Yet another Prius C tires thread.....

I have not fully updated my list of favorites but two I consider are Yokahama Avid and Michilen. Someone wrote about having poor economy with the Energy Saver tires but recently I rode a set on a non-hybrid Ford Fusion and that was not only comfortable with a sure feel but got nearly 30mpg on an all-gas larger car. As for Yokahama Avid, the Ascension seems to be their current offering. They have construction that sticks to the pavement better than most. I think it comes down to looking at the tread and quality test ratings for a tire. No need to change size. Don't be convinced by sales people, but you are on the right track that economy is a matter of, uh, economies.

 

I would stick to the OEM size as listed in the manual on page 498. Sure you could go 185/60 but the speedo will be off for sure. As far implications of that, I am not sure. I'm looking around at tires as well. I decided on ecopia 422 plus. I have the older 422's, and they are great. Road noise is minimum (I live in Arlington/Dallas, constant construction everywhere). I drive 80 miles round trip to work every day. So comfort,handling, and road noise are my three things I looked at. I keep all my tires inflated at 35 psi, and average 47MPG at the pump. I'll take comfort (lower psi) over a few MPG any day.

Look into a mid body brace, I have one and it keeps the car tracking straight with little to no input corrections.

It's been about 60 days since you posted OP, so don't know if my input will help in case you already made up your mind.

 

I have a mid chasis brace.

Similar to this.

Prius"C" 2012 16 "Box Beam"Mid Under Chassis Stiffening Brace"New Custom"Rude person's | eBay

It doesn't help with the weight of the steering, but helps out greatly with getting the car to feel tighter over all and improving directional changes. My next step is to get a yaris TRD rear sway bar to improve the handling even more.

 

This discussion is dead, but as i was also searching for same question, can I replace 175/65/R15 with 185/65/R15 ? did you switched to 185/65/R15 ? how is the experience ?

 

185/65R15 is 2% smaller than stock. Your speedometer and odometer will read 2% higher than normal. Fuel economy will suffer a little extra at higher speed.

2.0% variation from the stock baseline is the commonly-accepted limit. Beyond that you start to get into trouble with gear ratios and brake performance. If there’s something about these tires that makes them particularly desirable, it may be worth the trade-off.

 

In my country 175/65/R15 is not available in either Bridgestone or Yokohama, Only Dunlop SP Touring T1 is available in 175/65/R15 that is why i want to change size
I know the other difference, My main concerns are Fuel Economy and car stability

 

I think you’re safe from a stability standpoint, you’ll take a minor economic hit during higher-speed travel and for what it’s worth I agree with your reasoning to change. Availability is a big deal.

 

15x9 -15 ET
195/50/r15