This thread has nothing to do with fuel economy. I know the taller tire for better economy question comes up all the time. How tall of a tire can I fit on a Gen 1 Prius w/o rubbing? Offset/width restrictions? I want to get a set of snow tires, but I would like them to fit both of my cars so I can swap them back and forth. My other car uses 24" tires and I'd like to go with the taller of the two sizes so it does not sit lower in the snow.
You say your other car uses 24" tyres is that the wheel rim size or the rolling diameter of the tyre. John (Britprius)
Not having a gen1 Prius I cannot say for sure, but I would be surprised if either of the larger would not be ok. I use a gen2 in the UK, and the tyres I use are 205/55/16's, and have even tried 215/50/16's without problems or spacers. In the US the same car is fitted with 185/65/15's. I would change one tyre over to check for clearance problems, but doubt with an increase in radius of only 0.5" you will strike problems. John (Britprius)
The rear wheel well is the critical dimension and I tested a Sumitomo T4, 195P70R14, 849 revs/mile, that worked just fine. My test was to mount the larger diameter tires in the rear wheel well and drive over local speed bumps at 'high speed.' Later, I drove around town and took a 750 mile trip to Madison WI with them on the rear. At Madison, I put them on the front, much more space, and four years later, they are still there. I found the larger diameter, slightly heavier tires on the front improved straight-line stability. Bob Wilson
I've used 205/55/15 with the same offset as stock with no issues. I also had a set of BMW wheels with 195/60/14 that had 38mm offset (vs. 20mm oem) and had occasional tire rub over bumps in the rear when fully loaded. I'd guess the sizes you are considering would work as long as the wheels have the OEM offset.
