Paul

Why do you plan on buying the whole set of 4 tires?<br>I bought 1 two months ago and think that it is enough.<br>It took 3 days at Firestone to get it.<br><br>Rob

others have suffered inconveniences of availability, price, etc. When the wave of aging tires that need replacement hits, as it will, availability problems may worsen. Am concerned with Toyota's choice of this size tire. This shouldn't have to become a concern, and clouds the driving experience of an otherwise amazing vehicle.(I'm referring here to the numerous postings of concerned and dismayed owners...hardly purely anecdotal with this frequency)

&gt;&gt;&gt;Am concerned with Toyota's choice of this size tire<br><br>That's a pretty rough thing to say, there. The 14-inchers are pretty standard on compacts. I think the real issue here is the durability of the tire, not the size. On my Escort - 14 inchers - my Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWRs are wearing like iron. In fact, I had to get a new one at approx 50K miles because somebody ran me into a sharp curb, and the insurance adjustor looked at the tire and immediately said, "Too bad, it looks almost new." He was stunned when I said it had 50K miles on it.<br><br>SP

&gt;&gt;&gt;The 14-inchers are pretty standard on compacts. <br><br>Anybody consider bigger tires than the 165 on this Prius (assuming they meet the other criteria needed for the Prius)? I ran upsized tires on my Escort with no problem.

re: Anybody consider bigger tires than the 165 on this Prius ???<br><br>hi all,<br>it would also help, i think, if one could put 15" tires and rims on the Pruis. (yet for the cost, new rims, new tires)<br>we have a honda civic lx that came with 14", yet the honda ex model is sold with 15" tires. <br>so i was wondering in the Prius could take a larger rim and tire. <br>any input would be appricated.<br>just a thought.. maybe not a good one.. :o) LarryM

Larry,<br><br>One would need to re-calibrate the speedometer/odometer for larger tires. Not sure if you could easily re-program the computer considering the digital display and the MPG screen...<br><br>-Michael<br><br>CA "01 PRIUS"

I looked up the meaning of the tire code 84S on the Bridgestone. S means a top speed of 112 mph. 84 means the tire can support 500kg. Multiplied by 4 and converted to lbs, the original tires support 4400lb. Almost every manufacturer that I looked up makes a 81S, which translates to 4065 lbs. Do you actually think that 335 lbs out of 4000 (7-8%) will make an enormous difference. If you do, you can shop around for 84 or higher, possibly requiring you to go to a higher speed tire, T is next.

After a tire blew out without any warning a Firestone dealer in New Jersey told me it would take 7 - 10 days to get one. They had one in stock in California. I found a Toyota dealer who had one but they first told me they didn't have any and would have to order one. They also said that I would have to bring the car in before they would order the "part". They found one only after I asked them to order it first and offered to pay in advance on a credit card. <br><br>"Lucky" me that they had one. They charged $89 for the tire plus 1/2 hour labor + taxes. That was $150 for a tire. Or I could have driven around on the emergency spare for 2 weeks.

&lt;Why buy _4_ "extra" spare tires?&gt;<br><br>Why not? If it doesn't blow, then you have new complete set for when they wear down, and you won't have to bother looking again.

Actually, the smart thing is to buy one spare, a rim, and another 4 while you're at it, etc. Anyone know if there's room for a full size spare? My Prius hasn't come yet but all my Corollas so far had room ...

Go right ahead ...<br><br>IF:<br><br> 1) You ensure there is sufficient space<br> inside the wheel well<br> AND<br> 2) you don't care about "toasting" the <br> drive train !!! (CVT, electric motor, etc.)<br><br> [[i.e.: just to be explicit... ]]<br> [[ It is NOT the way to go ]]<br><br> j.

Although I have had no trouble yet, all the discussion about tires here has caused me concern. I called the Toyota Customer Service Department and asked if there was any reason not to use a different brand of tires from Bridgestone. The first answer was that Toyota does not recommend any specific brand as long as you get the correct size.<br>I then said that I wanted a specific answer for the Prius in case it was different from their other cars. The woman then told me she would have to ask about that. After a few minutes she came back and said that you could use any brand tire on the Prius as long as it was the same size and had the same rolling resistance.

The tire MUST be capable of handling the extra loads imposed on it by the weight of the Prius or it will fail even faster. The original Bridgestones are the "Extra Load" version; the same size tire in a regular load (max pressure 35 psi rather than 51 psi) will not give satisfactory service and should be avoided.

Corolla's _do_ have room for "full sized" <br>alternative to "silly saver" spare, as U said;<br>AFAICSee, the PRIUS doesn't.<br><br>jim (& Silver Sadie)

I got my first flat ever on Saturday (I drove an 86 Olds Cutlass Supreme for 7 years prior to my Prius). I received my car in October & have only driven it for 2500 miles so far. <br><br>I thought it was strange to get a flat so early.....<br><br>I am going to bring it to the mechanic at the dealership tomorrow. He said that he'd check to see if the tire was faulty, then he'd order the tire for me. (No Prius tires at the dealership.)<br><br>That's my story.<br><br>Keri

What were the causes of these three flats? Puncture from road debris? Structural failure of the tire? Leak from bad seal? If they were all from punctures, it could be that you were just unlucky or that there's a construction site you drive by often where there are stray nails lying about.

I have been driving my Prius in the Atlanta area for 4 months and no flats. However I have had my share of flat tires over the years with all the construction debris all the time on the roads and I have owned Honda's, Audi's, Jeeps, Dodges, You name it. I certainly don't believe it is inherent in the Prius tire.

There is something up with the tires on the Prius(we have 2). My Dad had a flat on the front left, no puncture seen. Looks like the tread separated. Took to the dealer and they replaced both left tires saying there is a newer version. Toyota said the tire company would not handle the waranty, so the Toyota Dealership replaced 2 free of charge. Both our cars have about 20,000 miles on them. And both seem to be wearing out on the left shoulder of the front tire. Looked at the old and new tires, but could not see any difference on model or type, so I am not sure what they mean by a new type. Just said they were installed on the early versions of the Prius.

My Toyota dealership wouldn't replace mine nor will the tire company replace them under warranty.... although I bought the car two months ago. I understand why they won't, but it still stinks that I got a flat so soon....<br><br>Keri