Tires for the Prius

You really should SEARCH the forum for this. Tires have been discussed and debated to death, and there are hundreds of posts which compare and contrast every possible tire and wheel for the Prius. It's really easy to find opinions on this topic.

 

Here is a good thread on the subject that includes a spreadsheet for comparison.

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=16108&hl=

 

i hit 47,000 miles a month ago, replaced the OEM (for which i only one complaint, wandering) with the recommended Falkens, hated them, traded up to goodyear comforttreds, ok but lots of wandering, as bad as the previous 2 sets, traded up again (bless discount tires!) to goodyear assurance tripiltreds (sp?) and i LOVE them, almost no wandering anymore, i can't believe it...by wandering i mean that inablility to maintain a steady center line that most of us (not everyone, strangely enuf) report, without struggling with constatnt steering wheel corrections.
currently discouttiredirect.com has the 195X65X15 size on sale for $85, and so when i traded up i actually got a credit.
i just drove on the new tires to vegas and back from san diego, and it was great.
the only problem is changing tire size changes the speed and mpg figures, and i don't recall in what way they change. anyone?
somewhere there is a calculator that shows the changes, i reckon i'll start searching for it.
anyway, i do recommend the triples, big time.

 

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
tells me that i need to multiply my current readout by 2.1%, 60 mph is actually 61.3. mpg was 43 for the trip on tripletreds, going 80 all the way both ways. too fast, i know, couldn't help it, big contrast with my normal driving style, 63 mph, hugging the slow lane, always getting 50 plus mpg. car was wonderful at speed, crosswinds, semi-trucks, rough pavement, rain, cozy and warm and quiet. i did notice tire noise on one stretch of pavement only, seemed to be cement, looked normal, but there was quite a big noise.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mister banjo @ Apr 14 2006, 12:42 PM) [snapback]239822[/snapback]</div>

The most popular tires are goodyear TripleTred's, Goodyear ComfortTred's, The Michelin X Tire from Costco, and The Michelin HydroEdge (which is Michelin's Premium tire). The TripleTred's and The HidroEdges are probably best for handling and centerfeel at speed. There is $40 off on Goodyears and $50 on HydroEdges right now. If you check around, the Energy Tire doesn't have very good reviews.

I have the HydroEdges and they have great centerfeel, fantastic in rain, and so far mileage seems little affected. The have a 90K Warranty

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(artie @ Apr 14 2006, 04:01 PM) [snapback]239906[/snapback]</div>

Artie, did you by any chance get an alignment at some point?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Begreen @ Apr 16 2006, 09:59 AM) [snapback]240511[/snapback]</div>

yes, twice, once at around 5K miles and then again at 10K...tho not specifically for wandering, but to center the steering wheel. which they never successfully did. toe-in and so on was checked and was reported to me as normal.

 

I've given up on Michelins as over-hyped but average-performing tires. I can't believe that folks line up to pay $20, 30, or even 50 more per tire for the Michelin name! I've owned many Michelins over the last 20 years. At first they were definitely a cut above, but maybe the other makers just caught up.

In my area, rain and road noise are the problems to overcome. The Goodyear Comfortreds do an excellent job on both. Walmart sells them for about $77 per tire, so they are value leaders as well.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(artie @ Apr 16 2006, 11:40 AM) [snapback]240544[/snapback]</div>

Ah, ok. I was wondering if they tweaked the toe-in a bit at some point. Sounds like they didn't.