Tyre Choice - Corolla 2020 TS

[Stopeter44]

13 minutes ago, Cyker said:

No idea what the norm is in europe.

Summer tyres. Winter tyre mandates vary according to country, I don't know how they manage the production lines, but I find it hard to imagine they are going to stock different tyres, for different regions in different countries.

[TonyHSD]

Here an interesting video about the tyres and noise. 

 

[Mojo1010]

Does anyone know if extra can be paid on the difference to exchange stock tyres for all season? 

[Catlover]

12 minutes ago, Mojo1010 said:

Does anyone know if extra can be paid on the difference to exchange stock tyres for all season? 

If you mean when you buying a new car….. I imagine you would have to do a deal with your dealer directly.

[FROSTYBALLS]

39 minutes ago, Mojo1010 said:

Does anyone know if extra can be paid on the difference to exchange stock tyres for all season? 

This would be a discussion between you and the dealer, not the manufacturer. Suppose some would be more than willing to change the tyres for you, but probably not on an exchange basis. You could then sell the unwanted tyres yourself.

[Cyker]

In my experience the dealers won't do any kind of exchange with the tyres, but there may be exceptions (More likely with the smaller independent Toyota dealers that value customer service than the bigger franchise Toyota dealers like Jemca/Inchscape/Listers/Steven Eagell etc.).

I reckon you're more likely to be able to do a deal with a tyre fitter post-purchase instead 'tho, .

[RzrAzr]

I've asked for black 17" rims instead of the 17" that are coming with the car. Nope. Not paying ~1,200 EUR for heavy toyota OEM wheels. At that price point might pick up BBS or OZ with the additional funding of selling the existing wheels.

[Woofwoof]

16 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

This would be a discussion between you and the dealer, not the manufacturer. Suppose some would be more than willing to change the tyres for you, but probably not on an exchange basis. You could then sell the unwanted tyres yourself.

Just go to costcos or similar amd get the tyres change

you can prob sell your old ones for the same amount

[Smulle96]

On 1/11/2022 at 6:13 PM, Cyker said:

There's no legal mandate to have winter tyres in the UK so usually summers get fitted (Presumably as they're cheaper).

Some fancier marques sometimes fit all-seasons.

I had noticed in the US most manufacturers seem to fit all-seasons as standard tho'!

No idea what the norm is in europe.

 

sweden sounds to be the same, the fact that factories put summer tires on during production says that summer tires are included, winter tires are an option that you can add, however the winterset will no matter season be put in the trunk (unsure if that happens in factory or sales place) you can most often get them mounted, but that will still need to be a booked event (postponing the date you can fetch it)

[TonyHSD]

The picture of the video shared above was in my mind today when I was checking and adjusting tyre pressure as per my weekly routine and I came to conclusion that if we keep tyres under or over inflated we are actually changing the contact area that tyre create when rolling and doing so the thread noise cancelling function can not work properly and the tyres are becoming noisier than what actually they are. It sounds like I had just discovered the hot water but have you ever thought about that?! 😉🙂👍

[ApophisAstros]

On 11/18/2021 at 2:34 PM, Trewithy said:

In a recent tyre test in  Auto Express Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 had the lowest cabin noise of all the tyres tested.  The noise quoted on the tyre label is the drive by noise produced by the tyre and not the noise heard in the cabin.  Although you would think that a low external noise would equate to to low interior noise but apparently that is not necessarily the case.

I Cant hear any tyre noise at any speed as music on nice and load so no problem if there is any.

Roger

[ApophisAstros]

On 1/15/2022 at 7:59 PM, Mojo1010 said:

Does anyone know if extra can be paid on the difference to exchange stock tyres for all season? 

No need z anything they put on will be adequate for this contry.

Roger

[AisinW]

Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance 2 summer tire is very comfortable, pretty quiet, and long treadwear UTHQ 340 instead 280 on Contisportcontact 5 Continental summer tires.  However, Continental tires are pretty resistance to dry rot and my 2012 tires are still decent although start to have mild dry rot.  I put them on the rear set. The front are Goodyear. In 2 years 20k miles, the tread consumption/wear are the same on Continental and Goodyear (2mm down).  It means, the goodyear front sets have better treadwear.  Usually, for the same tires brand/spec, the front tires are about 2x worn faster than the rear.  I rotate left and right only because I am not confident with the 11 years old tires at the front.  These continental tires are used tires from my in law who switched to all seasons because he rarely drives his Benz. After  8 years, the tread was still 6mm.  There is no actual law that prohibit 10 years old tires, only for caravan  (6 years).  I know that 11 years old tires are old but depends on how it was stored before. In garage kept, they are actually still better than 6 years old tires on car parked outside. 

I am opened for any critics or input about this 11 years old tires. My argument is simply environmental awareness but still within safety boundary. I hate replacing tires before 2 mm because it is just stupid or 7 years old tires because it depends how it was stored. Wet braking distance decreases with lower tread but it is always gradual over time. Not out of sudden we get 1 or 1.2 m more braking distance like many tire makers marketing video to dispose 3mm tread depth tires. Only Michelin recommends to use tires till its legal limit 1.6-2mm. 

In my opinion, Goodyear Efficientgrip Perf. 2 for summer and Micheline Crossclimate 2 for rainy winter are the best choice. No need Nokian level winter tires unless we live in Nordic country or Siberia. 

Don't ever buy marketed "Low rolling resistance Tires", they are simply lower tread depth for the same compound or ride harsh/less grip with very stiff slippery compound. They are always horrible in dry and wet roads. They trigger my traction control very often during heavy rains and heard some skidding at 70-80mph when changing lanes in I-10 or I-95.   

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, AisinW said:

Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance 2 summer tire is very comfortable, pretty quiet, and long treadwear UTHQ 340 instead 280 on Contisportcontact 5 Continental summer tires.  However, Continental tires are pretty resistance to dry rot and my 2012 tires are still decent although start to have mild dry rot.  I put them on the rear set. The front are Goodyear. In 2 years 20k miles, the tread consumption/wear are the same on Continental and Goodyear (2mm down).  It means, the goodyear front sets have better treadwear.  Usually, for the same tires brand/spec, the front tires are about 2x worn faster than the rear.  I rotate left and right only because I am not confident with the 11 years old tires at the front.  These continental tires are used tires from my in law who switched to all seasons because he rarely drives his Benz. After  8 years, the tread was still 6mm.  There is no actual law that prohibit 10 years old tires, only for caravan  (6 years).  I know that 11 years old tires are old but depends on how it was stored before. In garage kept, they are actually still better than 6 years old tires on car parked outside. 

I am opened for any critics or input about this 11 years old tires. My argument is simply environmental awareness but still within safety boundary. I hate replacing tires before 2 mm because it is just stupid or 7 years old tires because it depends how it was stored. Wet braking distance decreases with lower tread but it is always gradual over time. Not out of sudden we get 1 or 1.2 m more braking distance like many tire makers marketing video to dispose 3mm tread depth tires. Only Michelin recommends to use tires till its legal limit 1.6-2mm. 

In my opinion, Goodyear Efficientgrip Perf. 2 for summer and Micheline Crossclimate 2 for rainy winter are the best choice. No need Nokian level winter tires unless we live in Nordic country or Siberia. 

Don't ever buy marketed "Low rolling resistance Tires", they are simply lower tread depth for the same compound or ride harsh/less grip with very stiff slippery compound. They are always horrible in dry and wet roads. They trigger my traction control very often during heavy rains and heard some skidding at 70-80mph when changing lanes in I-10 or I-95.   

These tyres on the pictures are still in good condition. 
I do prefer myself to change tyres earlier though. I like new rubber as it’s more elastic and cushion the road better and has better grip in all conditions.  In UK tyres can barely last me over 3-4 years, the salt eats them and large cracks form on the inner side walls. This happens to all brands including Michelin, Goodyear, Continental and all other premium brands. I noted that and been confirmed by other users from UK. My dad had 13 years old tyres on his car and they looked better than my 3 years old. 👍

[Cyker]

I tend to run them down to 3-4mm, but if I'm coming into summer I'll run them lower, as I find the low-end premium tyres I tend to go for perform better in the dry as they wear down. If it's coming into winter I'll change sooner, as the improvement they get in the dry is countered by loss of traction in the wet!  

 

[AisinW]

The problem is, most newer tires are only 6.5-8mm when they are new including my fav. Michelin Crossclimate 2.  If it is 6.5mm, the usable tread is 4.9mm (to the legal limit) and 2.5mm if we dispose it at 4mm.  So, we wasted our money for such premium tires that still have better grip in wet and snow compared to new cheap tires.  Worn premium tires at 2mm tread are often still give better grip in wet than brand new Chinese tires.  Using all seasons/winter tires only up to 4mm means we only use 50% of its lifetime.  

In facts, tires sweet spot treads are between 5-3mm. Less noise, better handling and rolling resistance in dry condition, and still really good in wet.  We adjust with the way tires worn in wet condition. The pressure on the brake and modulations of hard braking are still controllable from 3 to 1.6mm. There is a good reasons why the regulation is still at 1.6mm, only manufacturing company rolling the wasteful 3-4mm tread campaign. 

I used to have All seasons tires in southern states USA.  Most American standard All seasons tires last really long.  Michelin Defender 2 has 80k miles warranty and they indeed last really long with UTHQ 840 BB.  It is ok for mild snow like in Liverpool, Manchester, or Tennessee. It may not be good enough for extreem cold Canada that needs 3PMSF certified all seasons tires.  My tires are often show dry rot worse than what I have now after 5 years 50k miles because I parked the car outside and they still have 3-4mm tread.  These defender 2 tires have decent grip for road use and still handling well at 85 mph (limit before police give a ticket).  Most American police allow us driving 10mph above the speed limit.  The other tires that last long is Hankook H727, but they have terrible grip on hot summer above 70mph. 

The best TREADWEAR spec tires I found in Europe is vector4 seasons gen 3, it has UTHQ 500.  More than double of the OEM Toyota Dunlop UTHQ 240. Eventhough UTHQ or Treadwear spec depends standardized on particular brand, but the number are still within ballparks accross differnt brands.

[Mojo1010]

There's isn't an expiry date on car tyres so as long as it's still performs well and are in good condition age shouldn't matter. Have a pair of Goodyear EPG1 on current car for 3.5 years, before that it was in the shed for 4.5 years. Still in excellent condition. It all depends on condition and usage. 

In a few years I'm looking to get a Excel Yaris X size car, though not looking forward to changing the tyre at £150 per corner. So will be happy with Yaris size for a while. 

[AisinW]

Yes, tire condition is not based on age alone. 90% is how and where they are kept. However,  dry rot from oxidation (ozon), heat, exteeem cold,UV, and additive leaching continue over time.  Most tire makers stated 10 years as the normal usable life to avoid lawsuit for any accident. It means if they are kept indoor and not exposed to ozone and UV, they actually last much longer. 

We should not buy a 2 years old tires without significant discount >30% because they cannot sell them easily anymore.

I realised that we never get any mileages warranty on tires in Europe.  I rarely find any all seasons tires with Treadwear UTHQ rating. Only on summer tires. Winter tires do not have UTHQ rating because it is like marshmallow in summer. 

Does anyone ever failed MOT/TÜV because of old tires although they did not find bad crack/dry rot?

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Europe doesn't use UTQG, instead having the Tyre Labelling system which rates tyres on fuel efficiency, wet grip, and external noise.

[Cyker]

5 hours ago, AisinW said:

Yes, tire condition is not based on age alone. 90% is how and where they are kept. However,  dry rot from oxidation (ozon), heat, exteeem cold,UV, and additive leaching continue over time.  Most tire makers stated 10 years as the normal usable life to avoid lawsuit for any accident. It means if they are kept indoor and not exposed to ozone and UV, they actually last much longer. 

We should not buy a 2 years old tires without significant discount >30% because they cannot sell them easily anymore.

I realised that we never get any mileages warranty on tires in Europe.  I rarely find any all seasons tires with Treadwear UTHQ rating. Only on summer tires. Winter tires do not have UTHQ rating because it is like marshmallow in summer. 

Does anyone ever failed MOT/TÜV because of old tires although they did not find bad crack/dry rot?

 

I've had warnings about cracking tyre rubber on my first car, but not a failure, but that was back when we still got a physical certificate for passing the MOT!!

Nowadays I drive so much the tyres wear out long before that can be a problem  

 

[TonyHSD]

Here for the larger 18” wheels. 

 

[Cyker]

I do wish he'd review more normal tyres; Nobody makes UHP tyres for 15" rims!!!

[AisinW]

Thanks Tony, I think 18" may still work well on Lexus GS or RX but not Corolla or smaller cars. 15" does not even fit Auris Hybrid with large front brake disc. 

Those UHP tires are jokes for any Toyota besides BMW Supra. Probably only RCF, LC500, ISF, or GSF need UHP.  It lasts no more than 12k miles, UTHQ 120 or even less. 

[TonyHSD]

13 minutes ago, AisinW said:

Thanks Tony, I think 18" may still work well on Lexus GS or RX but not Corolla or smaller cars. 15" does not even fit Auris Hybrid with large front brake disc. 

Those UHP tires are jokes for any Toyota besides BMW Supra. Probably only RCF, LC500, ISF, or GSF need UHP.  It lasts no more than 12k miles, UTHQ 120 or even less. 

Agreed. Corolla 18” wheels are the biggest enemy to the car efficiency and comfort. 16 or 17 are way better sizes and there are wider choices of touring tyres which are the best for these type of cars. 

[Niky]

If anyone is in need of new set of tyres F1 autocentres are giving 20% off set of 4 - use code Sizzler. Never seen 20% discount on tyres before

Just in time for me - ordered 4 GoodYear EGP 2

Just to add I am not advertising the seller, just want to help save little money if someone is looking for new shoes