Snow tires - when and what to get?

Well, I got bored this morning, so I ordered snow tires

New set of General Altimax Arctic. Hope I can sell the ones for my Camry that are still in the garage

I really need to move to a 2-season state.

 

Being on the East Coast, i would buy an old Jeep for the winter, save the Little C from the Salt!

 

Yes to all that ask for a Y/.N

The tire pressure stuff is (B/S), don;t tell them I told you that.
My new snows are purely normal, and will be put on by the dealer on my factory wheels.

I've had enough experience with the TPMS to know I could give a possum's tail about it.

 

I've never had an issue in over 30 years now from salt. But then, I wash my car weekly regardless of weather. It sure beats having to deal with the unreliability and expense of the Jeeps. Since 1977, I've driven far and wide in Vermont with only 2 4WD vehicles. I used to drive 500 - 700 miles a week, so it's not a fluke.

Not one of my cars had ever had rust. But I did have a 1996 Avalon with a corroded brake tube after 180,ooo miles (it was salt).

 

I have 1993 Wrangler with 240K miles, and costs me about 200 a year in repairs, not too bad for the age. Its all in how well you maintain your car.

 

Yup, it is that. It requires a tad more effort, but not that much.

 

Their balancing is usually pretty good. Hopefully it will be fine.

Please get some wheel covers for those awfully fugly black steel wheels.

 

We just got our snows mounted a set of 17x7 chromed alum. rims off a 2001 Chrysler 300m. Same bolt pattern and offset only had to get hub centric rings so rims will be centered. Also had to get nuts to match the rims.
The dealer gave us a set of unmounted Hankook snows when we bought the Prius. they are the 215/50R17
Winter I*cept evo and I think they will sharp on the winter rims.

 

Glad to hear this. I live in the Toronto area and our other car has very good snow tires and winter rims on it, but I think I will see what happens this winter with our new Prius V. If snow is super heavy we will leave the Prius at home and use car #2.

Out of interest, what tires came on your V? Mine are the Energy Saver Michelins (not sure what tires are on US cars vs Canadian)

 

Get them mounted on separate rims and you'll:

1. Be less tied to the dealership, if you're set up with floor jack and safety stands.
2. Save wear-and-tear on the factory wheels, and all the winter salt/sand.
3. Have an opportunity to detail the factory wheels, thoroughly, while they're off the car. D.O. for perforation repair and what have you.
4. Have ready-made rotation.

You can either go with some sort of aftermarket rims, or see what sort of Toyota black steel rim would work. I believe there's a Camry rim that's compatible.

While you can use the OEM lug nuts with steel rims, they stand out kind of oddly, Toyota offers plain open-ended galvanized nuts.

 

So to follow-up, we really had winter this year Not a tremendous amount of snow, but we had the ice storm, which I think just barely melted last month. The Generals did well this winter. I'd like to follow-up for those that got irked at my comments on the traction control with no way to turn it off. Let's discuss the icy driveway, the slight inclines with zero traction. For the first time in two decades, I wish I had put studs on my snow tires, they would have helped immensely.

The Generals wore well, and were pretty easy to live with. We have several other Prius owners in this enclave, mine is the only v. We all pretty much concur that the Prius is not exactly the best for traction or cold weather climates. But we made it through the winter. As I still have the snows on now (yeah, I know), I can attest to the fact that the mileage is no different than when I had the LRR all seasons on. My current tank stands at 43 mpg, and I've been using the Normal position, not ECO.

I'm looking forward to the day I move to Florida with this car. I think it will be the perfect state for my v.

 

Disabling Traction Control on as needed basis:

These steps must be completed within 60 seconds.

Step 1: Set the ignition switch to ON, not READY. To do this press the power button two times, without pressing the brake pedal.

Step 2: While the transmission is still in park (P), fully press the gas pedal two times.

Step 3: Apply the parking brake to ensure that the vehicle will not move during this step. Put the transmission in neutral (N) and fully press the gas pedal two times.

Step 4: Put the transmission back in park (P) and fully press the gas pedal two times. The car will display “!Car!” in the upper left corner of the LCD screen.

Step 5: Press the brake pedal and press the start button, to the ready (engine run) position.

Print it out and store in car. If these steps are followed correctly, the vehicle will start with the traction control system defeated.

 

Thanks for finding that. I'll have to practice all that before next winter 60 seconds? Wow.

 

I would only do this when stuck in a dangerous situation. When clear of the problem, shutdown and restart to re-enable traction control and skid control. Obviously snow tires are a better solution for icy conditions.

 

Thought I would share our winter experience...Toronto area, one of the worst winters ever...but I don't think there was more snow than average. One bad ice storm I can think of.

Did not put on snow tires....and made it through fine. The only real problem day was the ice storm day, but frankly, anyone on the road in that storm was taking their chances with or without snow tires. Studs are illegal in Ontario/