New Wheels/Tires- Bye bye OEM

I found the CrossClimate2s to give good performance in snow without the excessive noise of real snow tires. Within 10,000 miles, they were almost to the wear bars.

I went back to Defenders because of the resistance to hydroplaning. They aren't as good in the snow.

 

Well, that's a little disappointing to hear!

 

It certainly was. I had a leak from a prior patch and ended up replacing them all.

I was OK with lower efficiency; ultra low rolling resistance tires can be a bit miserable in wet cold and snow. I was also OK with a middling UTQG rating because I was just using them as winter tires anyway. Did I scrub away tens of thousands of miles of rubber by conserving momentum through turns?

Yes, it could be my fault. Here's to you doing better.

 

Really? This would explain why those annoying "your speed is" radar signs don't match up with what my car speed says!!

 

I've recently moved to a place where I'm very unlikely to encounter much winter (but lots of sand and lots of water), so the CC2's seemed like a great choice due to the water properties, and having a decently grippy tread pattern. Sure hope they manage to last me a few years, though!

 

That and you're going 10 over?

 

I've had some bad experiences with aftermarket wheels. I put some on my '66 Mustang and while they looked great, they had just a bit more offset so every time I hit a larger bump/pothole, the sidewall brushed against the fender. I also had a '78 Skyhawk which never really fit the lug pattern (had a washer with an offset that made them universal) and the shop was never able to balance the rim/tires.

I feel your pain with the low profile tires, but I'd probably put a set of earlier year Prius wheels on it. Something that holds the 195/65r15s. I wouldn't change the overall tire outside diameter either. Even if I wanted better ground clearance, I wouldn't want to mess with the gear ratios and speedometer/odometer being wrong.

 

I don't believe that's an option for him. The new Prius has a different bolt pattern. I wonder if any Camry wheels would work.

 

Maybe. I looked it up a few months ago and the LE also has a 195/60R17 size. Maybe get a set of salvage LE wheels. That size should have more tire options, availability, and be less prone to damage with hitting a bump in the road.

 

BTW, had to do some highway driving today, and checked the odometer vs the mile makers over a 50mi distance. It appears that it is off by 6.7%, w/ the 215/65R17 tires (vs the stock 195/60R17). The math predicted it'd be 6.8%, so it pretty much matches up with the calculation. Nice to know that my reduced MPG isn't quite as bad as being reported by the dash. Dash reported 48.9mpg over a 135mi trip, so that's actually closer to 52 mpg. No complaints!

 

That's great! I would like to change the tire size to 205/55/17 or 215/55/17 when the stock tires wear out.

 

I suspect that may be a sweet spot between a bit of added width, but not eating too much into your MPG. I needed something a bit taller, and was unable to find any 205R17's in a 65 or 70 profile. I'm not at all unhappy w/ the 215's, but I get a kick out of getting really awesome MPGs, so it stings a tiny bit, Lol. (But, the overall effect on the practicality of the extra ground clearance provided by the taller tire takes the win for me!)

 

And I would be considering the narrower i3 tires for better fuel efficiency, if I had a gen5.

 

Given the very clear effect that tire choice has on MPG, I wonder if anyone has tried a skinny little wagon wheel like that on a Gen5 Prius?? I suspect handling and acceleration would kinda suck, but I bet the MPGs would be even more impressive!

 

Why not on your Subaru Outback?

 

After 15,000 miles I decided that I couldn't stand the Toyos anymore. They were just comically bad at keeping any semblance of traction on both wet and dry pavement.

I replaced the 195/50R19s with Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 225/50R18 on 18x7.5 Enkei wheels from Tire Rack. I really wanted bronze wheels, but they didn't have any in that size.

 

My first 500 mile road trip with the new tires, including some mountain passes, is behind me, and these are my impressions: 1) road noise at highway speeds appears slightly attenuated, but it's certainly not a night and day scenario. Above 80 mph on Californa's less than pristine highways, the Prius is still not a luxury ride.
2) handling and especially cornering are significantly improved. The car feels more planted and holds the road very well. 3) fuel economy- my not very scientific estimate is a 5% reduction. I have not paid that much attention to the mpg before the tire change, but have done the same trip starting with a full tank several times, and have at least a rough idea how much gas was left in the tank upon returning home.

 

I totally agree with your points 1 and 2 (even with the higher profile of my 215's, the cornering feels much improved and more responsive), and your #3 is not far off my slightly more rigorous (but still not truly scientific MPG measurement.