I'm thinking about replacing tires on my 2007 Prius to Goodyear Tripletred 195 R60 15. Does anyone have any experience with these?
A lot of us have the TripleTred in the 195/60R15 size. It's a popular upgrade and replacement tire and that's the most popular size to switch to. I've put TripleTreds on three cars now. I think there's probably no better passenger all-season tire out there for the money. If you haven't seen it yet, here's the great tire thread on PriusChat. It's long with many posts. But I always recommend to people that they at least read nyprius' excellent opening post: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-modifications/20573-tire-upgrade.html
Yes, I have those. Wonderful tires. The car feels stable and secure in all weather conditions - a vast improvement over the stock rubber. There are umpteen tire threads here discussing these and many other tire choices. Do a search and see what you find.
There are many threads regarding tires which you should peruse as you'll be able to gain a great deal of information. Unfortunately, you'll also have a tough time deciding. After countless hours of research I settled for the GY TripleTreds in the exact size captioned in your title. I could not be happier with this tire. I also recently learned that it was rated number one by a leading consumer magazine. The best attributes of this tire are as follows: 1-Unbelievable resistance to hydroplaning. No matter how wet the roads and how deep the water, this tire has an uncanny ability to resist hydroplaning. It inspires a great deal of confidence when I drive in the rain because I maintain the speed limit and feel like my tires are glued to the road. 2- Traction dry/wet is excellent. Absolutely NO comparison to the OEM tire. 3- Handling and ride quality is VASTLY improved with this tire. 4- Braking distance much better than OEM. This is seat of the pants but I know it is better than the OEM tires. 5- Snow traction is good. The overly aggressive traction control still cuts in too early to properly rate the tire's effectiveness in the snow. Still, it is NO comparison to the OEM tires. Have a look at the rating comparisons on tirerack. This tire comes out on top.
I switched to the larger sized TT's after 15K on the OEM tires. I keep 42psi on the fronts and 40psi on the rears. I also align the car every 10K. I now have 50K on the car (35K on the tires) and they have only worn down about 1/3 as measured with a tire depth gage. The tires handle like everyone has said before. If the wear keeps up, I should be getting over 75K before they need to be replaced. From my experience (Northeast) they are GREAT tires.
TT's do not come in the Touring OEM 195/55R16 size (not many tires do). If you want TT's for your Touring, you'll have to get a different size like 205/55R16.
How do these compare to the Nokian WRG2's or the FuelMaxx in regards to MPG's or handling in wintry conditons?
Don't know about the WRG2's. But according to Goodyear, the Assurance TripleTred should be equal to or outperform the Assurance Fuel Max in every category except fuel economy, where I assume that the Assurance Fuel Max will get 4% better MPG's at highway speeds -- which is what Goodyear claims the Assurance Fuel Max will get over the regular Assurance tire. See Goodyear website and ratings comparison: Goodyear Tires | Car And Minivan Tires | Compare Tires
Nokian WRg2 tires will get better MPGs (4-5%) than the TT as well as better winter traction. They will also handle well, but the TTs will have a longer tread life. JeffD
Genoz, I first started using 42/40 only because it was seemingly the prevailing psi on PriusChat. Whether or not it's the optimal psi for everything, I don't know. But I personally like 42/40 because I like its balance of stiffness/comfort/handling. Have you considered getting the Falken Ziex ZE-912 in the Touring OEM size of 195/55R16? Falkens are highly regarded performance tires and the ZE-912 is cheap ($77 each at TiresOnline.com), and it should wear as well as the OEM Bridgestone Turanzas but not as long as the TTs.
