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Prius tire recommendations

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Anders:
I used to like listening to that show: Car Talk.

Anyone know where I can get a good deal on the right tires for my 2001 Prius ?

SunnyDaze:
Anders,

Shop around and let me know what you find. There's a locally owned tire business near my parents called Bubnash Tire that is generally lower than anywhere in price, including mass-volume internet sellers like Tire Rack. They don't charge for installation, valve stems, etc. The price you are given is the price you pay, sans tax of course. Even when I was a manager at Pep Boys, I bought my tires from Bubnash. I've recommended the place to several friends, most of whom ended up buying their tires there because the prices are usually unbeatable when you factor installation and shop fees from other places.

I'm actually getting Kuhmo 4X's installed on my WRX there tomorrow. If you tell me what size tires are on your Prius, I'll get you a price while I'm there. It'd be a small hike for you (about an hour each way), but, the price may make it worthwhile.

OldiesButGoodies:
The Tire Rack is what I always use.  You can have them delivered to your doorstep like you see in the pic below of my Eagles,  or they send it directly to a tire installer near your house for install (I did that for the chipmunk-food  Honda Civic).  You can get a set of 4 Yokohama Avid Toruing S  all season for $272 plus delivery. That tire is rated 7.76 overall in the TR surveys so apparently it has made many Prius owners happy.

Link here:  http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+TOURING-S&partnum=765SR4TOURS&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Toyota&autoYear=2001&autoModel=Prius&autoModClar=



B0030273 by JSifontes, on Flickr

Anders:
 Original Tire:  Bridgestone Potenza RE92

Classic Prius comes with these tires standard.  They are sometimes referred to as OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) tires.

    175 / 65 R14
    84S speed & load rating
    50 PSI (3.4 bar) maximum pressure
    42/40 PSI front/back (2.9/2.8 bar) recommended
    1102 lbs. (500 kg) maximum load
    LRR (Low Rolling Resistance)
    10/32 inch (8 mm) tread depth
    902 revs per mile
    "A" Traction
    "A" Temperature
    160 Treadwear
    30,000 mile (48,280 km) warranty

Bunni:
This Bridgestone Potenzas wear out so fast.  We don't actually want those, but they are the recommended tire.  We went through 3 sets in a year and a half when we first got the car.  Upon recommendations from the Prius groups, we then put Goodyear Allegras on the car.  They were only available at Sam's.  They were great, lasted a long time, but did drop our milege a small amount.  Overall worth it for the amount of wear we got.  This car is heavier than your normal car, especially the front end.

We can't get the Allegra's anymore.  Needing tires badly, we put Coopers on, of the correct size, but the noise they create is unbearable.

Price unfortunately is an abject.  There are some other tires recommended by the Prius groups, Michelin which is out of our price range.  The only official tires for the 2001 Prius are the Potenzas or the Dunlop S10 which is used in Canada.  Just can't afford to replace tires several times a year.

Also the newer Prius doesn't have these same issues.  These are pretty much exclusive to the original Prius, 2001-2003.

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