cost and type!! for 4 snowtires+rims

One advantage of buying tires on steel wheels from the tirerack or discounttiredirect is that they include mounting and balancing in the price of the wheels. Be sure to also consider shipping costs and sales tax when comparing internet shipped prices with local prices.

I've priced but haven't yet purchased:
TireRack
Blizzak Revo 1, mounted and road-force balanced on new aftermarket steel wheels
$535 before a $50 MIR through October 12

Costco
Michelin X-Ice, mounted and balanced as often as I want on any wheels I supply
$390 until the $60 off coupons come out, plus the cost of extra wheels if desired (Costco will remount and rebalance the winter tires for free.)
$330 after the $60 off coupons come out, plus the cost of membership.

DiscountTireDirect
Hankook Winter iPike W409, mounted and balanced on new aftermarket steel wheels
$429

If you're really looking to save money you can look for used 15" steel wheels from a 2003 or later Corolla through craigslist, ebay, junkyards, tireshops, or dealers. There are some used wheels out there that are nearly new from owners who quickly upgraded to aluminum wheels. If you like the Goodyear Integrity tires (I'm sorry) the Corolla wheels may come with a fresh set, bad as new. I believe that Matrix, Vibe, TC, and some Celica wheels are compatible, but not available in the 15" size I prefer for snow.

Does anyone know what other vehicles, past or present, use compatible wheels (bolt pattern, offset, centerbore diameter, wheels diameter, width, etc)?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Oct 3 2006, 09:01 PM) [snapback]327668[/snapback]</div>

I don't think you'll do better than tirerack's price. I priced Revos on steel the other day for my wife's new Camry Hybrid, and I think the revos are about 75 each, the wheels 42, and shipping to mn was 80 or less. total about 550. no tax.

I'd recommend you do that, print out the summary page, and take it to whatever local tire stores sell blizzaks. Tell them you'll buy from them if their total price matches tirerack. they won't have shipping, but will have sales tax.

I did that last year (Revos on sport edition wheels, as couldn't find steel wheels) for my Prius, and the local Tires Plus was happy to match the price. In fact, I believe they ordered the stuff from TireRack!

The advantages of doing this are that you have a local place to go in case of problems, and more importantly, they will swap out the snows with your summer tires/wheels twice a year for free!

rpm

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(theorist @ Oct 4 2006, 09:35 AM) [snapback]327764[/snapback]</div>

The Blizzak rebate at TireRack ends Thursday.

Costco coupons start Friday. The coupons are valid October 13-November 2. Usually the $60 discount is also available to members through costco.com. They ship the tires to the warehouse of your choice within a week. You then have a month to go pay for them and have them installed. If we have a long autumn, I imagine I could pay for and pick them up and then have them installed later for better traction and longer tire wear. Our local warehouses offer unlimited free mounting and balancing on snow tires (and your other tires if purchased at Costco.) (A set of excellent Pilot Exalto A/S high performance tires in size 195/65HR15 including mounting, balancing, and seasonal remounting and rebalancing is the same price of $312 plus tax.)

Even if you don't like TireRack or Costco, these sales motivate many independent tire shops to price match.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Oct 4 2006, 06:58 PM) [snapback]328181[/snapback]</div>

No serious problems. Winter tires are designed to give you more grip on the road (for when you hit ice and snow, etc). For that reason, using them year round would most likely result in faster tire wear and a lower MPG due to the increased friction between the tire and the road.

 

I looked into a new set of wheels and winter tires on TireRack a few weeks ago and was rather surprised at their pricing on decent looking alloy wheels. With Dunlop Graspic DS-2's ($63/tire) and Sport Edition F2 alloys ($81/wheel) an entire set comes to $576 -- which sounded pretty impressively decent to me. At $42/wheel from TireRack for steel wheels, it's only an extra $168 for pretty wheels



Even with shipping ($95) the final total is $671. Not bad at all considering that this includes mounting and balancing, I think I payed $50-70 for mounting and balancing last time anyway.

I think we'll get a decent set of tire chains (maybe GoClaws, they looked easier to put on) for now and think about snow tires after a winter here when we know if we need them.

Anyone have quotes on a complete snow tire package with decent wheels from a local place? I was always under the impression that a new set of wheels was $1000++, even used Prius wheels seem to go for $100-120 on eBay.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(onerpm @ Oct 4 2006, 09:47 AM) [snapback]327810[/snapback]</div>

Hi folks, I'm quite new here, as I'm now the head custodian for a 2001 Prius my wife and I bought last month for her use.

I'm in total agreement with onerpm's post, particularly the part about the advantage of a local shop. I've bought tires locally and by mail order, and I've generally found that a good local tire shop can match the mail-order guys price-wise. I'm about to call my main tire guy at Big Bear Tire in Oconomowoc, WI, and see how he does against my favorite mail-order source for Nokian winter tires (the best I've found), www.tirefactory.net. I'm guessing that he'll come pretty close to matching price for the tire/wheel package the tire factory can come up with for Nokian Hakkapelliitas. And if you're looking for a serious snow/ice tire, I suggest you consider Nokian's line. The Finns know snow!

BTW, I have a set of Michelin X-Ice tires for my winter car, an '82 Mercedes 300td. They are fine tires on my heavy Merc, although they don't have quite the lateral grip that the Nokians deliver. But overall a very nice tire, and IME likely to hold up for more seasons than the Bridgestone products

Mr. Graybeard

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(divide @ Oct 10 2006, 01:56 PM) [snapback]330716[/snapback]</div>

I purchased a set of winter tires and aluminum wheels from Tire Rack for just the above reason. (This is my second purchase from Tire Rack and I'm completely impressed with their prices and speed of delivery.) Why go steel, when nice wheels don't add that much to the price?

I went with 185/65R15 WINTERFORCE tires, which are made by Firestone and received excellent reviews on Tire Rack's site. The wheels are Sport Edition E3, painted a metallic dark grey which contrasts nicely with the silver Prius. Tires were mounted and balanced at no extra charge. Also added wheel locks. Chrome lug nuts were included.

Wheels - $84/ea
Tires - $57/each
Locking Nuts (McGard) - $19.95
Shipping - $80.05
Total = $664
Looking frickin awesome on the Prius - Priceless
Ordered = 10/26/06
Received = 10/30/06

Since they just arrived today, I couldn't wait for snow to see what one looks like on the Prius. I think they look great and almost can't wait for snow so I can actually put them on for real! Tire tread appears very aggressive. I weighed the tire and wheel for comparison; Stock = 31.5 lbs. Winter set = 35 lbs. Not much different, although I'm sure rolling resistance is increased considerably. I don't care about that much as I'm concerned with my wife getting stuck with stock tires. Winter MPG will take a hit regardless...

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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Oct 3 2006, 08:01 PM) [snapback]327668[/snapback]</div>

I just bought a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi (185/65R-15) winter tires and steel rims. The total cost (including balancing & installation) from Kal Tire was $1,005CDN. Here's what the Prius looks like with its winter boots on:




The plastic wheel covers do a good job of disguising the steel wheels, IMHO.

BTW, I can confirm what others have noted, i.e., that the TPMS warning light does not come on when wheels are installed that do not have a sending unit.

We received about 2 cm (1 in.) of snow last night, so I had my first chance to test the Nokians. My initial impression is that they are a vast improvement over the stock Integrity all-seasons. With the Nokians, I really had to mash the gas pedal to provoke the TCS into action, whereas with the stock tires, TCS kicked in during even modest acceleration on slick streets. Braking and cornering likewise are significantly improved with the Nokians.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JayGoldstein @ Nov 24 2006, 02:48 PM) [snapback]353758[/snapback]</div>

I have to retract my statement. Roughly four days and 200 km (120 mi) after the winter tires/wheels were installed, the TPMS warning light came on.

Can someone familiar with the operation of the TPMS explain why the light didn't come on right away?

In any case, I'll have to come up with something to block the light.

 

Are the "summer" (OEM) wheels stored close to the car in the garage? If so it can see the sensors and will react to the tire pressure in them.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Nov 25 2006, 05:16 PM) [snapback]354037[/snapback]</div>

The OEM wheels/tires are stored in my basement, which is a long way from where the car is parked.

Here's the chronology:
1) the winter wheels and tires installed Nov. 20th and there was no warning light;
2) the car was used for several short (<20 km/12 mi) trips every day from Nov. 21 to the morning of Nov. 25th with no warning light;
3) on Nov. 25th I took a longer (100 km/62 mi) drive, and toward the end of that drive (and many kilometers from home) the warning light came on.

 

Hey- This is totally of this topic. But I had to ask you, JayGoldstein, where you got that nifty hood protector for your Prius? I want one! What was the cost?
Thank you!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(claylady1 @ Dec 7 2006, 08:57 PM) [snapback]359104[/snapback]</div>

I'm the "other" Jay, but I can tell you that plastic hood thing is readily available from Canadian Toyota dealers. Most of the Duffy's Taxi Prius fleet cars here have them. Most dealers will throw them in, or if not around $100 Cdn if I recall.

 

Wish we had a Tire Rack around here. I went to Tire Barn, and had them order Michelin X-Ice for me. Cost: $118 per tire. Way too much, but I'm rarin' to go when we get that Snowfall!!

 

Bridgestone Blizzak REVOs, black painted steel wheels, mounted, balanced, installed, $600 at local tire shop.