Recently told by my toyota dealer that I need new tires, again. First time at 23,000 and now at 58,000. They put Yokohama tires on last time. I sure am feeling like the dealer is only concerned about their bottom line!
So, my question is… What is the best tire for the 06 Prius? I live in Florida year round. Sould I buy tires from someone other than the dealer? I’m open to suggestions.
Yes.
I suggest that you take a look at the website for Tire Rack:
www.tirerack.com
Even if you don’t buy your tires from Tire Rack, you can view ALL of the tires that are available for your model, and can compare their pros, cons, and pricing. Then, armed with that consumer information, you can visit local tire shops and make an educated decision.
Truthfully, almost all car dealers charge top dollar for tires, and have a very limited selection (Ford dealers are the exception), and as a result, the last place that most car-savvy folks would buy tires is their new car dealer. A local tire shop can almost surely beat the prices at the Toyota dealer and can give you MANY more choices.
If you don’t buy low rolling resistance tires, your mpg’s will go down.
How much tread do you have left on the tires? This should be measured where the tread is worn down the most. If you have 1/16-inch or less, you need new tires. There will be wear bars in the tread to help you recognize tire wear, too. If the tire is very nearly smooth across the wear bars, you need new tires.
You might go to a Prius forum, I’m sure this gets discussed in lots of detail, with lots of advice based on experience. priuschat is one, I think. A friend with a Prius is now using Bridgestone Ecopia E100 tires.
You can buy tires from lots of places. Some tires work better on a Prius due to less rolling resistance. Such tires might be more expensive but yield higher mpg. Pretty much any tire the same size that is on the car now would be OK. You can shop with priority on lowest price, or priority on least rolling resistance and pay a bit more.
Michelin has some excellent low rolling resistance tires that would be pricey but likely would last much longer than 20 to 30K miles you are getting now.
You should be aware the Florida has some pretty agressive roads surfaces and they are sometimes not good for tire wear.
Go to Tire Rack and survey what is available. Also be aware that there is a technolgy triangle involving Treadwear, traction, and Rolling Resistance. You need to choose tires that fit what compromise you feel is appropriate - and in Florida, I would think wet traction would be very important.
There is no “best tire” traits that are acceptable to me may be unacceptable to you. Every tire purchase is a trade off. Go to several tire sites and read the reviews decide from there.
Recently told by my toyota dealer that I need new tires, again. First time at 23,000 and now at 58,000. They put Yokohama tires on last time. I sure am feeling like the dealer is only concerned about their bottom line!
So, my question is… What is the best tire for the 06 Prius? I live in Florida year round. Sould I buy tires from someone other than the dealer? I’m open to suggestions. I have looked at soo many web sites and no one can seem to come up with a definite answer. I would like quiet, LONG lasting, not really overly concerned about mpg- after all, it is a Prius…
Help!
Look for Kumho eco Solus HM KR22 tires. They have a UTQG wear rating of 800, meaning that they probably will last 8 times longer than the control tire. The original equipment (OE) tire is the Goodyear Integrity tire. It has a UTQG wear rating of 460. To the extent that these ratings apply across tire brands, the Kumho eco Solus will last 1.74 times longer. You averaged 29,000 miles on two sets of tires. If they were both Goodyear Integrity, then the new tires could last up to 50,000 miles. Note that the Kumho tires are also low rolling resistance, so mileage should be similar to what you get now.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Now, I’ll have to find where to buy in Ft Myers, FL…