gadad

On a new Prius, 15" wheels are standard, 17" wheels are an optional upgrade. Is there a functional reason to want larger wheels (which require more expensive tires) or is it purely cosmetic?

LongPrime

We paid full list plus the lifetime oil change and the wheel rotation last October. Now the Prius '10 has better gas mileage, better features and slightly cheaper than what we got. Maybe I can do a trade in wheels so that I can feel better?

Lergnom

The larger wheels would give you better driving performance but likely lower gas mileage, depending on how much city versus highway driving. If you took the circumference of the tires and laid them out on the ground, you'd see the 17 inch wheel covers more ground per rotation. The longer length means that more power to the wheels makes the car respond more and turning the wheel at lower, city speeds will use more energy and less energy at higher speeds.

I don't know how they'd ride.

NJres

bigger wheels = more bling.. prius + bling does not compute!

BunsenBurner

LOL, NJres!

17-inch wheels and alloy wheels on a commuter car? I smell a typical dealership gimmick.

eadad

Not a dealership scam; Toyota is offering them as standard on the top of the line Prius and dealers are offering them as an option. Here's a forum discussion devoted to this topic.

Afraid the 2010's 17 in wheels 45 tires might ruin the ride - PriusChat Forums

barrons

My Scion TC came with stock 17" alloys and it's an economy car. Most tires today are being made for the larger rims and 15 inch are being phased out. The larger stiffer tires probably get better mileage and handle better. They make some that are still comfortable in ride but not as soft as a 60 or 70 series tire would be.

coureur

Another drag on the system is that the 17" wheels and tires probably weigh more. And wheels are unsprung weight - which will make your engine have to work much harder than the same weight added to say the passenger compartment or trunk.

anxiousmom

It would raise the car slightly higher off the ground, right? That might be a benefit if you ever ride over dirt roads or driveways where the middle part of the ground is higher and can scrape the undercarriage of the vehicle.

interesteddad

Good lord, not much accurate car info here.

The rolling circumference of a 15 inch tire/wheel combo and a 17 inch combo will be the same. The 17 inch wheels have a "lower profile" tire (i.e. the height of the rubber part) thus the wheel takes up more distance and the rubber less compared to the 15 inch where the rubber part is taller and the alloy wheel part less. Low profile tires grew out of racing car applications. Shorter sidewalls equal stiffer tires with less flex and better ultiimate cornering speed and responsiveness at the expense of much worse comfort and easier damage to the alloy wheel over pot holes.

On a street car, especially a Prius, it's all "bling". You aren't buying a Prius to street race or star in The Fast and the Furious VII. Of course, low profile high performance tires are much more expensive and typically are made of soft rubber compounds (for that Formula One handling, doncha know) that wear out in 10,000 miles.

Lergnom

Thanks for the correction; I didn't realize these are lower profile.

I would definitely not get low profile tires. The roads here are not smooth.

ucsd_ucla_dad

The 17" rim/wheel on the Prius is actually about 1/3" shorter in diameter than the 15" one due to the reasons intersteddad stated.

Unless you don't care about styling at all, and since you're interested in a Prius you probably aren't , then you might want to just visually compare a 15" vs. 17" vehicle side by side and see what you think from an aesthetic perspective. You might also want to drive each of them to see if you can notice any handling difference (there should be some as stated by idad) and select based on your handling preferences.

anxiousmom

I stand corrected!

barrons

Many of the low profile (30-50 aspect ratio) 17" tires are made in higher mileage compounds. My Scion has 50,000 miles and plenty of tread left--and I drive pretty hard and fast.

Also while they often engineer the tires to have a similar circumference (most have a diameter of about 25-26 inches), it is an area you can play with to change the effective gearing. Want more MPG--mount a 60 series when you had a 40 as stock (asuming no fitment problems with steering, etc) and you'll gain some real MPG and a softer ride but lose some handling.

alwaysamom

It does seem kind of crazy to offer 17 inch wheels on a Prius. Usually you would get low profile tires with larger wheels but I'm not sure why that would be an advantage on a Prius. I suppose it might improve handling but not many people buy a Prius for its great handling. My guess is that this is more a cosmetic issue than anything else and people may think that the wheels look better. My H has had several cars with 19 inch wheels and very low profile tires and I can assure you that the benefits to handling (and appearance) do not extend to a smooth ride.