Getting close to buying

Winter driver here. Been stuck once on my driveway. Had to get pulled out. This winter, I've not had any problems. I've read many threads about how much tires help and am considering getting a set for next winter. The low resistance tires are great for MPG during the warmer months, so I'll keep these for warmer month rotations.

In case MPG is of concern to you, I get approx. 60 MPG in warmer temps and 43 MPG in colder climate. My commute is very short (15 minutes). If yours is longer than this, your mileage should improve from my experience.

All in all I appreciate this car and have enjoyed ownership of this vehicle immensely more than any other car I've owned. And I say this even though I've had a consistent inexplicable, atypical noise that my dealer cannot seem to fix.

 

I know exactly what you mean. IU live in Denver and also have read a lot about the traction control system. Going from an AWD Subaru might be a big change for you. Let me know if you find out anything.

 

I haven't read through this entire thread (since I live in the DC area, where Fear of Snow causes more trouble than most actual snow storms), but maybe it will help if you haven't already seen it:

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-main-forum/41439-prius-cold-climates.html

 

I currently have bridgestone blizzaks on steel wheels on my prius, it hurts the fuel economy greatly but I get great low-temperature winter traction. I've also used Yokohama ice guards and Michelin X-ice in the past and they all work great. Winter tires use a softer grade of rubber to stay soft in very low temperatures, just as performance tires use harder rubber to operate at very high temperatures and high speeds.

Here's the rule of thumb regarding winter tires:

RWD car + snow tires = FWD winter performance
FWD car + snow tires = AWD winter performance
AWD car + snow tires = 4x4 truck winter performance
4x4 truck + snow tires = Abrams tank winter performance

Pirelli and Dunlop also sell winter tires, but they are more for performance winter driving, i'd avoid those because their winter traction is questionable.

 

there was no tire pressure system avail for the prius back in 2005,

you can use any steel or aluminum wheel for the prius that is a 5x100 bolt pattern, 15" or 14" would work fine, 13" wheels may not have enough clearance to fit over the front brake calipers.

Tire pressure monitors are only needed for a car you buy your wife or daughter, you should be able to glance at your tires and visually see when they are low on air, or just use a gauge. If you are that worried you can even inflate your winter set with nitrogen like airplane tires, N2 will lose pressure much more slowly than O2.

however, using non-oem wheels for 4 winter months will cause a newer prius to have an annoying tire-pressure warning light to come on, take it to the dealership to have the system shut off for the winter, and ask a technician how to activate and deactivate the system yourself. (or maybe the directions are posted on this forum somewhere)

one of my favorite benefits of snow tires is that it allows you to run your regular tires down to the bone (1/32"). If you have all-season tires you need at least 5/32" to hopefully survive the winter. This is why if you look on ebay motors you see a lot of perfectly good used all-season tires being sold by canadians, this is because 5/32" of tread left for someone living in Atlanta is fine but not enough to survive a Canadian winter.

 

Have you seen this thread? Guys from Fairbanks and Winnipeg share some of their winter experience here.

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-technical-discussion/41715-outside-temperature-range-22f-min.html

 

Hmmm, snow... Oh yeah, I think I saw some of that stuff on TV once.

I've noticed that it's not unusual to see a ski rack on top of a Prius here in the bay area though.

Z.