The C - A Gutless Snow Machine

"Mr. Incredible", the rule for not mixing tire types is pretty basic. The Prius C owner' manual makes a strong warning that this could upset the automatic stability control and other things. Even if we were talking about a very old car, the use of better tires on the front than the back would mean that the car could suddenly overstear (as the back end slips and the front end doesn't) on any icy patch or slippery snow. A really good driver might handle this, but the novice is in deep trouble.

By the way, I'm please to see others speak up for the Nokian tires. As I said before, they are simply the best, and they come in a stock size for the Prius. For me, I chose the factory studded which handle just about anything. Nobody stocked them here, so they were ordered for me.

Around here, vistors with 4wd suv's get stuck where I have no problems. Of course, they don't have winter tires and think the 4wd is enough. Don't forget that downhill we all have four wheel brakes, so no advantage to 4wd there.

 

What tires did you have on--and why was there a 200 pound weight in the trunk? That doubtless was part of the problem. You could at least have put it in the rear seat, or better in the front.

 

I have had snow tires on my Prius C for over a month and the TPMS light has never come on. I never buy sensors for snow tires and wheels and expected the light on the dash to come on within a day or so. The TPMS warning light does work as it comes on for a second or so with all the other indicators when the car is powered up. Apparently, there are Prius C's out there with a TMPS that does not work.

 

Finally got a decent snow today and am very pleased to report that as long as you have snow tires on this puppy it does just fine. I hereby pronounce the C a snow-worthy vehicle!

 

And, how many of those bolded cars were front-wheel drive? Corvettes are RWD. BMWs and Porsches are mostly RWD w/a few AWD variants. Hence the comments about why one would point 200 lbs. of weight in the back of a front wheel drive car like the Prius c.

 

#1. Remove the weight from your trunk. The Prius is front-drive and adding weight out back only hurts the weight distribution.
#2. Comparing your previous car on legendarily awesome snow tires versus stock all-seasons is frankly an irrelevant comparison. If you want competent winter traction, good winter tires are your first intelligent recourse of action, not last.
#3. Whomever told you all-seasons are adequate in comparison to the Nokians is an idiot and you'd be better off not listening to them for car advice.
#4. The factory 16" wheels use a wider tire than the other Prius C models. Wider tires are bad for snow as the tires float on the snow instead of slicing through. I suggest shopping for a 175/65-15 or 185/60-15 for winter and keep the 195/50-16 for 3-season fair-weather use. This means a 2nd set of wheels for winter, which is expensive up front but IMO has significant value, seasonally-relevant performance, and safety.

 

I bought a used set of steel wheels - 15" - and used snows (2 separate purchases) for about the cost of two tires $155.00 total. Still running on the OEM tires though with surprisingly decent results in limited snow.

 

I totally agree!

 

Jillith, I know you've taken some flack out here, but please let us know how everything works out once you have snows on. I have (successfully) driven RWD, FWD, & AWD vehicles in winter conditions in hilly terrain and I think you may find that a small FWD car can be a fun drive.

I have Nokian WRG2s and they made a world of difference and even improved the gas mileage in cold weather. Good luck!

 

I had studded snows mounted on the OEM steelies, and crossed the pass at Shasta two days before Christmas. WHAT at snowy trip, took us 10hr to drive 300 miles, from Bend, OR to Redding, CA. The car ran terrific! The studs kept me from having to chain-up. Tonight I just returned from a trip to McCall Id. The roads were wintery! Compact snow/ice, and freezing. Studs never let me down, and no need to chain-up. I now hold the record for stone chips however.​

 

i backed up beside a ditch today..
very icy and snowy here.

went to go straight back a few more feet to park.. car went kinda sideways towards ditch edge.
'uh oh thats not good'
turned the wheel to steer me back towards the road, gave it some gas..
car still slide right towards the ditch...
not good.
i stopped
could feel the back of the car very slowy starting to slide down towards the ditch..
oh..***t
turned towards road and hit the gas!
no use..
slid right into the ditch..
burst out laughing...
hard time getting out of the car as when i opened the door it went right against the ground
called toyota roadside assistance
was waiting for there call back..

thought, im not going to give up on my lil c yet..
got back instarted it up,
drove in the ditch for about 200 feet through ice and snow with my car at a 45 degree angle
ditch leveled out a bit, and there was a lil piece of land going from the road to the farmers field.
cranked the wheel and gunned it! and got out!!

 

thought, im not going to give up on my lil c yet..
got back instarted it up,
drove in the ditch for about 200 feet through ice and snow with my car at a 45 degree angle
ditch leveled out a bit, and there was a lil piece of land going from the road to the farmers field.
cranked the wheel and gunned it! and got out!!​

Right On ! I agree with you. On my way to Idaho yesterday, I was behind a vehicle who would lose speed going up hills. The upshot was that I would always crawl up on the individual about mid hill and would have to back off, or be blasted with traction gravel. On the last hill I caught him again about mid hill, and an opportunity to overtake him and did! At the top of the hill was a police officer who had me clocked at 79mph. Dang, tough lil C tho, as you stated..

 

Mr. I,

I'm willing to bet the tread on those truck tires is much more aggressive than any non-snow tire you have had on a two wheel drive car. In my opinion, in most normal driving conditions, that, and the way you drive the vehicle, is more important in determining whether those tires will lose their grip in snow than is the fact it's got 4 powered wheels instead of two.

 

I would always be able to get my front wheel drive Saturn in and out of places filled with ice better than any 4 wheeler. Driving it backwards out of the neighborhood was always fun when the 4x4s were watching you and wondering how you were doing it as they were spinning their tires.