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Help with wheel specs for snow wheels

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Mobius, Nov 19, 2009.

  1. Mobius

    Mobius New Member

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    I am trying to buy 15" alloy wheels to use with snow tires and need help understanding what specifications I should look for in terms of offset, backspacing, weight.

    I saw a post from last month giving 2010 Prius wheel specs as 15x6J: 5x100mm PCD, 45 mm offset.

    Tire Rack offers a number of different wheels they list as suitable for the 2010 Prius, but I'm wondering what's best, keeping performance, safety, gas mileage in mind.
     
    #1 Mobius, Nov 19, 2009
  2. Judgeless

    Judgeless Senior Member

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    This is the third thread today about snow tires.
     
    #2 Judgeless, Nov 19, 2009
  3. Mike Dimmick

    Mike Dimmick Active Member

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    Basically you want to keep the geometry identical to the stock wheels. The offset is how far the fixing face is away from the centre line of the hub. It affects how easy or hard it is to steer, and also can cause the tyres to foul the suspension or bodywork if it's too different.

    There's some great information at Car Bibles : The Wheel and Tyre Bible Page 2 of 2.

    Primarily mileage is affected by the wheel's weight. Keep it around or below the stock wheel's weight and you should be fine.
     
    #3 Mike Dimmick, Nov 20, 2009
    1 person likes this.
  4. chrisj428

    chrisj428 Active Member

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    Mobius,

    This is a good place to start: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...eels-winter-tires.html?highlight=winter+tires

    I've had very good luck with the search function on this Forum. Also, I've noticed that when I start a new thread, as soon as I type something in the header box, the software automatically pulls up any threads which may have already covered the topic you're starting a new thread on -- pretty cool in my book! :)
     
    #4 chrisj428, Nov 20, 2009
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