Tire picks in 215/45R17?

[nthach]

Car in question is an 09 Prius. I’m buying a set of Scion 17” wheels off my neighbor. Yes I know, not a great choice for our roads but tire selection is getting limited for the stock tire size(185/65R15 - mostly Chinesium from I’ve seen) and would like wider rubber. Car is modified with the Corolla sway bar swap. I’m considering the Kumho Ecsta Sport A/S, the DT/America’s Tire rebrand of the Yokohama Ascend LX(YK-GTX), Falken Sincera SN250AS or ZIEX960/Azenis FK460, and maybe the Conti ExtremeContact DWS06/TrueContact Tour M if the price is right. I also saw the Milestar AS710 for a steal, too. Not in a rush, I can wait until Black Friday.

My priorities is handling and wet traction for Bay Area storms. Current tires are the Michelin X Tour T+H, which I’ve been happy with but I can get the VSC slip indicator light to flicker on if I’m taking turns a bit too fast or pull out of a driveway/parking lot, which doesn’t happen with our other cars.

 

[Jetronic]

what is the corolla sway bar swap exactly?

 

[The Critic]

Pilot Sport A/S 4

 

[nthach]

what is the corolla sway bar swap exactly?

The gen 2 Prius models had smaller and hollow sway bars - swapping them out for the Corolla front which is thicker and solid and the Matrix rear helps with the handling. It feels not as skittish.

 

[nthach]

Pilot Sport A/S 4

Spendy - but if America’s Tire has the same deal as Costco it’s an option. I know Costco will not install anything beyond approved OE fitments(185/65-15 or 195/55-16).

 

[slacktide_bitog]

That will hurt your mpg

There are still quality tires in the OE size 185/65-15, such as the Toyo Celsius II

For your area, you might be better off with summer tires, such as
Goodyear Duraplus 2
Goodyear Eagle Sport
Hankook Kinergy Eco2

If you still want to change to 215/45-17, there are better summer tires out there that might suit your needs better
Cooper Zeon CS8
Hankook Ventus Prime2
Dunlop Sport Maxx 060+

Spendy - but if America’s Tire has the same deal as Costco it’s an option. I know Costco will not install anything beyond approved OE fitments(185/65-15 or 195/55-16).

Can you use the Walmart loophole at Costco?

Walmart will install non-OE sizes if you carry in the wheels not installed on the car. Will Costco do that?

 

[nthach]

That will hurt your mpg

There are still quality tires in the OE size 185/65-15, such as the Toyo Celsius II

For your area, you might be better off with summer tires, such as
Goodyear Duraplus 2
Goodyear Eagle Sport
Hankook Kinergy Eco2

If you still want to change to 215/45-17, there are better summer tires out there that might suit your needs better
Cooper Zeon CS8
Hankook Ventus Prime2
Dunlop Sport Maxx 060+


Can you use the Walmart loophole at Costco?

Walmart will install non-OE sizes if you carry in the wheels not installed on the car. Will Costco do that?

Sticking to all-season. Bay Area winters can dip below 40*F, which is bad for “summer” tires.

I can ask - but that would negate their road hazard and rotate/balance services as well.

 

[leeharvey418]

Since wet traction is a priority, I can’t recommend the DWS 06+ hard enough. The OG DWS is still the best rain tire I’ve ever owned, and all indications are that the more recent model is at least as good.

 

[Nessism1]

General AltiMAX RT45​

 

[Rand]

I've been super happy with my dws06+
The dws06+ have excellent wet traction.
but on a prius assume at least 5mpg drop with 17's and uhp tires.

 

[nthach]

General AltiMAX RT45​

That’s also a thought as well. My criteria it must be something easy to get, no Chinesium(LingLong/Leao/Atlas or their ilk, I’m actually surprised with the Sailuns on another car that’s used as a cab but still not my first choice), has =>50K treadlife though I don’t put much credit into those warranties. Wet handling and confident steering/road feel are pluses.

 

[Nessism1]

DWS06+ tires on an '09 Prius is like Channel on rosie o'donnell

 

[nthach]

I've been super happy with my dws06+
The dws06+ have excellent wet traction.
but on a prius assume at least 5mpg drop with 17's and uhp tires.

Neighbor got 46mpg lifetime on his gen 2 before he scrapped it, I’m at 43mpg lifetime. I’m sure a first/second tier UHP/HP tire wouldn’t be too much of an MPG hit vs a cheap all-season.

 

[Rand]

those should be 15x6 ?

why dont you just put 205/60r15 on ?

Vredestein Quatrac​

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Sticking to all-season. Bay Area winters can dip below 40*F, which is bad for “summer” tires.

I can ask - but that would negate their road hazard and rotate/balance services as well.

ok

The (Nokian) Nordman Solstice 4 is only $80
The Milestar AW365 is under $70

If you want more performance, the Goodyear Eagle Sport AS might be good, or the Goodyear Direction Sport 2. Despite the name, the Direction Sport isn't directional.

The Sumitomo HTR AS P03 is basically the same thing as the Falken Ziex ZE950 (Sumitomo is the parent company of Falken)

 

[nthach]

DWS06+ tires on an '09 Prius is like Channel on rosie o'donnell

Yea, might be a bit overkill the more I think about it. I loved the Pilot Sport A/S 4 on a LS430.

 

[f355spider]

Most summer rated tires will outpeform a similar performance catagory all season in rain...and is even more superior in dry. If you don't need the winter rating, go summer tire. That is what I did on my BMWs. Rain performance is more important to me in Western WA State, which is pretty damp fall, winter, and spring. The difference in rain performance between a summer and all season was more dramatic 10 to 15 years ago...the UHP all season have gotten much better, but there is still a slight edge in the wet with a summer tire.

If you must get A/S I like the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 as it was a tad better in the dry over the Continental DWS, and outlasted them as well.

 

[Jetronic]

The gen 2 Prius models had smaller and hollow sway bars - swapping them out for the Corolla front which is thicker and solid and the Matrix rear helps with the handling. It feels not as skittish.

depending how the ratios changed front and back, the front sway bar could be causing the understeer under power. that's what they do.

 

[nthach]

depending how the ratios changed front and back, the front sway bar could be causing the understeer under power. that's what they do.

Yea, it was worse with the Corolla sway bar up front and the stock hollow one up back. I have the Matrix sway bar and it seems solid.

 

[Jetronic]

Yea, it was worse with the Corolla sway bar up front and the stock hollow one up back. I have the Matrix sway bar and it seems solid.

if it's easy enough to change, the OE bar up front with the matrix rear will solve your issues.... better tyre likely will not, though you'll be going slightly faster before it happens.