Is anyone else having problems with the tire size on the new Prius? The 19" option on the XSE/XLE trims and up comes with a 195/50 R19. I live in a northern climate and use all-weather(not all-season) tires so I don't have to switch between summer and winter tires. Not only can I not find all-weather tires in this size, I can't find ANY tires in this size, even from Toyo's website(the announcement cars are wearing Toyo Extensa A/S II). I have to assume the 17" option on the SE/LE trims is also on a 195 wheel, which is only a slightly less rare tire size to find(but still impossible to find in the best all-weather tire options - Nokian WRG4, Hankook Kinergy 4S2, Michelin CrossClimate 2). I'm starting to think I'm going to end up having to immediately buy a set of alternate wheels to get both the car and tires I want and then hope there's no tire/body/frame interference. A little annoying considering how much I otherwise love the new gen5. Also annoyed that the US doesn't seem to be getting the gold color that looks so good on the car. (Planning on getting a Prime XSE Premium in mustard(or not) with the solar roof, panoramic view monitor, advanced park, rear seat heater, and maybe the digital rearview mirror. May seem like option overkill, but I've been driving a base-level silver 2010 Prius II for 12 years; I think I'm due for some upgrades. )
Ok, I found some discussion about tire size buried in the livestream thread(search function didn't find it when I first looked). Looks like a limited selection of winter tires might be available if you import from Japan, but no all-weather or domestically easily available.
Figure out the outside diameter of that 19” tire for starters; you want your snow tires to roughly match that. Then look for common snow tire sizes. It’s possible a 15” rim will still fit. I’m using a 15” rim that was used on older Corollas (with 195/65R15 snows), on our 3rd gen, even though our car came with 215/45R17 all-seasons. But yeah if you opt for 15" rim you'd want to verify clearance.
It is 26.7 inch. Which is about 2 inches larger than the current Prius wheels and tires. Tire Size Calculator That includes suggestions for alternative sizes of near the same size, including different wheels. Staying with the 19" OEM wheel may limit options depending on its width. Smaller wheels other more choices for tires closer to the 195 width. IIRC, the 17" tire size is 195/65R17. For the ecomodders, the 175/64R19 of the i3 should fit. 0W16 oil was uncommon at first. The 0w8 the new Prius will very likely be hard to find. This changed in time. Same will happen for tires. Doesn't help for those looking for snows now. There are Autosocks listed for the alternative tire sizes that should work. AutoSock
The 195 width is the true problem. It will all work itself out, but it's just a little annoying to get so excited about the reveal, decide on the model, trim, and color, only to find out the color you want isn't going to be available in the US, and it's going to be a pain to get the tires sorted while keeping the look of the car intact. The excitement dies by a thousand papercuts. Oh well, still excited, still love it, still getting one.
i just don't want 19" wheels period. i'll have to live with 17 and the lower package, but i'm happy with my 15's. toyota did the same thing with the newest hycam
I wonder what the 17" size is; should be close to that diameter. Assuming the tire sizes are a done deal...
These aren't low profile tires like some of the renders had. The efficiency gains would have been less if Toyota had kept the same size. The larger diameter means less revolutions of the wheel per mile. Which translates to lower speed of the engine and/or motor. Putting on larger diameter tires is seen with ecomodders. The wheel and tire sizes weren't chosen by Toyota for just looks. It's 27 inches. Going by the what the available sizes are at the calculator site, a change to something more common for the market will likely have a negative impact on efficiency, as most are wider tires.
I really like everything about the new Prius, except the tire size. I have accepted the larger tires will be more expensive, but my concern is the usual mainstream tire suppliers like Costco don’t carry this size or any of the smaller diameter comparables. Will this change in the coming months, or will we be forced to get them from the dealer? I would have preferred if they kept a common 17” standard size instead (on the higher trims). Also, a bit concerned about how to get winter tires, as they are pretty necessary in Canada.
Wouldn’t 17” tires still fit on the higher trim models? Hopefully so, because then you’d have both options for winter tires and future all season sets down the line.
From that calculator, likely 195/65R17. Wonder what's available in that; will take a boo. Addendum: Or maybe 225/55R17? About the only one I could find, that's 17" rim and 27" OD. Maybe: the tire sizes will change, from these prototype cars??
But they are common size tires. In Japan. Early on, getting snows and replacements will be a hardship, but it isn't the same case as the i3. That car had tire sizes unique to it. Here there is a selection of tires, just not here yet. Did you mean the 17 inch wheels from the lower trim? Unless the higher trims are getting bigger brake rotors, they will fit. Tires aren't the same size as on the current Prius 17 inch wheels. The new tires are as wide as the old ones, they have a taller sidewall. The overall diameter is about 2 inches bigger than on the current model. Even the 17 inch size tires are hard to come by here. Going to the current Prius tire size should be possible, but there is several buts. Odometer and speedometer will need to be adjusted. It will lower the ground clearance. It will hurt efficiency. I spotted a 215 for the 17 inch rim there. Probably the best option to limit efficiency reduction. Toyota could decide to go with a tire size more readily available in North America for here. There is an US event in a couple weeks. We'll get more info on the car then.
Dang...the tire issues here concern me. For an 'economy' car, we should not have to jump through hoops to find reasonably priced tires...etc! And I was hoping Michelin Crossclimate 2's would be able to fit ( I absolutely love them on our other vehicles ). Appears doubtful that CC2's will fit the new Prius. Arg...
I would hope that Toyota has already talked with some tire manufacturers about this before releasing a vehicle with this stock equipment; I know I searched several large tire retailers and some top tire manufacturers I could think of, and NONE had 195/50R19 listed as an available size. Wouldn't surprise me if Toyota is starting a new trend with large and (relatively) narrow wheels for increased efficiency, just as they did with bringing hybrid technology mainstream in the first place ~20 years ago....
I am sure the dealer will have the 195/50R19 tire at the parts department or will be able to get it overnight from the warehouse. TOYO EXTENSA A/Sᴵᴵ 195/50R19 is not yet listed on the Toyo website. TOYO EXTENSA A/Sᴵᴵ
One technical stumbling block I found, it seems hard to search for a specific tire size. Once the car's released, in the databases, then it's easy to bypass, just searching by vehicle.
