W rated tires for a Prius V?

Well, according to the date, officially "spring", such as it is. In a range of 40-45 degrees, both ways. Wet half the way southbound, dry northbound.

 

And wet kill MPG. Gotta push that water aside.

 

True, but the lifetime mpg includes some wet, as well.

 

orginal tires that are use are low resistance for mileage.

 

The Toyo Proxes A20 was OEM on the 2012 v Five, a LRR tire in load range 90, speed range W. LRR has come quite a way since 2011, when that tire was specified. Toyo no longer offers the A20. The sidewalls on the A20 were the weak point, in my experience.

The Continental Pure Contact is an eco/LRR tire in a higher load range 98 at a lower speed range V, with stouter sidewalls.

They "pave" roads and highways in the northeast... then the potholes arrive, and grow, and are patched, only to arrive, and grow again, larger... Rinse and repeat.

 

W rated tires on a Prius ...? Here’s what I learned ...the hard way. W rated is generally used for speed but it also has to do with sidewall strength and more.
I purchased a set of Bridgestone Ecopia 422+ V rated LRR tires for my v 5. I couldn’t stand the way they drove as I felt like I was driving on marshmallows. I felt if i had to ever avoid an accident, the response time would be too slow. I would notice the sidewalls would often be completely compressed when I’d look at them after parking which was odd. HERE’S THE CRITICAL PART. In the first year I had to replace 3, yes 3 tires, with sidewall problems. Then finally a guy at Costco explained the problem and replaced all four tires.

The W rating was needed because of the lower profile “50” of the v 5 tire. (The v 2, 3 and 4 only require a V rated tire because they are “60” in terms of profile. ). The W rating isn’t required for speed, but for sidewall strength and especially when purchasing a low rolling resistance tire. The LRR sidewalls, combined with a low profile in V rating were not strong enough. Because of the problems I had, I switched to a beefier tire, a non LRR tire, but still in a V rating and it has been great since. With the Ecopias, my mileage didn’t change a bit but the tires felt unsafe. With the non LRR, Michelin Premier A/S V rated, I’m down 10-12% in mileage but the car drives way better. I just won’t be setting any new record mileage.

 

As noted in your other thread, load rating relates more to sidewall strength than speed rating...

To wit, a 98V rated tire will provide better sidewall strength than a 94W rated tire.