Topic: Winter tires for the XRS

[Ice]

Well I got them installed on Thursday and all I've had a chance to do is drive home and do a few errands but I'm reasonably impressed that they handle almost as well as my all season tires do. The track is narrower and the steering feel has become a little less sporty but on the whole they are pretty good.

More thoughts when I get to drive in bad weather in them

[DKaz]

If you had the previous gen XRS, I would recommend getting something with more grip as it tends to get into a wheel spin easily, but since you have the current gen... get whatever just downsize to 16" and you're good.

[Ice]

If you had the previous gen XRS, I would recommend getting something with more grip as it tends to get into a wheel spin easily, but since you have the current gen... get whatever just downsize to 16" and you're good.

Yeah not the same kind of car... VVTL was very cool. The XRS I have is more mainstream... still you can get a little spin and a tiny squeak out of the tires on some occasions.

I had a highway drive and some handled some back road curves on the weekend and my feeling is that these tires are extremely good. The performance is very good despite these being winter tires, that have a thinner track, with a taller sidewall, on 16in rims. The biggest difference in handling is the breaking is slightly reduced.  On the highway they are a little noisier than the standard tires on my car but they were alright so far. Still no snow here so no idea how the handling will be when that comes up... It'll be interesting to find out.

[gotak]

I find it strange people talk so much about performance tires on a matrix. I am driving on Q rated winters with 105 more ponies than the XRS all going to the front wheels. And honestly, it's fine. I am not going to be racing in bad weather.

Performance tires would be nice but than I prefer being able to drive outside when it's bad. It's so much fun when the snow's fresh before the plows gets there.

[Angry Chicken]

If you had the previous gen XRS, I would recommend getting something with more grip as it tends to get into a wheel spin easily, but since you have the current gen... get whatever just downsize to 16" and you're good.

Yeah not the same kind of car... VVTL was very cool. The XRS I have is more mainstream... still you can get a little spin and a tiny squeak out of the tires on some occasions.

I had a highway drive and some handled some back road curves on the weekend and my feeling is that these tires are extremely good. The performance is very good despite these being winter tires, that have a thinner track, with a taller sidewall, on 16in rims. The biggest difference in handling is the breaking is slightly reduced.  On the highway they are a little noisier than the standard tires on my car but they were alright so far. Still no snow here so no idea how the handling will be when that comes up... It'll be interesting to find out.

Still waiting for that full report.  You've had 'em on your car for two weeks now for crying out loud!   

[Ice]

If you had the previous gen XRS, I would recommend getting something with more grip as it tends to get into a wheel spin easily, but since you have the current gen... get whatever just downsize to 16" and you're good.

Yeah not the same kind of car... VVTL was very cool. The XRS I have is more mainstream... still you can get a little spin and a tiny squeak out of the tires on some occasions.

I had a highway drive and some handled some back road curves on the weekend and my feeling is that these tires are extremely good. The performance is very good despite these being winter tires, that have a thinner track, with a taller sidewall, on 16in rims. The biggest difference in handling is the breaking is slightly reduced.  On the highway they are a little noisier than the standard tires on my car but they were alright so far. Still no snow here so no idea how the handling will be when that comes up... It'll be interesting to find out.

Still waiting for that full report.  You've had 'em on your car for two weeks now for crying out loud!   

I know but I haven't been taking my car to work nor have I had a busy social schedule... plus I did all of my shopping online.

So far so good. I like the tires... I did take the car to Toronto and back and they seem fine. Biggest difference is that the stopping distance on dry seems to be somewhat longer than before. I assume that's because the other tires have more rubber on the road.

[Ice]

OK...I had a chance to put about 1000km on these tires so far.

I'll keep it short with a list of the positive and negative points:

Pros
- Handling compared to my regular P215/45R17 tires is very good
- Stopping distance is slightly longer on dry road surfaces
- Handling in the snow and slush that we've seen over the last few weeks has been good

Cons
- The ride is essentially as rough as my all season tires if not a little more rough (the suspension on the XRS in general makes for a somewhat harsh ride)
- They are definitely noisier at highway speeds than my regular all seasons

All in all I'm pleased with the purchase. If it means stopping in a situation where I otherwise might have slipped significantly then they are worth the purchase. We'll see how it goes when the real snow storms start to fly. Haven't seen a proper one yet where I live.

[Angry Chicken]

Thanks! 

[Ice]

Just in-case anyone wanted to know about my ongoing experience.

I've had them on all winter and I'm starting to think about when I'll get them taken off. Last week I was all set to go and do it but this week with the insane amount of snow I think I'll be leaving them on for a few more weeks.

Bottom line is that these tires have served me well all winter. I was really worried going in that they would detract from the handling or good points about the feel of the XRS Corolla. They haven't... stopping distance on regular pavement on a dry day is a little bit longer which I chalk up to having less rubber on the road but aside from that very little difference. My confidence on hard cornering is a bit lower than with the all-seasons but on the whole they have been great.

Good on the highway, good on the back roads, good on ice, snow and slush conditions. So long as I don't overdo it they have always provided decent traction for the conditions. I did notice on the couple of +10c days last week that they become squishy and that definitely detracts from the ride... but it wasn't that bad.

They have served me well but I'm looking forward to getting my all season on with the aluminum rims. The steelies are useful but ugly

[Switz]

I know this post is a little late, but I haven't been in this forum for quite a while.  My son had an '03 Corolla with a separate set of Micheline X-ice 2 tires (195/65R15) on steel rims.  He sold his old Corolla and bought a new XRS Corolla.  Guess what?  The old 15" tire and rim combo fit perfectly on the XRS.  He ran them last winter with no problems at all.  They might have been slighly smaller in diameter but not enough to make any difference.

So there is a 15" solution that works as well