Tires for 2017 Prius 3 Touring

215/225 is the section width - it won't affect ground clearance

 

Going from 215 to 225 will increase the tire radius, by (225-215)*0.45, ie: 4.5 mm. Not a lot. If you can find tires in the size, 205/50 is almost identical (in radius) to 195/65R15. Very slightly more. 215/45R17 is slightly smaller, something like 1~2 percent. You can check with tire calculators.

My 2 cents, stick with 215/45R17, you're never going to make an off-road vehicle out of the Prius, and 4.5 mm increase is so tiny.

 

As you have suspected, wider tires put more rubber on the ground = slightly more friction. I have 215/45/17 Continental DW. As 'tires' they work well. As base drums they also work too damn well on worn roads. I hate them. I put on Blizzaks this winter and was shocked that they are way quieter, ride better, AND actually get better gas mileage. I'm still running them since I don't want to put the Contis back on. Was doing a lot of research yesterday on quiet tires.

I think I'm going to go 205/50/17 next time. Also looking at those RT 43's. Seem to be a good tire for a good price. Let us know what you think if you put them on. I'd be particularly interested in the noise difference. Hopefully a big improvement. For a Prius I don't think the speed rating will make any difference at all. Never run Ecopias so don't have that comparison.
My 'premium' choice is Michelin Energy Saver A/S for about $50 more/tire.

 

According to this calculations you will have slightly differences in minus.




And in speed will be some differences:

 

Thanks. In my case the original tires were 195/65/15 for 25" diameter. The 205/50/17 is 25.1" on paper. Closer than the 215/45/17 at 24.6".

 

Interesting that that's a link. Here's 15" stock comparison too:


One issue with 205/50: seems like they're always Extra Load (XL)?

 

I had not paid much attention to [Load Rating] variable. Don't see where that would make difference in a purchase decision for a Prius. Speed Rating.....meh, it's a Prius. If I ever go 80, I should not have been. I rarely go 75, downhill, with a tailwind.
Yes, get conditions like that here in the Cascades occasionally. Went ~ 50mph on a bicycle once going down the pass with a strong adiabatic wind behind. Could almost keep up with traffic. Shocked people.

 

An XL tire will typically have stiffer sidewalls, rougher ride. Not a big difference though.

XL Tire Load Rating - Bob Is The Oil Guy

 

Replies on that are all over the map on the real world effect of load rating. Part of the reason I'm going to a 205/50 is to reduce the footprint and increase the sidewall height. I'm hoping that will improve the noise, the mileage, and ride a bit. I'm half tempted to dump the 17" wheels and go back to 15".

Damn, it's hard to pick a 'perfect' tire. You are constantly trying to factor in marketing (BS), and a whole range of opinions, generally on different vehicles and with significant variations in goals. Plus, you can't put them on like shoes and take a walk around the block to see how they do.

 

Yeah the 205/50 is frustrating. All things being equal, the ride should be slightly cushier. Then this gets offset by the stiffer sidewall, due to XL rating. Hopefully it balances out in your favour. You will have a tire that rolls easier, and is closer to stock 15" tire OD. If and when you've had them a while, please update with your impressions.

I went from OEM Michelin Pilot HX MXM4, to Pilot Primacy, stayed with 215/45R17. Took a dismaying mpg hit the first year. Second year, almost back to normal. So much of a hit my fuelly, which I'd got down to 4.9, went back up to 5.0.

 

Darrell. Low rolling resistance tires tend to wear out faster, they are lighter and have less tread depth to begin with.

You will enjoy the General AltiMax RT43. They are a very good all around all season.

The Prius like all electrified front wheel drive cars will wear out tires a bit faster unless you rotate the tires. Stick to rotating the tires every 5,000 to 10,000 miles and they will last long. The instant torque, and regen braking are the cause of the higher wear.

For the best winter ice and snow performance get winter tires and the AWD-e Prius. Second best is your current prius with winter tires like the WS90 or X-Ice3. Third best is your current prius with all-weather tires like the Cross-Climate+ or WeatherReady. Prius is a very good car in traction even with stock tire size and aspect ratio because it has very good traction control. Not so good in the ground clearance department though.

 

I'm not sure that's even partially true?

 

Some references:
Truckinginfo: The Benefits of Low-Rolling-Resistance Tires Explained:
""Not all low-rolling-resistance tires are created equal, so some tires will perform better than others. Some start life with a thinner tread (which gives rise to the sense that you're giving up tread life for fuel economy)"

Edmunds: What You Need To Know About Low-Rolling-Resistance Tires:

"Low-rolling-resistance tires can have less tread life than comparable conventional tires (although some high-performance tires also have terribly short lives). But even then, their fuel savings can help make up for lesser longevity.

Take a set of four low-rolling-resistance tires that costs $500 and has an expected life of 50,000 miles and compare it with a $400 set of conventional tires with a 60,000-mile tread-wear rating.

The 60,000-mile tires sound like a real bargain. But if each set of tires is mounted on a 25-mpg car that's driven 12,000 miles a year, and the low-rolling-resistance tires deliver a 2 percent annual fuel savings, they will save its owner $33.60 a year in gasoline costs if gas is $3.50 a gallon. The low-rolling-resistance tires will have to be replaced after 50 months, while the conventional tires will last 60 months. The total cost of ownership for low-rolling-resistance tires, however, is 8 percent less than for the conventional tires when the fuel savings are taken into account.

As fuel prices rise, or if the gaps between tread-wear ratings and purchase prices are narrower than in that example, the cost premium of low-rolling-resistance tires quickly disappears."

Gas prices are currently at an all-time low, going below $2 per gallon in many regions. PHEVs like the Prius Prime have even greater efficiencies, gas prices would need to drop below $1.8 to be cheaper than electricity from the grid. Thus the above math of gas savings more than paying off the reduced life-span of a LRR tire isn't always true. I prefer to not worry about whether a tire is LRR or not and pick a tire that is superior in wet weather with acceptable snow/ice, quietness, good handling. The difference in MPG between LRR and not LRR tires isn't that great in my experience and not worth choosing at the cost of compromising on these other tire qualities.

 

Thanks for all the thoughts. Still, I'm not sure tires fall so neatly into categories. Grip, rolling resistance and tread wear are all factors yeah, but I don't think they tie to each other with algebraic precision. Too, the manufactures claims (for anything other than tread depth) are dubious. And with rolling resistance, there are some "sleepers", tires that don't even claim LRR, yet do well. And the inverse.