What tires should I buy?

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:37 am

OK, it's time for me to get some different tires for the Tercel. Previously I had some really sporty tires (185/55/R14 Kumho Ecsta Supra 712s) on it, which were great for enthusiastic driving in the city, but NOT suitable for harsh roads and off roading. The sporty tires have been put on the MR2 (where they belong). I put the shitty old tires/wheels from the MR2 onto the tercel temporarly.

So.....what I'm looking for is a 14" tire (maybe 185/60R14, or 185/65R14) for the tercel that is a decent tire on the road, and a decent tire off the road. Like an aggressive all season type tire I guess. It doesn't have to be good in snow/ice, because I already have snow/ice tires on a separate set of 13" rims. As long as it is good in gravel/dirt/shallow mud, and wet highways. I'd like to keep the price under $100 a tire if I can.

What do you guy's recommend?

I know we've had tire threads before, but I think there were on super aggressive offroad only type tires. (I will take a look).

Thanks for any suggestions.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:35 pm

My moms Yoko YK420 195/60R15's do well pretty much everywhere except mud. But they are friggin expensive.
Have Ecsta 711's and Yoko's on the 15's. But they are essentially racing slicls right now.

tirerack.com

Mac · Post by **Mac** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:29 pm

kumho makes some offroad tires for passenger cars (aimed at rallying types) i saw them on tiretrends.com, i don't know if they still stock them.

price was $130 a tire.

JOE · Post by **JOE** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:15 pm

Because I do about 40000km/yr I wanted a good all season tyre.
Toyo has the 800 Ultra, and in Canada they come with a 4yr or 160000km warranty. Basically if they wear out before the 4yrs or 160000km Toyo buys you another set at no charge. I just had to pay the mount and balance.
I am on my second set already. A very sticky tyre and are pretty good off-road as well-just don't let Toyo find out. The size I use is P195/60R14. I paid $119.00 each for them.

Soutthpaw · Post by **Soutthpaw** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:23 pm

try looking at 27x8.50x14LT but i think that size may have clearance problems on stock suspensions...lots of choice in that size though

Electric Snake · Post by **Electric Snake** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:12 am

reccomending these for off road tires on stock suspensions.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... odel=M%2BS

185/75/14 sized. Really high traction for mud/snow on smaller cars like ours, plus you cant beat 43 bucks a tire. And it will give you a little over an inch of lift!

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:16 am

Hey, thanks for all the suggestions guys, that really helps! I'll let you know what I end up with.

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:57 am

Following are some specs on the Kumho rally tires that Mac mentioned. I love the idea of these tires for off road, and would probably buy the 185/65R14 size. I am a little concerned about their behaviour on-road though. I'm willing to bet that they would be pretty loud and hard. I really want these, but might have to go for something less than a professional rally race tire.

Check out the specs though, these things are pretty cool:

They come in these sizes:

185/60R15 84Q 5.5J
205/60R15 91Q 6.0J
175/65R14 82Q 5.0J
185/65R14 86Q 5.5J
195/65R15 91Q 6.0J
195/70R13 89Q 6.0J
165/80R13 83Q 4.5J

Here is what they say about them:

The ECSTA (x' ta) R700 is the performance rally competition member of the Kumho ECSTA high performance tire family. It is a DOT legal tire that has already been proven in Europe and Asia, and will be available in the United States through The Tire Rack.

Kumho introduced its performance rally tires in England in 1998. The initial results were so encouraging that the Kumho ECSTA R700 was chosen for the Mitsubishi EVO 5 team for use in the final event of the 1998 World Rally Championship, the Network Q Rally of Britain. The Kumho tires finished the event without any punctures, sidewall penetration or allowing the tires to be pushed off of the rims. Not bad for a first run in a World Championship Rally event. Post-event tire analysis, combined with an extensive development program has helped Kumho further develop the ECSTA R700 rally tire which has now been used in World Rally, Asia Pacific Rally and British Rally Championship events.

The ECSTA R700 is a purebred rally tire designed to take on the rigorous conditions of performance rally events. On the outside, the ECSTA R700 starts with a deep, open and aggressive independent block tread design developed to maximize dry and wet traction on dirt and gravel roads. The tread design also features sharp shoulder block edges to enhance sideways grip for more responsive handling and cornering traction on loose road surfaces. The upper sidewall has circumferential sidewall protector ribs to help protect the tire from cuts and snags while the lower sidewall features rim protector ribs to help prevent debris from pushing its way between the sidewall and the rim. On the inside, the ECSTA R700 tires feature twin steel belts reinforced by a nylon cap ply and a two-ply rayon carcass built with high ply turnups to provide four actual carcass plies in the sidewall for enhanced durability and cut protection.

Kumho ECSTA R700 tires feature blackwall styling, are Q-speed rated and available in selected 80-, 70-, 65- and 60-series sizes for 13" through 15" wheel diameters.

shogun · Post by **shogun** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:27 pm

they have tooo low tread wear, between dirt and mud roads they will go fast, and probably in chunks (oncr you are on paved roads)

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:33 pm

shogun wrote:they have tooo low tread wear, between dirt and mud roads they will go fast, and probably in chunks (oncr you are on paved roads)

Thats sort of what I was concerned about. Would be fun for a while though.

Soutthpaw · Post by **Soutthpaw** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 6:45 pm

that is cool you can get them in a 13 inch rim. keep in mind that narrower tires will put more ground pressure and result in better traction on most surfaces. a narrower tire is easier to push up and over obstacles too.

kingtercel · Post by **kingtercel** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 12:47 am

i got sick of thin walled standard tyres, so i got 2nd hand light trucks put on my original rims,
they go well on road ( aslong as it has decent tread)
dry road handbrake turns do close to no wear on the tyre tread, (same cant be said for suspension/axle)
And off road, although average on sand (due to size) are hugely effective, getting a puncher is only possible with a well placed star piket- nothing less
and they only cost me AUS$25 each - 18months later they're lookin fine

They are tyres which i do not wory about wateva im cruising on - i supose ice would be adirffernt story though

takza · Post by **takza** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 5:06 am

I still like the Kumho Ecstas in 60 series. Good traction on the road...good traction offroad...and after doing some serious trails with some weight in the car...the treads were cut some...but the sidewalls were not cut. Good price and wear too. Think it's the softer tread compound.

Soutthpaw · Post by **Soutthpaw** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 8:39 pm

King Tercel, you are correct sand and dry pavement are 2 surfaces where wider tires get better traction that narrow ones.... what about power? larger diameter can really affect the torque curve