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The Prius in the US is delivered with 185-65-R15 tires.
I decided to purchase a set of 17 inch wheels to see how they performed on the car.
I bought the following package:
4 each, 17 x 7 –100 / 114 Koenig Appeal wheels.
4 each, Kumho 215 / 45 17 tires.
4 each, wheel locks.
I got a terrific deal since I bought the package from a good buddy of mine who owns a tire store. The package retails for over $1100.00 but my pal sold me everything including mounting and balancing for $735.00 including tax.
The results follow:
THE GOOD:
The handling improved considerably, it felt like I was driving a sports car. Braking was better and when passing a large truck or on a windy highway, the car was no longer affected by the side draft created by either the wind or a truck. I attribute the handling and braking improvement to the larger ‘footprint’ the tires made. In layman’s terms, wider tires allow for more tire on the road at any time. Cosmetically, the addition of the wheels made the car look totally sharp. Also, the Koenig set-up did not change the overall height of the tires and wheels from those that came with the car. Thus, there was no need to adjust the computer, (yes it can be done by the owner in the computer display) and the speedometer and trip odometer were dead-on accurate. I determined this by using my Garmin Street Pilot GPS unit which displays speed of the vehicle and the distance traveled.
THE BAD:
The ride was definitely rougher and noisier. I could definitely hear road noise as the car went over a crack or expansion joint in the road. While not particularly disturbing, it was somewhat distracting. I could have lived with the noise but for the following.
THE UGLY:
Overall gas mileage decreased from my usual average of 39 to 42 MPG down to approximately 34 MPG.
So, off came the 17’s and back on the car went the original wheels and tires.
I do not recommend a wheel/tire swap. The factory spent a lot of time and money determining the optimum set-up and I am unqualified to do it better than Toyota.
I am of course aware that European and Japanese cars come with 16 inch wheels and I presume that the set-up works fine with the 16’s., however, I am not going to try 16’s.
I have less than 800 miles on the Koenig set-up and have decided to put the entire package on Ebay. The setup will work on 03 and 04 Corollas as well as on Saturn’s and a myriad of other cars.
The purpose of this article is not to sell the wheels and tires, but if anyone here wants the whole package post a reply on our Prius site with your Email address and I will get back to you.
Arizona Charlie
I decided to purchase a set of 17 inch wheels to see how they performed on the car.
I bought the following package:
4 each, 17 x 7 –100 / 114 Koenig Appeal wheels.
4 each, Kumho 215 / 45 17 tires.
4 each, wheel locks.
I got a terrific deal since I bought the package from a good buddy of mine who owns a tire store. The package retails for over $1100.00 but my pal sold me everything including mounting and balancing for $735.00 including tax.
The results follow:
THE GOOD:
The handling improved considerably, it felt like I was driving a sports car. Braking was better and when passing a large truck or on a windy highway, the car was no longer affected by the side draft created by either the wind or a truck. I attribute the handling and braking improvement to the larger ‘footprint’ the tires made. In layman’s terms, wider tires allow for more tire on the road at any time. Cosmetically, the addition of the wheels made the car look totally sharp. Also, the Koenig set-up did not change the overall height of the tires and wheels from those that came with the car. Thus, there was no need to adjust the computer, (yes it can be done by the owner in the computer display) and the speedometer and trip odometer were dead-on accurate. I determined this by using my Garmin Street Pilot GPS unit which displays speed of the vehicle and the distance traveled.
THE BAD:
The ride was definitely rougher and noisier. I could definitely hear road noise as the car went over a crack or expansion joint in the road. While not particularly disturbing, it was somewhat distracting. I could have lived with the noise but for the following.
THE UGLY:
Overall gas mileage decreased from my usual average of 39 to 42 MPG down to approximately 34 MPG.
So, off came the 17’s and back on the car went the original wheels and tires.
I do not recommend a wheel/tire swap. The factory spent a lot of time and money determining the optimum set-up and I am unqualified to do it better than Toyota.
I am of course aware that European and Japanese cars come with 16 inch wheels and I presume that the set-up works fine with the 16’s., however, I am not going to try 16’s.
I have less than 800 miles on the Koenig set-up and have decided to put the entire package on Ebay. The setup will work on 03 and 04 Corollas as well as on Saturn’s and a myriad of other cars.
The purpose of this article is not to sell the wheels and tires, but if anyone here wants the whole package post a reply on our Prius site with your Email address and I will get back to you.
Arizona Charlie
