New tires - Costco options?

Did you rotate them? Under proper rotation, there are no "front" or "back" tires, just tires. I rotate every 10K miles, and my OEM Integrities look pretty good at 54,000 miles (mostly highway). I expect at least 10,000 more, easy. Granted, they are not the greatest tires on the planet, but no way should they wear out at 20-30,000 miles. Also, tire pressures are important. I keep mine at 42/40, and think the car drives pretty well, and gives my 50+ mpg without trying.

 

It has been very cold in IL. I have been getting 45 mpg in a car that isn't broken in on the highway with the heater and defrost going constantly so you mileage seems kind of low. I took itchy in for the 5K maintenance and told them the steering wheel was off by about 45 degrees while driving straight (it was). TSB says no fixing an alignment problem unless customer complains of pulling. This is horrible - they should fix an alignment problem if they notice it too. I say go complain so they check the alignment because this type of tire wear is abnormal.

 

Thanks. I thought it was abnormal, too, but they say that they generally see ~25,000 as the usual mileage life for the Goodyear OEMs, and that my treadwear doesn't indicate an alignment problem. I'll let my tire guys tell me the truth, then shove it at them at my next service (not that it will get me anywhere). My winter mileage hit is definitely higher this year than previously. I used to rarely average less than 40 in winter driving. Mind you, much of my driving is a 15-minute commute (to the train, for another hour and-15 minute commute,so don't get jealous), so the car does not get a chance to really warm up. But still, that's low for a car they advertise at getting 60MPG! They claim it's all because of "winter additives" and there's nothing they can do about mileage.

Anyone have any experience with Yokohama Avid H4s/V4s on a Prius? They look like a good combination of tread wear, performance, and value. Goodyear Assurance Comforttread also have a lot better treadwear (rated 600) than the Integrity (460) and are reasonably priced, but reviews seem to be kinda lousy on winter traction.

 

good day people!

I have a question for you all, but i want the gosh-honest truth with this.

I want to first describe my bad experience with my previous car (i dont want to do this again), even though most people say it doesn't make sense. ******i had a 2006 cadillac sts (V8) with 17" original tires. I put original cadillac aluminum alloys, 18" with wider tires and i LOST FUEL MILEAGE OVERALL. now, i knew that the street driving would suffer.....
(as the new 18" were about 3/4" taller in overall diameter) but i thought
that the freeway driving would be better. incidentally, the WEIGHT of the 17" rims and tire combo is NOT much different than the 18" rims and tires.

sooooooooooo................here's my two questions

#1) what is the widest rims and tires that can fit in the prius?

#2) am i going to loose in fuel mileage?

third question, i lied

#3) should i just stick with stock???? i want my prius to look different, that's why i'm asking...........but my main concern is fuel mileage.

THANKS AGAIN PEOPLE!

 

Stick with the OEM Integritys. They're relatively cheap and were chosen as the tires that would give the Prius the best gas mileage over all other considerations. Other tires will improve ride, handling, and/or wet weather performance but all at the price of fuel economy.

And, honestly, in a climate with little to no rain fall, the OEM tires really aren't that horrible. Mediocre is probably a better description.

 

Genoz World: As for the caddy, here is my (not expert) thoughts on swapping 17" rims for 18" rims: Since the tire has a larger circumference due to the larger diameter, the car won't "know" that it is traveling a little farther with each tire revolution since the odometer and speedometer are calibrated with the 17" rim in mind. That means that you were probably going faster than your speedometer indicated and going more miles than your odometer indicated. So you may have actually not really had a drop in mpg. Someone might be able to do the conversion of 17" to 18" rim speedometer\odometer math. I am too lazy and pi isn't something the cheap windows calculator has a button for .

Also, wider tires means more contact with the road surface which increases friction (or drag - I am not sure what the proper term is). This is great for handling in dry weather but can result in a hit in mpg.

 

Costco also has:
BFGoodrich® Traction T/A® H P185/65R15
for the 2005 Prius, at $80.99 each, with the X-Radial and Hydroedge both around $115 each.

Any experience/recommendations re: this tire?

 

thank you. i know that i should stick with practicality, but i just was thinking to be different, that's all.:typing:

 

I have been wanting to post on tires for awhile so here goes.

My 2006 Prius will be 2 years old on 3/28/08 and currently has 99,386 miles so yeah I drive A LOT.

My stock integreties lasted 76,480 miles and I ran them at 36 PSI the whole way around. One thing that is a must is to rotate them frequently and get a 4-Wheel Alignment check every 10-15,000 miles.

I rotate my tires every oil change at 5,000 miles and get my alignment checked every 3rd oil change. When you get you alignment check asked for the computer printout for your records. They usually show all four tires with something highlighted in red when it was out of alignment and now in green being in alignment. Without the printout you don't really know what was in and what was out.

If you keep these records and say your right front is always "out of alignment" it could be you hit a common pot hole on that side or something is wrong with the caster or something else with the tire. So, keep or at least look at your alignment records.

Now, why do you need to do alignment checks so often? No, I don't work for Toyota. Prii are setup to be as low profile and as aerodynamic as possible. Which translates into being very suspectible to being thrown out of alignment by hitting curbs, large pot holes, or other "bumps" in the road.

As a matter of fact you don't even have to hit anything to throw them out of alignment. When my fiancee bought her 2007 Prius Touring Edition I made them check the alignment on it and swap out the Integrities before we bought it. The car had 6 miles on it at the dealership and BOTH front tires were out of alignment.

We talked to a couple of people and they said "Yeah, it's a good idea to always to have any new car's alignment checked when you buy it. They have a tendency to get jerked around on the haulers. Especially the Prii."

Now, onto tires. After doing much research on this website, tirerack.com and others. I went with Michelin Harmony's and went up in size to the 195/60R over the stock 185/65R. I did notice a slight mileage hit but the tire is FAR superior to the stock in all aspects, will last FOREVER and is much much more stable in crosswinds because of the extra width.

On my finacee's touring edition, we had them also put on Michelin Harmony tires and upped them to the 205/60R size. Her Prius is even more stable than mine but has taken even more of a mileage hit. The Touring Editions simply can't run as well as the "Standard" Prius in my opinion. And she doesn't have as much practice maximizing fuel mileage as I do

I have to keep track of my mileage for work so know exactly that I have got 47.92 MPG over that 99,000 miles. Since the Harmony's went on in winter there might not be any hit on MPG at all come summer time.

My fiancee's touring is averging around 44 MPG.

Well, that is my $0.02 worth. I hope it helps someone out there in Prii Land

 

CBARR31, your comments are right on, exactly what i wanted to know and hear.

thanks and cheers.