention ride is great with the 17s. We did switch to the tire that Lexus uses on the CT200h which is a Michelin Primacy MXM4. I think the stock Prius Michelin is different.

 

Great to hear good things regarding 17" wheels from owners who actually ride on them. Can't imagine many component differences on Prii with factory 17's and those once purchased. Someone previous said there was a difference in steering for a tighter turning circle.