Choice Of Tyres And Wheels For Hybrid

[cviclark]

I am in a dilemma. I have owned both a Gen 2 and Gen 3 Prius and love HSD technology. I am about to purchase a new Auris HSD Excel TS (Estate) It comes with 17" 225/45/r17 tyres, no options. I have been in touch with Toyota who say the car is not homologated for other wheels but I can retrofit 16" wheels and my dealer will help. My Gen 2 was on 16" and Gen 3 on 15". No problems with either. The brochure says 17" wheels will impact the fuel consumption by 6 mpg and my experience of low profile tyres on a Lexus was very bad.

However I am told they are much better now and these have been selected to optimize the way the car drives. The Euro label ( grades economy, wet performance and noise) on the tyres that Toyota OEM fit indicate a lot of variation between makes..But surprisingly both 16" and 17" re the same for economy, noise and wet road holding of tyers of the same type. The normal Conti Sport Contact 5 225/45/17 would appear to be better than the Prem Contact 2 Eco 205/55/r16. Of course It may be on Dunlops. which the label says are poor economy and noisy. The best are Michelin Premicy 3 with the 17" and 16" being the same but these are not an OEM fit.

I know the up spec .Prius Gen3 had 17" wheels and although I drove one I do not remember it being better than mine.

Has anyone got real experience of a recent Hybrid on 17" LP tyres ??

[FROSTYBALLS]

As regards the EU noise ratings for tyres, the noise is measured externally and doesn't relate to the amount of tyre noise experienced inside the car.

From a spreadsheet I have showing Toyota OE tyres between 2008 and 2013, the 17 inch tyres fitted to Auris Hybrids from November 2012 are Continental SportContact 5's or Dunlop SP Sport Fast Response.

[Mickfb]

I test drove the hatch and the tourer can't say I noticed much difference.

Mick

[jonesbach]

I have the 225/45/r17 tyres and while I may be a few mpg down I'm happy in that respect. What isn't so good is the ride which can only be described as '!Removed! hard'. In hindsight I think I should have gone for the Icon, even though that would have meant missing the extras.

[Aceshigh84]

I've got the Dunlop's on my Auris Excel hatchback. I can't compare them to any other tyre as it is the first car with 17" alloys I have driven. I am averaging just shy of 60mpg on them.

I am currently looking at getting a new set of alloys to run cold weather tyres, I've been looking at 15" rims and then a high profile tyre to get the diameter correct so I don't mess up the speedo. Plus the fact that 17" tyres are extortionate.

I'll go for the Nokian WR-D3's, having previously ran the previous version on my Accord, I can say that I am a lot more comfortable driving in the white stuff and ice on the Nokian's over a normal summer tyre.

[cviclark]

I have the same spreadsheet, Both could have rim savers but the EU rates are very different with the Conti Sport 5 scoring C A 71 ( whats Black Chilli?) against the Dunlop E B 70. I found the ride very hard on the test drive but the16" tyres on ICON petrol I tried were not rated as good being E B 71 and 15" Conti are the same.

Its unlikely the Dunlops will last long and Michelin Prim 3 will probably give better fuel consumption if the EU test results are correct. One would like to think Toyota would fit the optimum tyre for the car but it looks like its what the tyre manufacturer supplies at the cheapest price or what marketing think.

If buying winter wheels and tyres do not buy ally. Steel is cheaper and stronger once the kerb is covered damage in almost unavoidable. The Camping tyres on my Motorhome are All Season why do we only get summer tyres for cars in UK?