[T. S. Kimball]

From the various discussions here and the summary from John's site, I started looking for a replacement tire ahead of time.

Personally my preference is Goodyear's Aquatread 3, so I'm curious if anyone has tried them yet.

I had them on my old car (93 Corolla) and were an excellent fit for the driving I do in NJ (highway with occasional places of 'slick when wet' and 'flood when drizzle' - and mostly at night as that's when I work :?). The snow we had here last x-mas was not well-liked by the OEM Potenzas; I had no issues with the similar snow on Thanksgiving when I was still driving the Corolla/Aquatreads.

Goodyear's website has the proper sizes for the tire, both 'standard' and 185/65R14. The 185's have max load of 1,124 so that's what I'd likely choose. I suspect that they are non-LRR, though I'd happily sacrifice MPG for the better traction.

Any assistance would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[WmHPowell]

Alternate Tires

There are three primary areas of concern for replacement tires:
1) Section width: the replacement can't be much wider than the OEM or be in danger of contacting suspension / steering components or not fitting properly on the rims,
2) Revs per mile: diameter. Going taller or lower WILL affect the accuracy of the speedometer as well as possibly (remote) confusing the THS,
3) Load rating - usually measured at max inflation pressure. Overloading a tire will cause it to run hot and possibly fail without warning.

Unfortunately, there are no standards for rolling resistance; any manufacturer is free to claim whatever they choose to claim. Most comparisons are made only with the manufacturer's line or series.

If you choose to go with the Goodyears, PLEASE keep us all informed with your impressions and the tire's performance and wear...

 

[Dick Larimore]

On the subject of tire size, I now have 185/65R14 Yokohama Guardex F720 snow tires on my 2002 Prius. They are mounted on steel 14 inch 5.5 rims. These tires are great in the snow! The larger size works just great on the Prius. These tires are much better than the OEM tires. In fact, until I put these snow tires on the Prius I did not realize just how poor the Prius OEM tires are. It is somewhat sad that snow tires handle much better on dry pavement than the OEM Potenzas.

Based on this experience, I will never remount the OEM tires this spring. I intend to replace them with 185/65R14 Goodyear Regatta 2 tires. Both the Auqatreads and the Regatta are 44 PSI tires and either will be a huge improvement over the originals. I have not noticed an MPG hit in using the 35 psi Yokohamas and all the 185/65R14 tires have a higher load rating than the OEM tire.