Just purchased a 2010 Prius. I'd like to have snow tires & wheels for the winter. I have a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta with snow tires now. I read somewhere that these will fit my Prius. I'd love to use them instead of buying new wheels and tires. I believe that they have the same bolt pattern (5x100). The size is marginally different (195-65-15 vs. 195-55-15). Can anybody shed light on whether it's possible to make this swap and whether it is a good or bad idea? Thank you.
If the bolt pattern is the same, the remaining two variables are the hub size and the wheel offset. You can measure both, and if they allow a fit with the proper offset, then you should have no problem. As for the difference in tire sizes, from the Tire Rack specs for Michelin X-Ice (may not be your brand, but the numbers should be typical and especially relative to each other in size): 195/65R15 25" diameter, 832 revolutions/mile 195/55R15 23.4" diameter, 888 revolutions/mile Compared to the larger tire, the smaller tire should provide you with about 1/2-3/4" ground clearance (overall diameter under load is hard to predict), and the speedometer will read faster than you are actually going. Assuming your speedometer is correct for 195/65R15 (and most read high from the factory), then with the smaller tire the wheels will turn faster for a given speed and the speedometer will read faster than it does now, by a factor of (888-832)/832 or 6.7% higher.
