Hello all... I just had my tires rotated (accidentally) with brake service. My concern is that tires plus told me that the 2001 prius needs super high load tires in the front. Is it safe to have a regular load tire in the front? The shop that rotated them told me it makes no difference. Thanks for your help.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(noahjwhite @ Mar 31 2007, 11:28 AM) [snapback]415472[/snapback]</div> Aren't all 4 tires the same? If not, you want the tires with the grippiest tread on the rear.
The Prius doesn't need any kind of "special" tires. The generation 2, for example, weighs less than 3000 lbs plus whatever you put in it, with about 60% of that on the front wheels. So figure under normal conditions less than 1000 lbs on each front tire. I think any passenger car tire of the correct size should be rated at more than that. I don't know the weight or the weight distribution of the earlier, generation 1, Prius but I would be surprised if it were much different. Good quality radial ply tires of the correct size, or even a size larger if you keep the circumference (i.e. revolutions per mile) within 1% or 2%, should be just fine. In other words the tire requirements are no different than for any other small economy car.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Mar 31 2007, 11:44 AM) [snapback]415482[/snapback]</div> Just a note, you actually want the opposite of this. All the tires are the same, and you want them to wear at the same rate (that is why you get them rotated). However, if for some reason you've ended up with two that are in much better shape than the other two, you want the good ones in front. This is true even for rear wheel drive cars, because in cars, motorcycles, and bicycles, all your control comes from the front end, so that is where you need the traction. If you fishtail the rear of the vehicle, you can control it. If you loose traction on the front, you're getting in a wreck. So on all front-steer vehicles (regardless of drive wheels), put the grippiest ones on the front. But honestly, you shouldn't have them be all that different anyway. peace, sam
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(phidauex @ Mar 31 2007, 01:29 PM) [snapback]415536[/snapback]</div> It's a common assumption, but potentially dangerous. Once the rear end breaks loose from an attempted panic stop in the rain or something, though, doesn't matter what tires are on the front, you are basically going to be conducting a physics experiment for a bit. If you have two worn tires, and two better tires, the better ones should go on the rear. http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2001/11/09/032263.html Michelin Says New Rubber Should Always Go On Back Axle Michelin Explains That, When Replacing Two Tires at a Time, the General Rule May Surprise You (and Be Kinder to Your Pocketbook!) LAURENS, S.C., Nov. 9 -- Today at its proving grounds in Laurens, S.C., Michelin settled an age-old question about where to mount the tires when replacing only two at a time. The answer is: the new rubber goes on the rear axle, never on the front! To some people, that seems really weird, given phrases like ``put your best foot forward,'' but in the case of tires, vehicle safety dictates a more demure approach. Michelin says this general rule of thumb for replacing two tires at a time is the same for passenger cars, light trucks and SUVs. The rule includes all drive systems: front- wheel, rear-wheel, all-wheel and four-wheel drive alike.
