Tyres Again ....

[paul.r]

Thanks again..the wheel size(diameter) is the wheel and tyre combined..from 215/45/17 to 195/65/15 is a change of 1.4%(9mm)..if 225/45/17 were fitted the diameter would be exactly the same...i am keeping within Toyota guidelines of 15" or 17" wheels...if i had fitted 16" then i would not be......

[Beretta]

Your call, of course, but unless I've misread your post you've changed your wheel size from original spec. That's a material change, irrespective of more or less value, and some insurers won't care and others are just looking for wiggle.

Anyway, have a google for it and see what you think after that.

I know I'd tell them anyway.

Bibsy,

You are quite right, "ANYTHING" thats alters the standard specification of the car, brakes, wheels, altered performance etc, must be notified to your insurers, and should you be involved in any major accident where an accident investigator attends, or visits the garage where your car has been taken following such accident, then you could find your policy void, and all claims directed personally to you.

I wonder how paul.r would feel if this happened to him, where a driver with unreported modifications hit his car, caused major damage and possibly serious damage to himself and or passengers, and was then found to have his insurance void, leaving paul.r having to fight the third party in court to try and claim compensation for his car and life changing injuries to himself and or his passengers, finally finding out that the person who caused the accident did not any funds to pay the claim?.

Any pedestrian or car driven by paul.r with these unreported modifications could find themselves in just that position, be it you, me or any member of the forum.

paul.r please read you car insurance policy fully or consult your broker, and they will confirm the above.

[Beretta]

Thanks again..the wheel size(diameter) is the wheel and tyre combined..from 215/45/17 to 195/65/15 is a change of 1.4%(9mm)..if 225/45/17 were fitted the diameter would be exactly the same...i am keeping within Toyota guidelines of 15" or 17" wheels...if i had fitted 16" then i would not be......

Sorry Paul your not keeping within any Toyota guidelines as the your T-Spirit left the factory with 17" wheels on it and not 15", or 16" wheels, and if Toyota wanted the car to have 15"'s on it they would have fitted 15" on it.

The other major factor your ignoring is the 45 to 65 profile of the tyre, and this in turn effects the handing of the car in a major way, as 65 profile will cause more flexing of the side walls of the tyres, they fitted at the factory for a reason.

Anyway, as Bibsy said, it's your call.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Insurance companies always ask whether any modifications have been made to the insured vehicle, and in this case you've modified the spec. The fact that the manufacturer uses this size wheel and tyre on a lesser spec is irrelevant. You've also changed the speed rating.

At the very least you do need to inform your insurance company of the changes to ensure your modifications do not void your policy.

If your car was involved in a claim involving replacing the tyres or wheels, the replacement would be like for like.

[barrycoll]

OK folks now please tell me about my 2013 T Spirit, fitted with solar roof panel.

brochure specs announce that this car will be fitted with 195 65 15" on 15" alloys (unsurprisingly) due the the weight of the glass roof needing to be offset by the smaller wheels...........however, on picking up my new car, there it was sitting on 17" pukker alloys with low profiles....straight from Japan!

has my car been modified???

is it the 'new' 2013 spec? ...the dealer didn't realise the wheel size discrepancy

either way, it now emits 92 grm CO2 according to the V5, and not 89, as per the brochure

should I 'tell' my insurance company, and if so What??

cheers folks barry coll

[paul.r]

Thanks all for replies..the first thing the police would do in the event of an accident is check the tyres to see if they are legal..they are,secondly the tyre pressures ..they are kept correct and checked often,i am within Toyota guidelines of 15" or17" wheels/tyres for the 3rd gen Prius..i checked thoroughly before i fitted them,just to add 15"inch wheels/tyres are fitted as standard to the T-Spirit when a solar roof is taken as an option instead of the 17" ones,so please explain this.the reason the T-Spirit is fitted with 17" alloy's is because its a higher spec car and you are charged a premium for the larger alloys...not because it goes any faster...the 45 to 65 profile is NOT a major factor ,low profile tyres are generally fitted to high performance cars or boy racer hatchbacks so they can(think) go round corners faster..the Prius is a fuel conscious motor NOT a sports car...are you saying all 65 profile tyres are dangerous? of course not....as for the speed rating..what does this have to do with it,as i have already said the larger wheels do not mean the car will go any faster!!...HR speed rating is up to 130 MPH... WR up to 168 MPH..what is the maximum speed of the Prius 112MPH..so what is your point about speed ratings??...a claim would involve the original wheels tyres (17") being replaced, as i already said...i always check my policies and i can assure you the main thing they are interested in is performance modifications,all i have done is fit 15" wheels for a better ride....i shall agree to dis-agree as we will never see eye to eye on this...

[barrycoll]

buying a set of 15" wheels sounds like a good idea Paul, as my 17" look good, but the ride and noise are tedious

any chance of some pics of the new wheels and tires please???

thanks barrycoll

[Opifex]

Paul.r - if you're so confident that the insurance company won't care about the change then you have nothing to lose by giving them a quick call.

A few years ago I changed a set of badly scuffed wheels for exactly the same size but later design and the insurance company added the change to the policy and charged me £10 for the paperwork. A small price for peace of mind.

[Bibsy]

Let's not over egg this one. As i understand it there's no legal way for an insurance company to not pay out in the circumstances described. What they can do though is restrict the claim to third party, even if you had comprehensive. So you wouldn't be stung for a billion quid damages caused to anyone else, but you might end up paying for your own car's damage.

More likely though, they'd work out what the premium would have been had you notified, and deduct that from the claim.

As the other question, I guess if its factory fit then that's that, irrespective of what the brochure or even sales contract said. But if in doubt, tell 'em. If not in doubt, don't.

I don't have an axe to grind and no connection with insurance. Just long weary years of dealing with them as a ordinary driver is all. And too many motoring forums.

[valmiki]

You get the same situation if you replace your wheels for wheels with winter tyres IIRC. Some insurers are OK with it, others may try and get away with charging a small premium (or more increasingly, an 'admin' charge). But as a rule, they wouldn't (shouldn't?) treat it as an 'enhancement' or modification.

I agree with all the above comments, which is when the tyres on my 17" get low enough, I'll try and hunt down some 15" steel wheels (genuine Toyota if possible) and then add Toyota's own wheel trims to them. Or something. Lol.

If the wheels are genuine Toyota then I could always say I bought the car with them!

I guess if insurers don't need to know if you're changing wheels to fit smaller diameter winter tyres, then I guess they'd look more favourably at this situation too...

[paul.r]

buying a set of 15" wheels sounds like a good idea Paul, as my 17" look good, but the ride and noise are tedious

any chance of some pics of the new wheels and tires please???

thanks barrycoll

Yes,the wheels in the link are those i purchased as a package complete with Continental tyres...the only thing i bought was a new set of tapered alloy wheel /locking nuts,the Toyota ones have a flat surface,in all honesty before i bought the T-Spirit i searched for one fitted with a solar roof because they are fitted with 15" alloy wheels....when new you have a choice 17" alloys,or a solar roof and 15" ..this is a no cost option...i understand people wanting to fit large alloys for aesthetic purposes as they do look very good...unfortunately, they are also very expensive and the tyres probably twice as much (because of the speed rating)as a smaller one ....the only other thing i have fitted to the Prius are ....body side mouldings ....hopefully to prevent dents from other doors etc......

http://www.wheelbasealloys.com/15_Inch_MSW_19_Silver_Alloy_Wheels__2690

http://www.burrowstoyotaparts.co.uk/prius-2009-on-side-mouldings-pz415-g0280-00-i1170.html

[barrycoll]

looks like you bought from Burrows too, Paul.....co-incidence ...they fitted a style pack on mine which gives a bit side bling (as it were), but no protection from the Tesco brigade....."unfortunately" the car looks appealingly 'athletic' with the big wheels, and I may find it hard to spend £500 to change for something less easy on the eye

I am afraid that I am with you over the insurance business, because, as you say, there is no change of spec....the only thing that separates the T Spirit/T4 from the T 3 is the size of the wheels, and I am always of the opinion (maybe wrongly) that what they dont know wont hurt them.....eg my last Golf was Superchipped to 170bhp, but as it was an ECU mod, and not a tuning box, I just left the insurance as it was...without putting it on a rolling road, it would have past muster for 'normal' Estate

[johalareewi]

Interestingly, some of the Toyota websites in Europe allowed the choice of either 15inch or 17inch rims with your gen3 Prius.

In fact, a quick look at Toyota.fr shows the new facelift Prius which you can get with either 15inch or 17inch wheels as required.

http://www.toyota.fr/cars/new_cars/prius/index.tmex?view=takealook&select=promotion

Scroll down towards the bottom...

[Opifex]

In France the choice of wheels is only available on the lower spec model. The higher spec model is only sold with 17" wheels though IIRC a choice was available on all specs before the facelift.

I would love to know how marketing departments decide what combinations of options are to be made available. Often there appears to be no logic about it.

[johalareewi]

I would love to know how marketing departments decide what combinations of options are to be made available. Often there appears to be no logic about it.

Marketing and Logic

[Ancient Nerd]

I would love to know how marketing departments decide what combinations of options are to be made available. Often there appears to be no logic about it.

Marketing and Logic

At least you didn't include both words in the same sentence!

[barrycoll]

the 17 wheels are definitely marketing, just as the are with Audi S line cars, and any Sport option elsewhere....it must be the showroom X factor that sells most cars and small wheels are just not cool

motor magazines decry the ride quality of cars with big wheels, but always tick the Big wheel box on any they test....

on the other hand, on the other hand...... when I was exiting from the M25, onto the M40, my big wheeled Prius felt rock solid, and very re-assuring.....and I have found that over full width speed humps, the front suspension seems to have far more compliance than one would expect from the ride that it gives over a broken road surface..

so big wheels are not all bad news, and European motorway surfaces are pothole free, and have very quiet surfaces....

there isn't much cash swilling around Europe for road repairs, but there is so much less traffic than the UK , that roads are in far better condition and (almost) suit 17" rims!

cheers barrycoll