15" or 16" rims with LRR tires?

I am wondering which set of rims I should put a set of LRR tires on for best MPG.
15" stock VW Jetta Alloys
Or
16" BBS wolfsburg rims

The BBS rims feel lighter then the stock ones but will the bigger size help or be worse.

Stock rims for your car (Avus 1) are pretty light, 16.7 lbs. Lighter than the 16s, I'm sure, and the tires are lighter. Also, you can run a 195 series tire which is also going to be lighter and have a smaller contact patch. 15s for FE, for sure. Look at Bridgestone Ecopias or Michelin Energy Savers for best FE.

I agree, the 15" Avus' are great for fuel economy and I also second the Bridgestone Ecopia tires.

I have had Ecopia EP100s for 50k miles, limited wear so far (expect to get 75-80k miles on them) and 2-3mpg higher than the ContiProContact tires I had previously. I also run them at 42psi as well... Just be aware, they are 'summer' tires and may have trouble in the snow.

Stick with the 15" wheels and run the Michelin Energy Saver A/S. They last longer than the Ecopia EP100 which may be going out of production. The Energy Saver also tested slightly higher in fuel economy as well. It's what I run on my car and I have observed a 3+mpg increase over other LRR tires.

Just be sure you are getting the Energy Saver A/S and NOT the Energy Saver. Those are two different tires. The later is a summer tire and does not offer quite the fuel economy and they wear out faster. A number of people on the Prius forum have accidentally purchased the summer version because they were not clear when asking their tire retailer for the tire or the retailer didn't realize there are two different models. It makes a pretty big difference!

Thanks for all the info guys. Sounds like I should just put high perf tires on the 16" and 15" for Eco.

Sounds like a good plan. The 16" tires with the shorter sidewall will offer better handling anyway. Good luck with your purchases and keep us posted on your thoughts after you break them in!

F8L said:

Sounds like a good plan. The 16" tires with the shorter sidewall will offer better handling anyway. Good luck with your purchases and keep us posted on your thoughts after you break them in!

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How do the energy savers A/S do with rain and overall handling?

My .02: good in the rain, lousy on dry roads. Numb, low grip, howl easily. Very soft sidewalls (probably to save weight) which makes them feel mushy on turn-in. Don't expect handling or you'll be disappointed.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

My .02: good in the rain, lousy on dry roads. Numb, low grip, howl easily. Very soft sidewalls (probably to save weight) which makes them feel mushy on turn-in. Don't expect handling or you'll be disappointed.

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I wasn't expecting that much for handling, but they definantly needed to be good in rain. I'll just have to take it easy on when I have them on. I drive 400-500 a week on avg so every little bit helps.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

My .02: good in the rain, lousy on dry roads. Numb, low grip, howl easily. Very soft sidewalls (probably to save weight) which makes them feel mushy on turn-in. Don't expect handling or you'll be disappointed.

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That is how I would have and have summed them up in my review of the tires. http://priuschat.com/threads/michelin-energy-saver-a-s-review.110038/

However, if you drive like a normal human being and are not trying to race around like a maniac then they are perfectly fine. If you would like a comparison to the Ecopia EP100 here is a good one. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=121

I found the AVID Ascend to be much better for handling and steering feel but they were a good 3mpg less fuel efficient. They fact they last 15,000 miles longer helps make up for the loss.

I like to run mine at higher pressure. This means that the sidewall is rigid due to the air pressure.

MikeMars said:

I like to run mine at higher pressure. This means that the sidewall is rigid due to the air pressure.

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Aye, I run mine at between 40/38psi and 44/42psi. It really helps a lot with handling. Factory recommendations are 35/33psi for my car.

Avus with Goodyear 195/65/15 weighed 33#. steelie, same tire, 35#. Arietta(17's) with 225/45/17, 45#.

i will be going with these although not listed as an LRR, the UTQG is very high:

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/d...c=27621&counter=1&ar=65&rd=15&sw=false&cs=195
they can be had for as little as 70.00.
compared with this:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...&tireModel=P6+Four+Seasons&partnum=055HR6P6V3
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=354416&page=2&highlight=avus

Perhaps more pressure helps, but when I swapped them out for Michelin Pilot Exaltos the difference in grip at the same tire pressure was pretty dramatic. And I don't think I saw that big a change in FE, although I haven't been doing a lot of long drives lately.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

... And I don't think I saw that big a change in FE, ...

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The difference in MPG is modest in my opinion - enough to pay for the tyres over their life, and hence very worthwhile, but not enough to make a noticeable dent in your monthly fuel bill.

MikeMars said:

The difference in MPG is modest in my opinion - enough to pay for the tyres over their life, and hence very worthwhile, but not enough to make a noticeable dent in your monthly fuel bill.

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Agreed.

I spend over $170 on fuel every month. So if the tires give me 2-3 mpg more they will save me over $40 a month.

NorthernVdub said:

I spend over $170 on fuel every month. So if the tires give me 2-3 mpg more they will save me over $40 a month.

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That's nothing, before i traded my explorer, for my tdi is was spending 700 a month on fuel.

If you're getting 50 MPG (your profile says 55), then 2.5 MPG is 5%. That's $8.50/month. What am I missing?

NorthernVdub said:

I spend over $170 on fuel every month. So if the tires give me 2-3 mpg more they will save me over $40 a month.

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Calculated over the life of the vehicle you could save thousands with a great LRR tire vs. a non-LRR tire that may be cheaper. I ran the numbers on known LRR tires over 150,000 miles and the difference was quite in favor of LRR tires. The problem is knowing which ones will truly provide high fuel economy and which ones are marginally better than regular tires.

The difference between running my Energy Saver A/S 15" tires vs. a LRR 17" tire will save me a few thousand over the lifetime (150,000) of the car. I chose 150,000 miles because that is when I got rid of my last Prius and intend to get rid of the current one. I drive over 30,000 miles a year.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

If you're getting 50 MPG (your profile says 55), then 2.5 MPG is 5%. That's $8.50/month. What am I missing?

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I drive 450 miles a week and every other week its 600+ miles. That's excluding my 200-600 mile trips to go fishing, hiking, or just to explore. Right now the cost of diesel is at an all time low of 4.25

...over the lifetime (150,000) of the car. I chose 150,000 miles because that is when I got rid of my last Prius and intend to get rid of the current one. I drive over 30,000 miles a year.

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I tend to buy TDIs at a bit over 100,000 and then get rid at 250,000. So the same 150k but at a different stage. The engine is still good at 250 but that is the point I find other things are starring to deteriorate. My current one has an aluminium body rather than steel so I am hoping it lasts longer.

MikeMars said:

I tend to buy TDIs at a bit over 100,000 and then get rid at 250,000. So the same 150k but at a different stage. The engine is still good at 250 but that is the point I find other things are starring to deteriorate. My current one has an aluminium body rather than steel so I am hoping it lasts longer.

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So the fuel savings are still approx. I just don't like the idea of being out of warranty and since cool new cars are always coming out this is a good time for me. In your case you save a heck of a lot more money!