Tires!

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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brakejagg
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Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2019 1:43 pm
My tercel:: 1986 4wd

Tires!

Post by brakejagg »

Hey everyone, just picked up an '86 Wagon (DX I think?), And it's in desperate need of some new tires. It's got 14" steel wheels on it right now with a set of 185/65 tires, so not original. I was just wondering what does everyone like to use for tires? I really wanted to see if I could get my hands on a half decent set of off-road-ish tires, but I'm not sure if I could find any that would fit without a lift. I'm considering picking up a cheap set of 15" wheels to broaden my options a little bit. Also does anyone know roughly how big I could go without rubbing? Any input is appreciated!
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NWMO
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Re: Tires!

Post by NWMO »

Welcome to Tercel4wd.com,

Here is a post from a quick search. I run some taller 14s and I rub at full lock once in a great while.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12892&hilit=tire+size&start=15

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The Professor
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My tercel:: 1987 Tercel SR5 4WD wagon
Location: Western Washington
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Re: Tires!

Post by The Professor »

www.Tirerack.com is my favorite place to research tires as they do their own independent testing. That said, there are no "offroad" tires that will fit without a lift, those small, knobby tires died off in the early 90's.

As far as recommendations, I have had nothing but positive experiences with several sizes and models of Michelin tires. They're expensive, but when you don't have ABS and the roads are wet 3/4 of the year, I'm happy to pay a bit more for the advantage they provide. That said, I doubt they have much in a 14 in. tire. In fact, you'll probably have only a handful of choices until you move up to 15 in. wheels.
1975 Subaru SuperStar wagon
1984 Subaru Turbo-Traction wagon & hardtop
1987 Subaru RX 3-door
1987 Subaru RX Type-RA 3-door
1987 Toyota Tercel SR5 wagon
1999 Subaru Forester S
2002 Subaru WRX sedan
2019 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Tires!

Post by Petros »

actually I have found the Michelin tires cost less to operate. when I moved up to 14" alloy wheels I first got some lower profile (60 series) Faulken tires, they were a great price. but they wore out fairly quickly, about 2 years (about 30k miles), I moved up the Michelines, at much more cost, but they lasted twice as long. better stopping, cornering and wet weather performance as well. a much better buy.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
teranfirbt
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My tercel:: '86 SR5 4WD, 5AFE, lifted rear, 195/70/14 tires
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Tires!

Post by teranfirbt »

I'm a big fan of General RT43 tires, I have them on my Tercel and my Hyundai. Semi-chunky tread so probably decent offroad, super good in the rain, and I've been told they are good in light snow (although being in TX I haven't had a chance to try that out...)
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mikeservations
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Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2018 4:10 pm
My tercel:: 1987 Toyota Tercel DLX Wagon
Location: Spokane, WA

Re: Tires!

Post by mikeservations »

I also have General RT43 tires, both on my Tercel and my wife's non-Tercel. I ran them on the Subaru wagon I had before my Tercel as well. Pretty good overall performance for me here in Eastern WA and when I used to live in greater DC.
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splatterdog
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Location: Minnesota, USA

Re: Tires!

Post by splatterdog »

The RT43's are my go to does everything decent for a good price tire.

To the OP, what do you need out of your new tires before you ask "which tires?" None of them do it all..
Termell
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My tercel:: 1985 Tercel

Re: Tires!

Post by Termell »

mikeservations wrote: Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:34 am I also have General RT43 tires, both on my Tercel and my wife's non-Tercel. I ran them on the Subaru wagon I had before my Tercel as well. Pretty good overall performance for me here in Eastern WA and when I used to live in greater DC.
My buddy is looking for a new set of tires for his '06 Legacy. We'll work on it right after we finished installing the brake kit and atturo tires on the current truck project. The Goodyear tires didn't lasted long and he's looking for a cheaper alternative.
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