Cross climate tyres for Prius Gen4

[Anthony Poli]

Just had my CrossClimate fitted and noticed the difference [emoji3]

The car had three Continental premium contact 2 and toyo blue...
The old tyres were all over 3mm, just didn’t seem to match from left to right in wear. No complaints about economy, just felt like they would slide when cornering on a large roundabout in 40 zone.

Now the ride is much quieter and feels a lot safer in the corners.



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[cviclark]

Just back from my first long trip on the Cross Climates. Over 515 miles the Av mpg was 64.1.   I would like to say it was fast motorway but M6 and M5 speed restrictions kept me below 60 and often below 50 for long stretches on the journey south and M1 M6 back were equally slow,.  The weather on a trip M4 Reading M25 to Hemel was atrocious, a boat would have bee, n more suitable, but the Cross Climates felt sure and safe.  In wet very weather the steering feels much more positive..  Overall I am pleased with change.  I am still experimenting with pressures, currently I am a bit over the 35/36 but I need to check out my gauge for accuracy.

As an aside from some of the replies some members still think will can compare mpg figures for 17 inch rims with those on 15 inch rims.  The Prius brochure shows 94.1mpg for 15inch vs 85.6 on 17inch rims .Combined mpg. Nobody can expect anything like that in real life but the comparison matches my experience.  I changed the Auris TS Excel partly  because Toyota insisted it had to be run on 17 inch wheels to get insurance.  The fuel consumption was way down on my Gen 3 Prius and more comparable to my Gen 2.    

[Catlover]

Hi mIan, re fuel consumption figures. Dont know whether you saw my post late July 2018, the day I picked up my 66 plate Gen4 Prius from the Toyota dealer in Solihull. I surprised myself on the homeward journey in the car, just short of 100 miles and the onboard computer showed 91.9mpg. Yesterday I did 81.x and today 80.x. Weather gone mild again (13deg C) so helping things along. 

 

[Heidfirst]

35 minutes ago, cviclark said:

I changed the Auris TS Excel partly  because Toyota insisted it had to be run on 17 inch wheels to get insurance.  

Did you try another insurer?

[altocumulus]

I recently mentioned I was considering a set of winter tyres (my PHEV thread).

I don't mind a few MPG sacrificed in the interests of safety, but what do you all do?

I am favouring a spare set of wheels pre-loaded so I can have the convenience of when to make the change - I have the space, rather than pop over to the Toyota garage which is 90 minutes away.

[Anthony Poli]

I recently mentioned I was considering a set of winter tyres (my PHEV thread).
I don't mind a few MPG sacrificed in the interests of safety, but what do you all do?
I am favouring a spare set of wheels pre-loaded so I can have the convenience of when to make the change - I have the space, rather than pop over to the Toyota garage which is 90 minutes away.

I personally just keep the all season tyres on.


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[altocumulus]

55 minutes ago, Anthony Poli said:

 

I personally just keep the all season tyres on.


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Thanks Anthony - I did ask with the garage and the sales guy said all season tyres would affect the economy. mmmm Cheers.

[BhxTrev]

Ian's thanks for your report regarding the journey. I have increased the pressure in my Crossclimate tyres & there seems to be an positive improvement in the mpg. The weather's cold now so this does affect the economy & besides that, I haven't done any distance driving so I won't really know how the tyre pressure change will affect the mpg until I do a journey. I have however, since increasing the pressures noticed that the Battery gets fully charged, which before it charged up but not as high as now. I just hope this pressure increase sorts both the economy & outer tread tyre wear, which I shall be keeping a close eye on.

[altocumulus]

This is becoming a more than interesting set of discussions. Who's correct on recommended tyre pressures for any vehicle?

Toyota, tyre manufacturer or user (if the latter, do we have to keep tweeking to find the optimum?).

There's probably too many variables, road/weather conditions, load temperature - oh for a pre-journey app that can advise 😄

[Anthony Poli]

This is becoming a more than interesting set of discussions. Who's correct on recommended tyre pressures for any vehicle?
Toyota, tyre manufacturer or user (if the latter, do we have to keep tweeking to find the optimum?).
There's probably too many variables, road/weather conditions, load temperature - oh for a pre-journey app that can advise [emoji1]

I have also increased my pressure, got them set for motorway use.

So no real loss on the economy side of things. [emoji3]


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[HughL]

Had CrossClimates fitted to my Gen 4 (17" wheels) about 2 weeks ago and have now done a few hundred miles on them under conditions that are fairly typical for me: mixture of motorway and A-roads with a bit of suburban stop-start. Definitely quieter, even on the horrible concrete sections on the M25. The weather hasn't really been cold enough to feel much difference in grip, but they were fine in some heavy rain. I think the MPG has a taken a small hit, but probably not enough to worry about compared with the cost of a skid. I've increased the pressure a small amount over the recommended.

When I lived in Scotland I ran full winter tyres on Subaru Legacies and Outbacks, and had a few winters down here in the South on the same setup so I'm keeping my expectations moderate. As the Prius is quite a bit lighter, though, I'm expecting it to be more tractable: Outbacks are quite hefty and physics is physics. The traction and stability control on the Gen 4 Prius is probably quite a bit more advanced than my last Outback too.

[PeteB]

Personally, I went off Michelin many years ago (after years of buying nothing else); if anyone is interested, here's why:

My Nokian winter tyres were fine in last year's snow and ice, particularly when diverted onto some country lanes with 3" of virgin snow on top of sheet ice when I was driving for a charity that delivered blood supplies for the NHS outside working hours.

My dealer can usually book me in at short notice (especially if I don't insist on using the team that normally looks after me) if I decide to bring a swap forward because of changing weather.  It's no hassle and with hip & back problems I'm happy to let them do it.

[Anthony Poli]

Instead of the Michelin, I wish uniroyal made the original rain expert for modern wheel sizes. They last and stick to the road like *** to a blanket. The later tyres didn’t last long from reviews and that put me off.

I have tried klieber quadrexer, another all season tyre but they did wear down noticeably over the time I had that car.
Normally my tyres often last the time I have the car. With only clocking up 4-6000 miles a year.

In the end we all pay our money and take our chances, I’m sure that’s something in law that phrase.


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[altocumulus]

I'm like you Anthony, I normally change the tyres when the car is changed 😄 - The last time I changed just one tyre was on my Gen2, 10 years ago now, I had a slow puncture on my way into Dundee on a Sunday morning.

[Rav4ster]

Have CrossClimates  on my Gen2 ang gone for 205/55/16 and on average lost about 2-3 mpg. Drove in all conditions and they are very good and classed as winter tires in europe (Germany for example)

[wass]

The whole tyre discussion is littered with hopeful misunderstanding. The most grippy winter tyres are going to be more draggy and less economical. The wider the tyre, the more drag it will create. Narrow eco tyres will return good fuel consumption but one must take care in wet or frosty weather. However, I successfully drove a morris traveler rear wheel drive on 145x14 tyres through snow up the the hubs ( 6 or7" deep) not because the tyres were all weather or studded but simply because there was good tread on them, they were slightly over inflated and they were narrow and displaced the snow and slush more easily than wider tyres. So .... buy cars with narrow tyres, make sure your pressures are ok and forget about all weather tyres in UK, they are a gimmick, they doubtless do work but in the most part , are surplus to requirements because narrower tyres would probably do just a good a job.

 Toyota spend millions on developing fuel efficient cars and then we, the punters, spend millions on the cars kick economy gains into touch by fitting high drag wide wheels and tyres. How daft is that? Do I want to fit 17" wheels on my car? Not when I can fit smaller wheels and it costs less and grips better in challenging road conditions.

[Heidfirst]

38 minutes ago, wass said:

However, I successfully drove a morris traveler rear wheel drive on 145x14 tyres through snow up the the hubs ( 6 or7" deep) not because the tyres were all weather or studded but simply because there was good tread on them, they were slightly over inflated and they were narrow and displaced the snow and slush more easily than wider tyres. So .... buy cars with narrow tyres, make sure your pressures are ok and forget about all weather tyres in UK, they are a gimmick, they doubtless do work but in the most part , are surplus to requirements because narrower tyres would probably do just a good a job.

Your Traveller was probably on something like a 70 or 80 profile tyre v the more normal today 50 or 55 & was nearly 1/2 the weight of a Prius. It also probably ran a much lower pressure than is the norm for today. All of these have an effect on traction and it probably also had a tread pattern that was more suited versus that of a modern "summer" tyre.

I am fairly sure that you would see a difference in performance as well as mpg in dry/snow/wet even between the same Prius fitted with the same tyres in 15" 65 profile tyres & 17" 45 profile.

As to whether or not you need/want summer/all season/winter tyres in the UK will vary depending where you live in the UK & what your typical route is. What you might need in Cambridgeshire in winter for city driving will probably be very different than for the Bealach na Ba in a snowstorm.

[cviclark]

Narrow eco tyres will return good fuel consumption but one must take care in wet or frosty weather. However, I successfully drove a morris traveler rear wheel drive on 145x14 tyres through snow up the the hubs ( 6 or7" deep) not because the tyres were all weather or studded but simply because there was good tread on them, they were slightly over inflated and they were narrow and displaced the snow and slush more easily than wider tyres. So .... buy cars with narrow tyres, make sure your pressures are ok and forget about all weather tyres in UK, they are a gimmick, they doubtless do work but in the most part , are surplus to requirements because narrower tyres would probably do just a good a job.

I drove a SAAB 96 for over 20 years In all type of weather BUT like your Moggie Traveller the narrow steal wheals had narrow CROSS PLY tyres.  These cut into the snow with stiff side walls. Good for snow, sand but poor for rain or tarmac.  Once the deep tread got clogged they just spun.   We need all weather tyres which will always be a compromise and I am very impressed with my Cross Climates in the very very heavy rain of the past couple of weeks.  The SAAB and old Traveller struggled to maintain today's  motorway speeds, nostalgic drivers say " they don't build em like they used to"   It was rare to keep one for 100,000 miles or get 30 mpg and who can forget the joy of laying on your back to grease half a dozen nipples every 3,000 miles.  On a trip from Cyprus to UK through Turkey, Yugoslavia and Europe in 73 i had  a complete set of Gaskets slave and master cylinder rubbers for clutch and brakes  and a whole list of spares.  Now I could do the same trip in half the time without any preparation at all

[BhxTrev]

I remember the Morris Minor Traveller so well because as a student in the 1960s I worked weekends in a garage. Can folks remember the steering kingpins that used to collapse & the front wheel would simply fold under the wing as the car was turning a corner usually thankfully at low speed? I lost count of the number of cars we  went out to rescue with that fault. Like many cars years ago they were unreliable & I'm hardly surprised that Ian carried all those spares with him on his journey across Europe. I really appreciate the reliability of the Prius.

[PeteB]

2 hours ago, cviclark said:

... " they don't build em like they used to"   It was rare to keep one for 100,000 miles or get 30 mpg and who can forget the joy of laying on your back to grease half a dozen nipples every 3,000 miles...

or the rust, new wheel bearings, dampers, points & so on.  I don't miss playing with the choke in cold weather either.

But the biggest plus for me is the safety - much due to the NCAP crash tests.  I had a car drive hard into my drivers door in a 2000 model Yaris in 2001 and was uninjured despite there being no side airbags then!  In 2002 my first Gen 1 Prius was totalled in a 40 mph crash, and again, I got up and walked out.  If I'd been in any of the first 5 cars I owned in the 1970s and 80s (made in the 60s and 70s), the first one would have seen me severely injured and the second dead!

[altocumulus]

This moves very nicely to something I commented on recently. That in the 70's, 80's I would drive in winter conditions without a care, and not bother with tyres etc - it was great at 4 in the morning, no one else except the occasional police car. Hillman Hunter, Datsun Sunny and Talbot Horizon were all a dream to drive through snow and frost - though the frost was more frequent and severe than the snow....

Narrower tyres make sense as being more grippy/capable in snow and frost.

 

[jgodfrey]

Had Crossclimates fitted to my Auris HSD (17" wheels) in March and the ride is significantly better and quieter. The only downside is that I've lost about 4mpg compared to the budget tyres I had on before despite running at the same pressures of 36psi. I'm considering upping them to 38psi as they look a bit flatter on the rims. What pressures is everyone else running them at?

[Anthony Poli]

Had Crossclimates fitted to my Auris HSD (17" wheels) in March and the ride is significantly better and quieter. The only downside is that I've lost about 4mpg compared to the budget tyres I had on before despite running at the same pressures of 36psi. I'm considering upping them to 38psi as they look a bit flatter on the rims. What pressures is everyone else running them at?

I had mine at 38/40.


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[thrope]

I have a gen 3 Prius (2013) and I'm looking to put CrossClimate plus tyres on it. It has 17" alloys at the moment - the cheapest prices I see for 215/45/R17 are around £120 per corner fitted. 

But if I understand my model is also certified for 15" alloys. I can find 195/65/R15 crossclimate plus for around £75 per corner. 

So there is not much price difference between buying new 15" alloys and tyres (mytyres have five spoke wheel that looks pretty close to standard for around £60) and just buying 17" tyres. It could even be cheaper if I can find a good set of used Toyota alloys on eBay. 

I understand that the 15" tyres have better economy and smoother ride. I am mainly attracted by the smoother ride (find it a bit jarring - there are lots of potholes where I live). And then in the future replacement tyres would also be cheaper. 

So what would be the disadvantage? Why are the higher tier models specced with 17" if they have no advantage? 

[Catlover]

 

On 12/4/2018 at 7:53 PM, jgodfrey said:

Had Crossclimates fitted to my Auris HSD (17" wheels) in March and the ride is significantly better and quieter. The only downside is that I've lost about 4mpg compared to the budget tyres I had on before despite running at the same pressures of 36psi. I'm considering upping them to 38psi as they look a bit flatter on the rims. What pressures is everyone else running them at?

I up 3psi in the wifes Auris Hybrid, and same in my Gen4 Prius

 

7 minutes ago, thrope said:

I have a gen 3 Prius (2013) and I'm looking to put CrossClimate plus tyres on it. It has 17" alloys at the moment - the cheapest prices I see for 215/45/R17 are around £120 per corner fitted. 

But if I understand my model is also certified for 15" alloys. I can find 195/65/R15 crossclimate plus for around £75 per corner. 

So there is not much price difference between buying new 15" alloys and tyres (mytyres have five spoke wheel that looks pretty close to standard for around £60) and just buying 17" tyres. It could even be cheaper if I can find a good set of used Toyota alloys on ebay. 

I understand that the 15" tyres have better economy and smoother ride. I am mainly attracted by the smoother ride (find it a bit jarring - there are lots of potholes where I live). And then in the future replacement tyres would also be cheaper. 

So what would be the disadvantage? Why are the higher tier models specced with 17" if they have no advantage? 

I got 15" on my gen4 Prius Excel. Seems to be an option from new and the previous owner did me a favour by having 15". I believe the 15" option to be a cost saving when ordering new.

More comfy ride with 15" too, and mpg better. I just had 2 new front tyres fitted by my Toyota dealer. Matched the ones originally fitted. £50 each all inclusive, balanced, fitted, inc VAT, disposal old.