What type of snow tires did you buy?

Because he is interested in snow tires for his Prius?

 

I'm more interested to know if the OP has a Prius v wagon.

 

OP seems interested in a snow tire discussion as is everyone else.

 

I love your sarcasm. But, just in case a newbie thinks you are serious, here's a better viewpoint:

Your TPMS light won't come on until you've lost 25% of the air in a tire. By that time you could already be in big trouble. Driving in hot weather with low tire pressure can cause the tire to overheat from the extra flexing and a blowout could result. Some morons only have their tire pressure checked when they buy a new set of tires. So, the morons who make our laws decided they needed to protect those other morons from themselves and the requirement for TPMS on all new cars was the result. Those of us who know how to maintain a car can do a better job ensuring safe tire pressure that TPMS can hope to do. The worst part of TPMS, expecially the way Toyota implemented it, is the extremely high cost.

 

Wonder why they picked 25%? Could it be that provides time to drive 20 miles to Les Schwab, get a free check, some air and assurance the leak was slow, get home, get more air in the AM and get to Toyota for a new tire?

TPMS is a great safety tool why so many provide it as a key safety feature and why it will soon join airbags and DRL's as required safety equipment.

 

Everyone has their snowtires mounted on a second set of rims. For one thing, you can change between winter and summer tires yourself (with just a floor jack) without having to pay a tire store to mount the other set of tires twice a year. With only a single set of rims, you'd have to pay a tire shop to remount and rebalance the other set of tires twice a year. Also, tire shops make a habit of breaking the TPMS valve stems when they change tires on a TPMS equiped rim and then they'll do a song and dance about how it wasn't really their fault and how you have to buy a new $70 TPMS valve stem from them. So, buy a cheap set of rims (steel) for your snowtires and change them yourself. There's no safety reason for installing TPMS valve stems in rims of the snowtire set (though there might be a legal requirement).

 

Most don't as it is needlessly expensive to buy new wheels particularly as most people spend extra money for nice wheels. Idea of driving on ugly wheels for six months or spending another $600 for wheels makes no sense.

 

OK. to clear this up. you need a 16 inch rim for te wagon. I tried to fit a 15 inch and it would not clear.

I also opted to spend $$ on new alloy rims.. I got a set of nice 16 inch rims for $80 ea.

State law requres TPMS, so I will move the sensors from the summer tires to the winter tires and drive the summer tires without sensors in the future...

 

If state law requires TPMS, how can you drive without it in the summer?

There's a reason Federal law requires TPMS on all new cars and many state laws require it on all cars to pass inspection.

 

Since it is required by state law, the tire companies will not install the tires to your car unless they have the TPMS sensors.

I will have them take the sensors from the summer tires, put them on the winter tires and install the winter tires. Next year when I switch to summer tires I will do it myself and thus I do not need the TPMS sensors.

 

Ah...illegally...OK. Who would know and you only have to worry about it for inspection.

 

The legality is for stores only I think.. I do not think there is a legal requirement to have TPMS functional at all times if the car is equipped with the capabilities..

 

The state laws are typically you need to have working TPMS to pass inspection. I suppose one could disable airbags, ABS, TPMS etc. after inspection.

 

My husband put on Blizzaks on my Prius V on Monday let me tell you they really worked. He drove up a snowy and slushy steep hill on Wednesday and the car didn't lose grip. Had Blizzak's on my Honda and they worked well too. Was aprehensive about the Prius since I have passed so many Priuses on steep hills but the Prius V wagon with Blizzaks did great in snow.

 

I put Mich X-Ice XI3 215/50/R17XL on my 2012 v5 AT. I put them on the OEM rims, I have different wheels for the summer OEM tires. Had to get new TPMS sensors for the wheels as I had moved the originals to the new wheels. Now I can just swap the whole wheel/tire combo come summer. So tires, new TPMS, install & tax - $70 gift card was $1,230 all in. Not cheap, but with a newly licensed driver in the car I wanted to give her all the help she can get.

My wife says she thinks the tires are a little loose in steering compared to the OEM. I didn't notice that. What I did notice is that these do not handle road bumps well. Jarring bumps get to the cabin much more than the OEM. One bad road had my driver door rattling! Never had that before.

We'd just set a record in Chicago for the most days without snow, had one minor snow since so have not yet been able to really try them out.

Was not happy to read about the latest crash tests.

FWIW - I put Blizzaks on my Tahoe (need it to tow with). They are quiet and have a comparable ride to the Michelin all season. Not sure which would be better on the Prius.

 

I have tried a variety of studless winter tires on steel wheels, back when I had my Prius. Although the Bridgestone Blizzak, Yokohama Ice Guard, and the Dunlop Graspic all offered superior snow and slush traction, on ice they were barely better than the all season tires.

I ran Goodyear Nordic studded and finally had a winter tire that allowed my Prius to be safe on glare ice. This is the same tire as the Goodyear Ultra Grip 500 sold in Europe.

I am now a big fan of the factory studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7. On glare ice, once the light turns green I can blow the doors off a SUV or pickup, which sits there with all four tires spinning

If your local law allows, run studded tires

 

Continental Viking Contact 5 studless tires. Original size 205/60R16 with original alloys. Price for four 2800 euros. Winter tires are mandatory in Finland from December to February.

 

Short answer: I have Hankook Winter iPikes on my v, no studs. I paid $200 (used) for the set of four, already mounted on steel wheels.

Long answer: Found them on Craigslist, tires had maybe 80% tread remaining, wheels were slightly rusty. Of course I bought them in April of last year - good time to buy!
Also, I did some research to figure out which other cars had the 5x114mm bolt pattern like the v. Many Craigslist sellers don't list the bolt pattern, so it's more productive to search by vehicle model names. Turns out the Mazda5 uses the same bolt pattern, so the wheels I got were take-offs from a Mazda5. The hub diameter on the Mazda is slightly larger, so I bought hub-centric rings separately (about $4, IIRC) to maintain the centering.

I would strongly recommend having your snow tires mounted on separate dedicated rims. Not only is it MUCH easier to change them, and possible to do it yourself, but I believe it makes the tires last longer. I've heard that repeatedly breaking the bead, in order to switch multiple tires between one set of rims, decreases the lifespan of the tires. I don't know if that could ever be cause for a tire failure, but it's certainly not helpful. Even though I run snow tires for at least 5 months of every year, they usually last me at least 3 seasons - that's a lot of changes, if they were being swapped between rims!

I skip the TPMS on snows, check my pressure regularly, and ignore the warning light.

The Hankooks are pretty good snow tires, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to buy them again. I've had Michellin x-ice tires on other vehicles, and those are very good. I also used some Toyo snows for a while, they were OK, but not great. The best snows I've ever used were Nokkian Hakkepelita (sp?) - excellent, but fairly expensive. They did seem to last a long time, though, even after I bought them used, so I'd probably buy them again, even at new prices.

Hope this is helpful,
Andy

 

My husband bought Blizzaks and they did great on the one snowy day in Seattle in December. I drove it up a steep snowy hill with no problems.

 

I've put 2 new Finland Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tyre on front when owned SAAB, great traction/steering on snow. Rides little stiff, slight noisier than regular tyres. Great experience with 4 Nokian WRG2 all weather tyres. Usually buy in November, replace 2 front ones each November, so I have 2 new ones going into winter. Nokian
has few US distributors with limited allotments, so I try to buy end November as availability can be a problem. The factory-installed Bridgestones for my new 2012 C IV were dreadful in snow. I'm on fence this Fall whether to buy 2 Nokian Hakkapeliitta snows for the front wheels or 4 Nokian WRG2 'all weather'. Check out Nokian Nokian Tyres: products