GET YOUR DEDICATED SNOW TIRES NOW !!!

Snows came off almost a month back now. I gotta mow the lawn before it gets outa control.

 

Yeah, wasn't expecting substantial amount of snow this late. Some local got up to 20 inches today. We were lucky with only 8 inches and no power outage. I didn't bother to put the snow tires back on my new 2020 PRIME when I bought it at the end of Feb. Both my son's and my wife's cars still got snows. My son is an essential worker so, it was good he kept it on. But after this melt, I will change them.

 

If you put the snows back on that pretty much guarantees an unseasonal heat wave.

 

I'm down to almost exactly 6/32" on all four snow tires. Pressure is still good, 38-40PSI all around. We had a couple huge late season snow storms recently, but now it's unlikely that it will snow anymore this season. It's time to decide if I leave them on to use them up, or swap them out.

The tires weren't performing too well in the recent storms. That could be either reduced plowing due to coronavirus, or the tires being worn, or a combination of those things. So I don't think I'd want to run them much/any of next winter. But now that I'm hardly driving, I'm not sure if it makes sense to leave them on for the summer. I probably won't be able to get them down to the wear bars this summer. And if I'm still not driving much next winter, it might not make sense to invest in new snow tires. Snow tires at 6/32 would be better than all seasons at 6/32.

I'm still looking for any end of season deals on snow tires. Let me know if you find any good ones.

 

How a timely topic. The photo was taken this morning. No snow tires on my PRIME.
I had to check something in my office today but had to drive my wife's SUV which still has snow tires.

 

When I was purchasing my 2018 Prime in 6/18, I heard about the 4 WD version scheduled for 2019.
I wonder about the other = perhaps the most important one= stopping power. The AWD can get you up and running,
but how about stopping?

I purchased a set of X-Ice Winter tires for my 2011 which I continued to use on my 2015. Those tires got me through
anything (unless I got hung up).

I early 2018,my X-ices were wearing a bit thin. We had a mild winter up until mid January 2018 so I left
the factory tires on. A bitty snow storm came up, and I had to go visit a customer the next town over.
Although it was maybe at most 2" of snow, it was a white knuckle ride. After my meeting, I got in my
2015 Prius and had a difficult time negotiating a small incline out of the driveway.

I have driven many FWD vehicles over the years and never had a problem. I would guess that it is the low rolling resistance tires
are the problem. I installed the old X-Ice tires on and left them there to finish them off until trade in time in June (I put the factory tire on at trade in time).

So I would presume that AWD will be helpful in getting the car moving forward, but what about stopping?
I searched the forum, but didn't see any discussion about this.

 

You are right, AWD doesn't help with stopping. The system is only engaged under very limited conditions while accelerating.

Tires seem to get much worse in snow below about 4/32-5/32" of tread depth. The factory tires come with very little tread, so you could be close to that within a year. And your worn X-ices could be below that.

I have no problem getting anywhere I need to go with 2WD and good tires. They probably won't make an AWD Prius Prime anyway (it's only available on the standard Prius).

 

Not on Prius, but it seems obvious.

 

It was the factory tires that preformed poorly, that was the last winter for these X-ices. There were fine in snow right until the end, they seem to lower the gas mileage by ~3mpg though.

 

Last winter I ran my steel wheel set without hub rings. Does anyone know if thats ok. The two sets I ordered were the wrong size and I gave up. Everything that winter seemed fine.

Should I go another season without them?

 

Only the Toyota alloy wheels are hub-centric. Steel wheels are lug-centric (at least all that I've seen). This includes the Toyota steel wheels I've owned. So...if you have lug nuts with the correct taper to match the taper seats in the steel wheels, that will correctly center those wheels.

I don't trust the small taper on the lug nuts for the Toyota alloy wheels. I know, some have used them all winter, but the very small contact surface looks to me like they're made just for bolting on a compact spare to get to a tire shop. (The lug nuts for Toyota alloy wheels are the same basic design for all Toyotas that I've owned.)

 

Okay thanks. I do have separate lugs for my winter set that are tapered!

 

I've never purchased winter/snow tires before.

Both my Prime and my 2007 Gen 2 before it did pretty well in the snow on their stock all seasons. It helps to have a light foot and think ahead, or simply avoid non-essential trips when the weather sucks. Clearance is the main problem. Saying that, I picked my Mum up from DIA during a late season blizzard several years back and passed 4x4 SUVs that had driven off the road...

However, this year I may consider it.

I also just did a road trip that entailed driving on a lot of gravel/dirt roads in Utah (Moki Dugway, Bears Ears). I had a spare with me, but kept worrying about getting a flat. There were some places I wanted to explore, but driving 30 miles on dirt roads with plenty of goad head burrs but no cell coverage in 100 degree heat kind of spooked me. Next time though I'd like to adventure further.

I'm wondering if there is some kind of heavy duty/all terrain tire that would serve both winter/snow and some light off roading? Something with a thicker/deeper tread that would give good traction off road, or on snow, and minimize the chance of getting a flat? I mean rally cars drive off road all day and they aren't SUV's. I wonder what amateur rally drivers use on their cars?

Anyone know of something that would work as a spare set for these conditions. The cheaper the better. Thanks!

 

If you get a set of 4 standard winter tires, you could carry one of them as a full size spare. You won't ruin it using it as a temporary spare, even in summer, and even if you drive hundreds of miles on it. I've had my winter tires on all summer, and the wear isn't much faster than during the winter.

I don't see any all terrain options in the stock 15" or 17" size. There's not really any market for off road tires for a Prius. Tire rack shows a few all season tires that are 3pmsf rated.

You should probably just buy the best quality tires you can afford. On my Toyota 4runner I have Michelin LTX MS2 tires which are closer to a highway tire than all terrain. They are P-rated not LT, so they are not heavily reinforced. But I've pushed the limits on all kinds of dirt roads, including sharp rocks and some rock crawling, and besides accelerated wear and a few chunks of tread missing, I haven't severely damaged them. They also did great in snow until recently when they wore down to 4/32". They were as good as the dedicated winter tires on the Prius to be honest. The closest thing for the Prius would be the Michelin Defenders.

I think you'll find the limit of the car's ground clearance long before you find the limit of the tires. I've been to that area of Utah, and a Prius would not be my choice for exploring off pavement. On that trip I drove a friend's Subaru Crosstrek, which had just enough capability to get everywhere we wanted to go. My 4runner would be even more comfortable, but the extra gas adds up on a 1000+ mile round trip from Denver.

 

"...buy the best quality tires you can afford."
That casts too wide a net. How does one define best quality tires? What criteria?

Tirerack's web site is a great resource. Under Grand Touring All Season customer reviews the four top snow performers in our size are the Firestone WeatherGrip (Bridgestone product), Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady, Michelin CrossClimate+, and Vredestein Quatrac5 (Apollo Tyres of India). All four of these are certified for Severe Snow Service with the snowflake-on-mountain symbol. Consumer Report says that these all-weather tires are superior in snow to all-seasons, but no better on ice. The Michelin Defender T+H is considered a standard touring all-season and ranks lower in snow but tied for second in tread life.

I live in the Pacific Northwet. Wet pavement traction is most important to me. With that criteria my choice may be different from someone who considers snow traction or tread life or low rolling resistance most important to them.

 

- a reputable brand. Not LingLong Crosswind (although the name is awesome) or Sentury or other discount brands
- one that gets good reviews for durability of the overall tire (not just tread)
- one that is most suitable for the application. There are obviously tradeoffs here.

 

It's feels odd looking at this thread as the local high temperature is supposed be 108F the next couple of days.

 

I found some early season deals:

X-Ice XI-3 without eco focus, $83 each.
https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=X-Ice+Xi3&partnum=965TR5XI3XLOS

X-Ice XI-3 with Green-X, $105 each/ $85 each after rebate
https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=X-Ice+Xi3&partnum=965TR5XI3XL

New Michelin X-Ice Snow, $439 installed at Costco after $110 off. Promotion ends 8/30.

I'm considering jumping on the Costco deal this weekend. It's a little early for snow tires, but it will usually snow by mid October. So if I pick the latest installation appointment they let me, it might not be terribly early. Or I could swap the summer wheels back on until the first threat of snow, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

I've had the Blizzak WS80s on all summer, and they are down to 4-5 /32nds based on a quick check. I need to measure in several places, and figure out how many more miles I put on them (probably a few thousand since my last update). Oddly the center of the rears seems to be wearing faster, so maybe the pressure is too high. I had ridiculously fast wear using them over the winter, but it didn't really get much faster during the summer. I don't think hot weather is necessarily as bad for snow tires as common wisdom suggests.

I'm thinking of cloning my TPMS sensors and having the new cloned sensors installed in my winter wheels. That way I can still swap wheels myself, but I don't have to find a tire shop that's willing to ignore the TPMS light.

 

I found some early season deals:

X-Ice XI-3 without eco focus, $83 each.
https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=X-Ice+Xi3&partnum=965TR5XI3XLOS

X-Ice XI-3 with Green-X, $105 each/ $85 each after rebate
https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=X-Ice+Xi3&partnum=965TR5XI3XL

New Michelin X-Ice Snow, $439 installed at Costco after $110 off. Promotion ends 8/30.

I'm considering jumping on the Costco deal this weekend. It's a little early for snow tires, but it will usually snow by mid October. So if I pick the latest installation appointment they let me, it might not be terribly early. Or I could swap the summer wheels back on until the first threat of snow, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

I've had the Blizzak WS80s on all summer, and they are down to 4-5 /32nds based on a quick check. I need to measure in several places, and figure out how many more miles I put on them (probably a few thousand since my last update). Oddly the center of the rears seems to be wearing faster, so maybe the pressure is too high. I had ridiculously fast wear using them over the winter, but it didn't really get much faster during the summer. I don't think hot weather is necessarily as bad for snow tires as common wisdom suggests.

I'm thinking of cloning my TPMS sensors and having the new cloned sensors installed in my winter wheels. That way I can still swap wheels myself, but I don't have to find a tire shop that's willing to ignore the TPMS light.

 

Interesting. I didn't know Xice-3 came without eco focus. I thought all of them are GreenX. Of course, the link you posted at Tirerack shows the photo of $83 Xice with Green-X logo on the sidewall.

Michelle has raised the price last year and I have not seen really good deals recently. For my two sets of Xice-3 I purchased two years ago, I was able to get a set of 4 installed at less than $200. I have not seen that kind of deal lately. I still have 9/32 tread left on my three years old Xice. I should be OK at least two more winters.