can anyone share which tires they replace the OEM tires with? Do it affect the MPG. Which Brand, model did you buy, and are there any good deals out there. Looks like a set is going to cost about $ 400. James
I bought a new set for my 2001 for just $270.21 Those tires offer better traction without any noticeable MPG drop. They provide a much longer life-expectancy too. Pretty cool, eh? For details, refer to this webpage: http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-maintain.htm#AlternateTires
On John's recommendation, I also bought the Goodyear Allegra tires at Sam's Club. I retired them early (with only about 45k miles) and installed the even better Nokian i3 in the 185/65 14 size. Because of the wider tread I suppose that 2 mpg loss (or so) might be permanent. But for the very few Prius drivers who choose to drive on unpaved roads, the Nokians allow you to substantially reduce the inflation and still have good load capacity. At 43/40 psi or so, they are very impressive highway tires. I still have the Allegra tires, and they still have 4 mm tread depth, but it would probably not be practical to ship them off to another Prius driver for their final 10-15k miles.
I have the Dunlop SP10's that came on the 2003 and they are wearing fine. I'm thinking about 40-45,000 miles if things go as they are now. Maybe a bit less maybe a bit more but that's how things are looking now. They are LRR's like the Potenza that came on the 2k1's and 2's but way more durable.
