Author Topic: Tires for Toyota Corolla ? (Read 3039 times)

mikron15 · « **on:** December 07, 2004, 12:17:35 am »

Hi there,
I currently got my dad's car for a month or two. itz a 2002 Toyota Corolla CE with tire current tire specs P175/65R14 81S ( M+S). The current condition of the tires will only be suitable to last for this coming summer and is in no shape for this winter.

Since I am gonna drive this car in the winter months, i am wondering what kinda tires i should get for it? I am still stuck in deciding whether to get All-Seasons tires or just winter tires.

Here's the thing tho, my budget is tight and i am looking for something between $65-$76 ( per tire)

I have browsed thru canadiantire.ca and in the winter tires section, i selected Nordic Ice Trac.
Is it a good tire?

Is there any other good stores in Toronto/Markham that sells tires at reasonable prices? ( some ppl say stay away from Cdn Tire)

I browsed thru many threads in this forum, and i came to the conclussion, Winter tires is the way to go compared to All-season tires....but i spoke to few of my friends who uses All-season tires and they say itz handles pretty good in snow.
So it leads me back to q1, whether to get all-season or winter tires?( considering 3 motnhs of winter left) and which brands are good and which to stay away from.

My daily driving includes, heading to work ( mainly city streets and occasionaly highways) and leisure trips.

Any kinda advice/info is appreciated..Thanking in advance

P.S- i just noticed Cdn Tire states Installation-(Balancing not included) which kinda sux as i heard most places does that for free during installation. so i guess i have to look for other places

davidy · « **Reply #1 on:** December 07, 2004, 03:06:31 am »

Balancing is usually an extra $10/tire (plus or minus a few bucks) everywhere except Costco. Costco tends to sell the more expensive tire brands....free tire rotation for life I think too if you buy their tires (not sure about future balancing though).

Like most members here, winter tires are a must have feature if you want to drive during winter conditions here in Canada. Recommend at least a winter tire that is rated for severe snow condition by Transport Canada. Canadian Tire sells two Nordic line of tires which meet this standard (Wintertrac and Icetrac). I have the Wintertracs...pretty decent for the money, ice braking is not that good.

Ideally, if you plan to keep the car for a few more years, you should have a second of wheels/rim for the winter tires. In your case, since your all seasons are almost done, you could use your existing wheels for your winter tires and get new wheels and all seasons next year.

An alternate cheap winter tire is sold at Walmart.....Wintermark Magna Grips, severe snow rated.

Dave

(Message edited by davidy on December 07, 2004)

morty · « **Reply #2 on:** December 07, 2004, 03:45:05 am »

If you rely on your car no matter what the weather is...snows are the way to go. If you can park it in the worst weather then you can get by with the all-seasons. FYI...even the cheapest winter tires are better than the best all-season you can find.

TireTrends - Get ready for winter!

mikron15 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 07, 2004, 12:43:46 pm »

Thanks for the feedback.

If you were to choose between Nordic Ice trac ( Cdn Tire) and Wintermark Magna Grips ( Walmart) which would it be?

What about the those Graspic DS-1 Winter tire- Ice radial?..are those better than Magna Grips?

Those Walmart online Flyers are in so small print not even worth putting it online
http://darwin.cmicanada.com/wm_pages/publish/ca_circ_tle_eng_1_lg.jpg

Monty, thats what i had in mind, buy new sets of rims later on when i switch back to All-seasons

Over here, Niagara Battery and most Garaages do the wheel Balancing for free when they install the tire. Not worth i guess to bring the car all over from Markham to Niagara just to get the balancing for free lol

multipath · « **Reply #4 on:** December 07, 2004, 12:55:56 pm »

Without hesitation, the Canadian Tire IceTracs over the Wal-Mart tires. I've used these in the past, they are excellent on ice and good for a car not driven aggressively. It is a design that was once used by one of Michelin's European banners - "Kelber," and is now made in North America at a Michelin-Uniroyal-Goodrich plant. One word about these tires - they are noisy compared to most other snow tires on the market.

The Graspics I seem to recall were good tires too.

I believe the Wal-Mart specials are Kellys (part of the Goodyear group), and are their most entry level snow tire. Never heard a thing about how well those do, but they will still be better than any all-season in the snow/ice.

mikron15 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 07, 2004, 02:41:35 pm »

When u say noisy, how noisy are they? o_0

Loud enough for your neighbours to know u have arrived?

I am leaning towards IceTrac at the moment. I will be heading to Toyota Dealer in Scarborough this weekend and see if i can get a better deal.

multipath · « **Reply #6 on:** December 07, 2004, 03:05:36 pm »

No, not that bad at all. When I had them on a '93 Civic, you could hear a whining noise that became noticeable above 80 km/h, and got progressively louder as you drove faster. It wasn't annoying at all, just noticeable the first few days until you get used to it. Installed on my brother's '95 Colt, the noise is much less pronounced, you can tell you have snow tires on if you listen carefully, unlike the Kumho KW-11 on my car, which is actually quieter than the stock all-seasons.

Your neighbours won't know you're around from the tire noise at all.

They are definitely a safe bet for you. I think they're on sale from what I heard on the radio, and these tires do wear well. The set my brother got from me is now in it's 4th winter, with over 24,000 kms on them, and no significant wear.

mikron15 · « **Reply #7 on:** December 07, 2004, 05:23:57 pm »

Oh ok..As for the on-sale part..nops, regular price..probably they had it on sale in previous months.. I am gonna check with them if they gonna throw the wheel balancing in for free.

Thanks again for all ur inputs!

oversteer · « **Reply #8 on:** December 08, 2004, 12:40:38 am »

Suggest you try Nantucket Tires & Mags and see what they can do for a set of winter tires (do you need a set of steel wheels also?). You'll be in good shape with the IceTracs. CT has a bad rep but the WinterTrac/IceTrac tires have the BFGoodrich compound and are overall good value for the money for safer driving (WinterTrac is a re-branded BFG Winter Slalom).

mikron15 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 11, 2004, 12:14:36 pm »

I ended up buying Nordic Ice trac from Cdn Tire. Will keep u posted on its performance