Best tires for "off road" ?

A tire which changed your ride height is also going to affect your speedometer, so figure out your real speed before Officer Friendly tells you how fast your were going.

You probably have 185/65r15 tires now.
You could get a Michelin X-Ice Xi2 winter tire which would have a more 'offroad' tread in a 205/70r15 which would a one inch larger diameter, but rotations per mile would be 770 instead of 850 so your speedometer would be off by 9.5% The car would be a 1/2 inch taller.
Michelin X-Ice Xi2
The Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max also come in a 205/70r15 and is a year round tread, same 9.5% error.
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max

 

I wouldn't recommend going to a larger diameter tire as this could negatively affect gas mileage but so many of us do it without harming the vehicle so what the hell.

For the OE size I would suggest the Yokohama AVID Ascend because it offers great traction and comes with a deep tread (12/32) vs. most tires in this size which are 10/22. They have one of the lowest cost per mile ratios as well and mpg is similar to OE.

Your other choices are a 205/70/15 (26.3" and 790 revs/mile) or a 205/65/15 (25.5" and 814 revs/mile). They make the Michelin Defender in boths sizes and the AVID Ascend comes in a 205/65/15. Your OEM tire is approx. 25" in diameter and 829 revs/mile.

 

Oops, just realized I was in the GenII forum!

My points still stand except that your OEM tire is about 24.3" in diameter and 855 revs per mile. So your choices still stand but to play it safe I would stick to a 195/65/15 or 205/65/15 and no larger. The nice person end of the GenII sags and I would be a little worried about clearance issues.

 

And as usual I am one step behind Jimbo. lol

 

I live in a fairly remote area of Oregon. I probably drive a good five miles a day or more on what we consider decent, but most "city folk" would consider fair to "poorish" gravel/dirt roads.

I ran my original Goodyear's for quite awhile. They were not great, but did OK. I am now using Cooper GFE. Noisy, but they have pretty darn good traction on the dirt/mud/rock. No punctures, either.

We don't get a lot of snow/ice, but when we do, the original tires were worthless. The Cooper's are next to worthless (an improvement, but not much of one).

One tip to avoid bottoming.....Most dirt roads develop ruts and crowns. On a small car like a Prius, you can often "sort of" drive in the middle of the road. Have one side of the tires on the "high center" of the road....the other tires in the rut....hope that makes sense...works for me.

 

Good to see you posting again, cyberprius.

I agree the Integritys are garbage. I've been through and tested so many tires now that I consider them a joke compared to all of the other tires I tested.

 

But at least we do not disagree!

 

There are few suggestions that will also maintain LRR. If you really need tough tyres, investigate light truck radials.

 

Thank you F8L. I sort of stayed away for a long while. My AVAST Anti-Virus always said I was getting horribly infected each time I visited in the past year or so. I came back today for parking brake advice. Was surprised at the new look....not sure how I like it....but AVAST likes it very well, so maybe I will be a bit more in "your face" in months to come.

 

There are plenty of LRR tires in the sizes Jimbo and I mentioned. The Michelin Defender comes in all three sizes and the Ascend comes in two. There are lots of options with the 195/65/15. Another advantage to the larger size is increased handling and stability. The 185/65/15 is too small for the Prius. It does offer great mpg, however.

 

Fair enough I wasn't criticising the advice. I've given up equating US tyre with Aussie ones. I was just suggesting that light truck tyres are a good alternative when tough tyres are needed.

 

Shoot, I keep forgetting you are from the land down under. Which reminds me, do they really have a national whore day? I heard about it on the radio today. LOL

 

How often do you need to drive on the rough roads?

BFG All Terrain T/A KO comes in 215/75/15 but your speedo will be 13% off and might have rubbing issues if it even works on a 15x6 inch wheel

 

Not that I know of. There are some truly repulsive sexist attacks on our female Prime Minister. Maybe that's what is was about?

 

I'm currently running 215/70R15 BFG Advantage TA and couldn't be happier. Super quiet on road, way better handling characteristics both wet and dry due to the increased width and AS rating, and virtually eliminated road noise and harsh ride characteristics both on and off road.

 

Got your lift kit in the mail and am stoked!

Don't want to be that person, but I guess I will go ahead and be them.... What kind of MPG are you seeing with the BFGs?

Would you say there is a 'happy middle-ground tire' that gets at least .5" height without the 10% mpg hit?

 

Nice! Stoked you ordered a kit! I've gone through 5 or 6 sets of tires since the BFG since I whole heartedly believe in being able to give first hand experience to customers in guiding them in tire decisions. I averaged 42mpg fairly regularly and that was giving moderate thought to fuel consumption. If i was throwing care to the wind i would typically see right around 40mpg. If you're more concerned about fuel economy but still plan on spending some time off road and occasionally in snow then the General Altimax RT43 is a good choice as well as the Yokohama Avid Ascend GT or LX. Size wise "middle ground" I would shoot for 26" overall diameter (ie. 215/65R15). Keep in mind anytime you opt for a non LRR tire you will have a decrease in MPG regardless if you change size or not. If you aren't concerned with MPG and are hell bent on going with a dedicated AT tire I am really loving the Toyo Open country ATiii currently on my Gen 4 AWDe, but it is a 215/65R16 which I think is the best size if you want to run the biggest diameter possible. The 16" wheel with a 27" overall diameter tire is a perfect blend of increased sidewall without resulting in excessive sidewall flex on road. It also opens up the door for a whole lot more tire options. The biggest struggle going this route is finding the ideal wheel specs (offset, weight, backspacing, width, etc.). I ended up ordering the Sparco Assetto Gara in a 16x7 ET +35 and think this is ideal for the GEN 4. For the GEN 3 I would suggest something 2-3mm narrower ET.

 

Reviving this thread as I now am in the process of looking for a good off-road tire for my Prius.

I run a Gen 3 with the Lift Kit. Very happy after the lift kit, because I take my Prius everywhere! Recently spent 5 months driving all around Mexico, and never had any issues with crazy big speed bumps, pot holes, or dirt roads. People everywhere were asking me how my Prius could survive down there, meanwhile I went places the local taxis couldn't even go.

While I've been happy running Michelin CrossClimates, I think I need to get a set of All Terrain tires. I actually live up a steep dirt road, and now that my tires have a bit of wear on them, I'm peeling out up the gravel driveway.

I'm fine with sacrificing a little bit of MPG to ensure that I can make it up my driveway smoothly, and have a smoother ride overall on rough terrain. I think an upsize would also be nice. One thing I worry about as I read reviews of All Terrain tires is the rough ride on highway. Obviously, we all want a smooth ride as much as possible, and while I do spend a bit of time on really rough roads, I also log days of highway miles!

Currently I am looking at either the Yokohama Geolander A/T, or the Avid Ascend LX, both at 205/70R15. Thoughts on either of these choices? Will I sacrifice a lot of highway comfort from the Geolanders, or do you think the Avids will perform fairly well on rough roads?
Do you think this size is a good choice to get a small lift without going overboard?

Muchos gracias! Also to PriusOffRoad, I'll be placing an order for your Skid Plate very shortly.