Tire question

More rubber on the road = more rolling resistance.
More rolling resistance = lower MPGs.

 

The hydroedge are not LRR, and going to a wider tire: mileage will suffer. I'd stick with stock size, and look up the available LRR tires. If I was in your shoes with the 15" (our stock size is 17") I might go with Bridestone EP20, but there's quite a few possibilities:

Tire Search Results

 

Would you use the same rims? They may or may not be compatible with wider tires, there must be some cut off.

 

Because it hurts mpg and most people don't want to lose mpg. That is the reason.

You are likely to take a pretty big hit by going to a non-LRR tire AND going wider.

If you are worried about wet traction keep in mind that a lot of LRR tires actually excel in wet weather braking and handling.

 

firepa63 Hit the nail on the head !

 

Yes. They take a hit but since none of them have swapped to a 15" and done the testing we do not have a definitive number. Because of this i take their opinions with a grain of salt when they say they are not taking a hit.

Regardless, going wider than what YOU currently have will drop your mpg.

If you want a wider tire for safety reasons then I say go for it. You should'nt lose too much but if you like playing video game mode and getting a high score then you should stick with The OEM size.

 

Find some Subaru rims as they are a half an inch wider that toy rims and get your wider tires. Let us know how it goes.

 

Good choice. I'd hate to log into PC and read about how unhappy you are with the new tires because of a severe mpg drop. . Just remember that new tires may cause a temporary loss until they break in.

 

I'm not sure how some of you manage to wear those tires out so quickly. We had almost 43,000 miles on the same tires when the winter wheel set was swapped in last December. Same tires, same vehicle, and we live just an hour south of you. Are you running mostly rural roads with a lot of curves or something?

 

Two thumbs up for being safe, revhigh.

 

uhh, i'm not sure how you're almost worn out at 25k miles. I'm at 40k miles and my S33B's still have a good 30% left and I run the OEM recommended psi. Maybe you need to layoff auto-crossing...

I'd also recommend sticking to OEM size. I once did a +1 on old '05 and I took a 2-4mpg hit, might have been due to the sizing change 195/60 and also the tire compound (super sticky Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S). On my prius, i'm sticking to LRR (if possible) on 185/55, nothing else... precisely hoping to find the Michelin Energy Saver A/S when the time comes.

I've done +1 and even +2s with crazy offsets and staggered setups on my previous cars (BMW and Hondas), but it makes no sense on the P.

 

5/32? You're better than me! That's 50% thread...new is 10/32. But I understand, safety is far more important than saving a buck here and there. I also tend to swap tires once I hit 2/32 since it doesn't rain here in socal...probably makes more sense to replace them earlier if it snowed or actually rained more than 1/2" a year.

 

Places like SoCal and Phoenix have it nice when it comes to tire choices and tire longevity. If I can make it through winter with more than 4/32 tread I will continue to run those tires until fall since we get zero rain in the summer. Usually!

 

We've got the OEM 17", and while I've never swapped to OEM 15", I have swapped to Michelin X-Ice in the stock 15" size, on steel Corrolla rims. I noticed no appreciable change in mileage, which maybe means the 17" penalty is comparable to swapping from OEM 15" to 15" snows, albeit a snow listed as LRR.