Hello everyone! I'm in Michigan and currently driving a Gen 1 (2002) Prius base model w/options like navigation and a cool upgraded sound system! However one tire has bad belts and all four are mismatched and no name brands with decent similar tread. So I'm researching current tire options! I see threads on GEN 1 tires online and here that may to be out of date or incomplete, so I hope you all will participate! That way we can get an idea whats currently working and avoid bad tires in 2019! Also whats the scoop on 85 Load index (which is 1,124 lbs Max Load) alot of people use tires with 81-82 load index (lower then adequate according to Toyota's specs) anyone want to chime in ??? Let's Go: 1.) What: New set of Tires for Gen 1 Prius 2.) Conditions: Michigan in town, wet and dry, pot holes, bad roads, highway and long distance road trips. Possibly light snow (then switch to winter tires if necessary!) 3.) Preferences in order of priority: Traction, Good handling in wet and dry cond., quiet, smooth, mpg I prefer a QUIET ride with good handling & cornering in dry and wet conditions. If I had to choose between performance and response and smooth and luxury I'd chose performance and response! I can put on a separate set of snow tires for winter but I need good wet handling as well! 4.) UPSIZE a.) Upsizing Wheel and / Tires My neighbor has a set of defenders on nice 15" wheels for me but not sure if it's possible to use?? Has anyone ever upsized the GEN 1 Wheels and Tires to 15" ? I'd be going from 175/65/14 to 195/65/15 My forum buddy Jim said that's 2" b.) OEM vs Upsized TIRES Can you please suggest good tires that are decent for quiet, good handling and mpg !!! There's nothing wrong with my 14" set of wheels so I'm open to buy a set for my OEM's What sizes Tires seem to work best for GEN 1 ? I heard a little taller wider vastly improves the ride - ?? OEM 175/65/r14 vs 185/65/r14 185/70/r14 195/70/r14 c.) 14" Tires Here's what I'm looking at currently in 14" My top picks: (Average priced during sales and before rebates) Cooper Evolution Tour All-Season Radial Tire - 175/65R14 82T or 185/65R14 86T $54 and up Michelin Defender XT Touring All Season Tire - 185/65/r14 86T $85 and up Michelin Defender XT Touring All Season Tire 195/70R14 91T $69 and up General Tire AltiMAX RT43 All-Season Radial Tire - 185/65-14 86T (slightly bigger but handles the load index) General AltiMAX RT43 Radial Tire - 175/65R14 82T $66 and up (max load index is 82 (1,047 lbs) and 175/65/r14 82 T and GEN 1 requires 85 (1,124lbs) Other choices: Yokohama Avid Touring S All-Season Tire - 175/65R14 81S $68 and up Cooper CS3 TOURING 175/65/r14 82T, 185/60/r14 82T, 195/70/14 91T $53 and up Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max Radial - P185/65R14 85H $62 and up Goodyear Assurance All-Season 185/65R14 86T BSW $76 and up Goodyear Viva 3 All Season P175/65R14 82T $52 and up Goodyear Viva 3 All-Season 185/70R14 88T $65 and up Helpful Links: Tire Size Defined How To Read Tire Sizes | Goodyear Auto Service Max Load index Chart: Tire Load Index Chart | Tires Plus Priuschat members on Defenders vs Altimax RT43 vs Defender: LRR Tire Recommendations | PriusChat HYPE: consumer reports: https://www.rubbernews.com/article/20181018/NEWS/181019936/consumer-reports-ranks-all-season-michelin-general-cooper-and-goodyear-tires-among-the-best Parking Day dot org ratings (rmostly for newer Prius): [TOP 10] Best Toyota Prius Tires in 2019 Reviews & Buyer's Guide General Altimax RT43 Review General Altimax RT43 Tires: Pros and Cons Video of Defenders vs Continental True Contacts vs Good Year Assurance Max Life https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Defender+T%2BH&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=865HR4DTH&tab=Sizes Cooper Evolution Best New Tire SEMA 2018 Article (cached so you don't have to sign up or log in): Cooper Evolution H/T judged 'best' new tire at SEMA - Tire Business - The Tire Dealer's No. 1 News Source Test results including a couple of tires that could be used for the GEN 1 (Mostly for Gen 2) https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=121&AID=10398365&PID=1924582&cjevent=927ac88b58d911e9836003210a24060e ---- $$$ REBATES!!!! GET MONEY BACK (Click the link below and then REFRESH the page for updated results! Make sure to read the fine print to see if the rebate covers the tire model you plan to buy! Good year usually has $100 OFF and up to another $100 if you use the Good Year Credit Cards, they claim you can get immediate approval and can use it right away! BUT DO THEY OFFER THE REBATES FOR THE TIRE THATS BEST FOR THE GEN 1? Probably not : ( Current rebates | TireBuyer.com | TireBuyer.com https://www.tirerack.com/specialoffers/specialoffers.jsp?tab=Wheels --- Warning tires on this list may be out of stock or discontinued! Good Tire option list for Gen 1 - back in the day! John's Stuff - Toyota Prius Tires
Upsizing the tire from 175/65/r14 to 195/70/r14 seems doable according to this calculator. See the results below: 175/76-R14 vs 195/70-R14 Tire Comparison - Tire Size Calculator | Tacoma World 175/76-14 195/70-14 Difference Diameter inches (mm) 24.47 (621.6) 24.75 (628.6) 0.28 (7) 1.1% Width inches (mm) 6.89 (175) 7.68 (195) 0.79 (20) 11.4% Circum. inches (mm) 76.88 (1952.81) 77.75 (1974.81) 0.87 (21.99) 1.1% Sidewall Height inches (mm) 5.24 (133) 5.37 (136.5) 0.14 (3.5) 2.6% Revolutions per mile (km) 824.12 (512.08) 814.94 (506.38) -9.18 (-5.7) -1.1% Forum embed code: Speedometer Difference Speedo Reading Actual Speed 20 mph (32.19 km/h) 20.23 mph (32.55 km/h) 25 mph (40.23 km/h) 25.28 mph (40.69 km/h) 30 mph (48.28 km/h) 30.34 mph (48.82 km/h) 35 mph (56.33 km/h) 35.39 mph (56.96 km/h) 40 mph (64.37 km/h) 40.45 mph (65.1 km/h) 45 mph (72.42 km/h) 45.51 mph (73.24 km/h) 50 mph (80.47 km/h) 50.56 mph (81.37 km/h) 55 mph (88.51 km/h) 55.62 mph (89.51 km/h) 60 mph (96.56 km/h) 60.68 mph (97.65 km/h) 65 mph (104.61 km/h) 65.73 mph (105.79 km/h) Fun Fact: Here's a thread on tire upsizing from 2008 with priuschat.com gurus like Bob Wilson and Patrick Wong and other! If you have a problem I suggest searching their names along with key words to get real solid advice!
Upsizing the Wheel AND Tire seems to create a possible problem according to the calculator. See the results below: Also, would the larger wheels and tires look odd? 175/76-R14 vs 195/65-R15 Tire Comparison - Tire Size Calculator | Tacoma World 175/76-14 195/65-15 Difference Diameter inches (mm) 24.47 (621.6) 24.98 (634.5) 0.51 (12.9) 2.1% Width inches (mm) 6.89 (175) 7.68 (195) 0.79 (20) 11.4% Circum. inches (mm) 76.88 (1952.81) 78.48 (1993.34) 1.6 (40.53) 2.1% Sidewall Height inches (mm) 5.24 (133) 4.99 (126.75) -0.25 (-6.25) -4.7% Revolutions per mile (km) 824.12 (512.08) 807.36 (501.67) -16.76 (-10.41) -2% Forum embed code: Speedometer Difference Speedo Reading Actual Speed 20 mph (32.19 km/h) 20.42 mph (32.85 km/h) 25 mph (40.23 km/h) 25.52 mph (41.07 km/h) 30 mph (48.28 km/h) 30.62 mph (49.28 km/h) 35 mph (56.33 km/h) 35.73 mph (57.5 km/h) 40 mph (64.37 km/h) 40.83 mph (65.71 km/h) 45 mph (72.42 km/h) 45.93 mph (73.92 km/h) 50 mph (80.47 km/h) 51.04 mph (82.14 km/h) 55 mph (88.51 km/h) 56.14 mph (90.35 km/h) 60 mph (96.56 km/h) 61.25 mph (98.56 km/h) 65 mph (104.61 km/h) 66.35 mph (106.78 km/h)
Click the vid to see the Defenders tested against Continental True Contacts and Good Year Assurance Max Life https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Defender+T%2BH&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=865HR4DTH&tab=Sizes Test results including a couple of tires that could be used for the GEN 1 such as the GoodYear Fuel Max(Mostly for Gen 2) https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=121&AID=10398365&PID=1924582&cjevent=927ac88b58d911e9836003210a24060e
Stock is 175-65r14. I'm running stock size on aftermarket fancy wheels. Hancook brand. I'd keep it simple and inexpensive. Nothing to be gained by oversizing or spending a whole lot. Our little cars are so light duty!
M, It looks like there may be a mis-type in the calculator. It looks like 175/76/14 is being used as the stock size for the calculations and would be a 24.5" tall tire as opposed to the true stock size 175/65/14 being 22.95". That's going to really throw off the comparisons. (and there is no '76' aspect ratio as far as i know, so it would have been nice if the calculator had flagged that)
Thank you!!! Agreed! Which Hancook did you get and how many miles have you put on them? Anything to report? on traction handling (dry / wet) noise I was going to add a couple sets by Hancook but so many reviews said that after 30,000 miles the tire quality changed greatly.
I am running 15s on my 2002 - Falcon 185 50R 15s - I posted a couple screen shots 35000 miles and going strong - tread is still 7s all around but I rotate tires every 3 to 5000 miles and have it aligned - lifetime alignment has served me well No problems - work great on windy roads even in the rain but have no snow around here - got them from America's tire and will buy again - local Costco won't put Michilin's on it due to weight loading
Strange, that looks a lot like a Falken 185/60/15................is it the 950 model? ((185x0.60) x2)/25.4 + 15 = 23.75 inches diameter (approximately) so only about 3/4 inch more than stock. Not a bad difference and looks pretty decent. Any issues with the tire rubbing inside the wheel well or on suspension components, especially at full lock due to being wider and taller?
Sorry your right - needed to proof read before I posted - they are Falken tires and 60s - next time I look I will see if it is the 950 model or not A little wider and taller than stock - off set on the rims also widens the stance No problem with rubbing etc - I changed shocks and springs all around at the same time I put wheels and tires on - no problems so far Also speedometer is pretty close - guy at America's Tire had a chart that I used to determine how much error I was willing to accept - never used America's Tire before but I have been happy with the service and the tire quality for a cheaper price option And I like the look but I am an old guy....
I'm running 195/50/15 on a set of mazda alloys. No issues and speedometer is pretty close if that's any help to you. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
