hillzofvalp wrote:I have a set of these defenders on order from Costco. I use my leaf for Lyft full time, so I'll probably be putting 60k on them in 2015. I am not terribly worried about the efficiency hit (although I'm fairly convinced that it is based on circumference constant in computer) especially since you can pretty easily regain 5% just by hypermiling more.
I also am anticipating a battery replacement in 6 months (just in time for summer heat) at or around 60,000. Because of this, I feel like I can tolerate a 2 mile reduction in range for 6 months and then when I get my new pack it won't even matter much
I'd strongly recommend against these tires if you're going to do a lot of driving. They were put on a lot of prii when they first came out, around that time the energy saver A/S was out of stock which has been at or near the top for any tire on the prius in north America for a while. It's also the tire that Nissan put on the leaf in the 17in size. They don't make it in a 205 55 16 (24.9in) but they do make it in a 205 60 16 (25.7in). My cousin is running that size on his leaf for winters and there are zero rubbing issues. Considering the leaf will run 25.5in stock 17 in tires it's only .1 in more up into the wheel well and a touch narrower than a tire fitted stock.
However Costco may have issue with fitting it as they are anal. If you tell them your car has the 17s as original at 25.5 they should see it's within spec.
The tire is also 2lbs less and since it's not a low profile it will probably be cheaper (just checked tire rack is the same price for 20560 but P20560 that does 51psi is $4 more but has a lower load rating). A large diameter tire will have a lower rolling resistance than a smaller one. It will go over bumps more smoothly but since it's a higher load rating it may not feel smoother (a higher load rating is also an advantage to rolling resistance). The larger diameter will mean your energy usage is under what you actually used. For example it will report that you got lets say 5 miles/kWh however for the actual distance would travel if you held it steady to use that 1 kWh you would have actually gone 5.16 miles so your real world efficiency will improve.