Toyota Corolla 1.8 TS tyre choice

[Kental]

Owing to the continued warmer weather, I have delayed my all season tyre fitting for 2 weeks so my comparison will be delayed.

[TonyHSD]

If all goes by the plan in two weeks time I will have the vector 4 season fitted to my dad’s car and eventually test them on his car and see how it drives. I think most likely the issues I had with harshness is because of my car firstly and secondly because all season tyres are indeed slightly different from summer equivalent, slightly stronger tyres made to withstand summer heat and winter cold, although same load and speed specs they are slightly more uncomfortable and my old car with hard suspension feels every single crack and bump on the road. The summers are definitely more forgiving and better suited for my car. Plus they have lower rolling resistance and efficiency remain a bit higher. All season always will be 3-5mpg less than summers. 

To answer to the OP which tyres are the best for Corolla? 
- There are no best tyres for a specific car, but it is an individual choice and depends of the personal preferences and where and how the car is used. For some will be summers, for others winters and for third group the all season tyres. 🛞👍

[Cyker]

I've finally booked mine in for 2 new tyres - Sticking with the Hankooks as they were still by far the cheapest (£57 each!  Would have been £100-120 on the 17's!  ), and I've been reasonably happy with their performance, if not rate of wear! They're not as nice as the Goodyears but even with the ATS discount, the Goodyears were a good chunk more  (Plus all the ATS centres are quite a drive away!)

It's funny as there seems to be a lot less choice on the 15's - The 16s have by far the widest choice and the 17s also have a lot of choices but the majority are expensive sporty tyres...

 

[TonyHSD]

Yaris mk4 oem tyre sizes are crazy high prices for some reason indeed. My Auris 17 oem size too. Corolla 17” are cheaper. I noticed that long ago some particular tyre sizes most of the low profile ones are way too expensive, perhaps more difficult to make or the material used in manufacturing., or lower volume pushes the price up. 

[Cyker]

I always found it funny that the lower the profile the more expensive the tyre - It's like you get less rubber for more money!

The cheapest tyres were for my old Mk1 on 14" rims - Before the first major oil price hike I was paying something ridiculous like £25-30 a tyre! And that was for Continentals!!  

I think that would get you maybe a single tread block on a Continental now  

 

[Kental]

The Yaris mk4 16" tyre is the same size as the current Fiesta on 16" wheels.  Unfortunately most UK Fiestas are ST Lines so have the 17" rim so the 16" tyres are not huge volume

[TonyHSD]

A lot of new cars and particularly ev’s are coming now with normal tyres and not low profile. It seems there is light at the end of the tunnel and many will start to realise that there is no benefit of huge wheels and low profile tyres. 

[Rhymes with Paris]

24 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

A lot of new cars and particularly ev’s are coming now with normal tyres and not low profile. It seems there is light at the end of the tunnel and many will start to realise that there is no benefit of huge wheels and low profile tyres. 

I would thoroughly endorse that move.

It is a bit of a bouncy ride in my Yaris tsport, but short wheelbase and all that.

But it's nowhere near as bad some newish cars I have ridden in with the low profiles on,a bit like being rattled around in a biscuit tin .

[AndrueC]

2 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

A lot of new cars and particularly ev’s are coming now with normal tyres and not low profile. It seems there is light at the end of the tunnel and many will start to realise that there is no benefit of huge wheels and low profile tyres. 

Worst offender for me was the Honda Jazz which had a stupid (and costly) 185/55R16.

[PRus]

Happy to report that I love the Michelin CrossClimate 2 fitted on the car. It's noticeably quiteter and got rid of that constant roar at high speeds coming from the rear tyres, the rough tarmac is more muted now and even more hushed in the smooth one.  The steering is even lighter and the car responds quicker to steering input. Really pleased! Let's see how they hold long term. 

[Kental]

23 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

A lot of new cars and particularly ev’s are coming now with normal tyres and not low profile. It seems there is light at the end of the tunnel and many will start to realise that there is no benefit of huge wheels and low profile tyres. 

Unfortunately I don't think non plug in cars will follow.  Without the range limitations (especially for plug ins chasing the low BIK figures) the marketing department will still shout louder.

[Kental]

18 hours ago, PRus said:

Happy to report that I love the Michelin CrossClimate 2 fitted on the car. It's noticeably quiteter and got rid of that constant roar at high speeds coming from the rear tyres, the rough tarmac is more muted now and even more hushed in the smooth one.  The steering is even lighter and the car responds quicker to steering input. Really pleased! Let's see how they hold long term. 

I really hope I don't regret getting Goodyear Vector All Seasons......

[TonyHSD]

5 minutes ago, Kental said:

I really hope I don't regret getting Goodyear Vector All Seasons......

Most likely not. If anyone here had both Michelin CC and Goodyear V4S for direct comparison will be interesting. With my experience and from reading reviews from owners not journalists I believe that the Goodyears  are as good as Michelin or even better in some situations like in slippery conditions, snow, ice etc. But tbh the difference between most all season tyres is minimal. The guy from tyres review does a good job, however this type of test and comparison are really not useful to the potential buyers. No one cares of 1/10 of a second difference of the lap time, but surely most potential buyers will like to know how these tyres drives, how long they last, how they handle in different seasons etc. 
I found a man who trade with tyres and does absolutely realistic reviews with measurements of the tyres dimensions, characteristics, materials, design and manufacturing, everything, simply on another level. Unfortunately it’s in Russian and perhaps most of you won’t be able to understand, however if no subtitles in English available, you can at least translate the comments and see what are other people’s opinion. 

 

[Luke717]

On 10/17/2022 at 6:51 PM, PRus said:

Happy to report that I love the Michelin CrossClimate 2 fitted on the car. It's noticeably quiteter and got rid of that constant roar at high speeds coming from the rear tyres, the rough tarmac is more muted now and even more hushed in the smooth one.  The steering is even lighter and the car responds quicker to steering input. Really pleased! Let's see how they hold long term. 

I've been following the discussions here, learning a lot (especially from @TonyHSD's narratives). Yesterday, after two years and four months of the Falkens that came with my car (2020 Excel 1.8 HB, 18" rims) new from the factory, I bought a full set of Michelin CrossClimate 2 tyres 225/40/R/18/92Y.

I was quite happy with the Falkens, but as winter is approaching I didn't want to continue with summer tyres. I have no desire to buy winter tyres and do a swap-over as required, so all seasons looked a good choice. Where I live (west Berkshire) snow isn't a major issue ususally but I do go places here and further into the southwest where mud and water are issues in the winter. So after reviewing all the offerings on the market including all the ones mentioned in this thread, I decided on the Michelins.

While I've yet to thoroughly review-as-I-drive with these tyres, a 20-mile journey last evening on a major A road with a reasonable road surface (about what you expect to see these days) and a couple of country Bs produced a wow! regarding smoothness of drive, quieter in the cabin, better steering feedback and general overall enjoyable experience driving compared to the Falkens. I'm aware that such a comparison is pretty subjective given the Michelins are brand new and the Falkens have done 25,000 miles in nearly 2 1/2 years. But the immediate difference I felt with the Michelins is quite something.

Further impressions to come once I've driven with the Michelins a little more.

[Cyker]

The Vector 4Seasons will be fine - Before the Cross Climates came out they were generally the best all season tyre, and even now they're still very good; The only thing is they're more balanced between summer and winter, whereas the Cross Climates (Esp. the 1 and +) are more summer-biased, which is more suitable for normal UK climate where we rarely get snow.

It's why I generalize that the Cross Climates are the better tyre for people south of say, Milton Keynes, where snow is rare, but the V4S are better for the snowier parts.

 

[TonyHSD]

And because we have been talking about tyres here some interesting news. Btw these tyres were very strong contender for my all season tyres choice, perhaps may try them next time when looking for these type of tyres in the future. 👍

 

[Cyker]

Ha, was just watching that! In answer to his last question about why more people don't buy self-sealing tyres, it's because nobody smegging sells them Jon!!!

If I could run self-sealing tyres and they were only a bit more expensive (Say £5-10 over a normal), I'd get some in a heartbeat, but they seem to only come in stupid SUV sizes (i.e. massive rims and super low profiles) and are ridiculously expensive (Mostly due to the size I suspect, rather than the sealant).

IMHO they should just put that sealant in all their tyres. If it wasn't for the resonant imbalance I had at motorway speeds with the Puncturesafe gel, I'd probably still be using that stuff as it did work very well at sealing punctures, but the Hankook one looks much better as it seems to be fixed and doesn't look like it can move around. Be much safer for TPMS sensors than Puncturesafe would be too!

Oh well, I've got some of those sticky strings a few people have talked about instead, so they'll have to do for now  

[TonyHSD]

16 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Ha, was just watching that! In answer to his last question about why more people don't buy self-sealing tyres, it's because nobody smegging sells them Jon!!!

If I could run self-sealing tyres and they were only a bit more expensive (Say £5-10 over a normal), I'd get some in a heartbeat, but they seem to only come in stupid SUV sizes (i.e. massive rims and super low profiles) and are ridiculously expensive (Mostly due to the size I suspect, rather than the sealant).

IMHO they should just put that sealant in all their tyres. If it wasn't for the resonant imbalance I had at motorway speeds with the Puncturesafe gel, I'd probably still be using that stuff as it did work very well at sealing punctures, but the Hankook one looks much better as it seems to be fixed and doesn't look like it can move around. Be much safer for TPMS sensors than Puncturesafe would be too!

Oh well, I've got some of those sticky strings a few people have talked about instead, so they'll have to do for now  

When I fitted my tyres few weeks ago I saw for a first time tyres with noise cancellation foam. They looked cool with thick foam inside the the tyre. Never tried any with sealant though, they looked interesting. 👍

[TonyHSD]

On 10/18/2022 at 1:01 PM, Kental said:

I really hope I don't regret getting Goodyear Vector All Seasons......

Have you fitted your new Goodyear vectors ? Do you like them? 
Thanks 

[Kental]

20 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Have you fitted your new Goodyear vectors ? Do you like them? 
Thanks 

I had them fitted last weekend, I have only driven back from Costco with them (rear seats were down to bring the other tyres back for them to be eBayed).  I've been commuting in the Yaris (on Cross Climate2 tyres) this week so not really got a fair comparison noise wise.

Grip, handling and ride were all fine, easily as good as the Summer Falkens.  So not bad for an all season tyre.

[TonyHSD]

27 minutes ago, Kental said:

I had them fitted last weekend, I have only driven back from Costco with them (rear seats were down to bring the other tyres back for them to be eBayed).  I've been commuting in the Yaris (on Cross Climate2 tyres) this week so not really got a fair comparison noise wise.

Grip, handling and ride were all fine, easily as good as the Summer Falkens.  So not bad for an all season tyre.

Thanks. 
I went back yesterday to the ats garage to recheck balance on the rear tyres as been getting some vibrations recently and I saw now they have offer for Michelin £64 off four tyres. There were also Michelin tyres on display and I looked at cross climate 2 size 205/ 60 16 94H XL, tbh I think from looking and touching the tyre the Goodyear are way softer and more advanced made tyres with more interesting structure and profile of the the tread patterns. The cross climate look and feel very hard tyres to me. I also read a couple of reviews from people who had both Goodyear vector and Michelin cc and they prised vectors more. , but each to their own. I just found all seasons tyres not suitable for me and my hybrid. Will stay on summers and if ever need more grip will buy dedicated winter tyres which are super soft and cushy. 👍

[Kental]

I am now on my third days of driving on the Goodyear All Seasons.

The ride on the Goodyears is definitely an improvement, the initial impact of bumps is less harsh than the Falkens.

Grip is brilliant and damp braking is a definite improvement even at temperatures well above the magic 7c. As this is on lanes rather than bigger roads this could be down to the mud rating of the tyre rather than the all season aspect.

Regarding road noise, on the same stretch of road the sound monitor on my watch had the same dB reading, but it sounds less harsh so not as grating a frequency perhaps but a similar volume. However I am hardly using a calibrated bit of equipment so a mute point (intended pun!!!).

So I am more than happy with my purchase.  Perhaps if we get some white stuff in Kent I can compare with the CC2 tyres on the Yaris.

[OTS84]

Has anyone tried the E Primacy? Heard a lot of good things about them and considering replacing the Falkens with them when they are worn 

[Luke717]

On 10/26/2022 at 9:47 AM, Luke717 said:

I've been following the discussions here, learning a lot (especially from @TonyHSD's narratives). Yesterday, after two years and four months of the Falkens that came with my car (2020 Excel 1.8 HB, 18" rims) new from the factory, I bought a full set of Michelin CrossClimate 2 tyres 225/40/R/18/92Y.

I was quite happy with the Falkens, but as winter is approaching I didn't want to continue with summer tyres. I have no desire to buy winter tyres and do a swap-over as required, so all seasons looked a good choice. Where I live (west Berkshire) snow isn't a major issue ususally but I do go places here and further into the southwest where mud and water are issues in the winter. So after reviewing all the offerings on the market including all the ones mentioned in this thread, I decided on the Michelins.

While I've yet to thoroughly review-as-I-drive with these tyres, a 20-mile journey last evening on a major A road with a reasonable road surface (about what you expect to see these days) and a couple of country Bs produced a wow! regarding smoothness of drive, quieter in the cabin, better steering feedback and general overall enjoyable experience driving compared to the Falkens. I'm aware that such a comparison is pretty subjective given the Michelins are brand new and the Falkens have done 25,000 miles in nearly 2 1/2 years. But the immediate difference I felt with the Michelins is quite something.

Further impressions to come once I've driven with the Michelins a little more.

It's almost one month since I had a full set of Michelin CrossClimate 2 all-season tyres 225/40/R/18/92Y fitted to replace the set of Falken summer tyres that came with the car from the factory in 2020. Since then I've done 25,000 miles on those Falken tyres.

In this past month, I've travelled a little over 600 miles on the Michelins on a wide variety of roads: motorways, As and Bs, plus an experience earlier this month on very wet and muddy unclassified narrow country lanes in deepest Surrey in the surrounds of Reigate 🙂 Not a great cumulative distance but enough to get a good sense of the ride comfort with these tyres.

I can say with complete confidence that I am very pleased that I bought them. The first thing I noticed was the change in cabin noise to the extent that I can now listen to streaming music from Spotify or the DAB radio at motorway speeds with the volume at about 28 - before, I'd need to set it at about 38 to hear the music comfortably. Then, I didn't really realise how obtrusive the cabin noise was.

Second, an amazing difference travelling on the section of the M25 between the Woking junction and Reigate that's surfaced with concrete slabs that I think have been there for at least 20 years if not longer. A truly dreadful stretch of road with vibration and the roar of tyres on the road surface with the clunk of hitting the gaps between the slabs. What a difference with these Michelins. The driving experience is almost serene.

Finally, the overall smoothness on almost all road surface. These are low-profile tyres just like the Falkens. But unlike the Falkens, the Michelins deliver a much smoother experience even on poor road surfaces including potholes.

Highly recommended!

[TonyHSD]

To the all season tyres guys, please don’t forget to share some experience and pictures of how these tyres are doing on snow and ice, will be interesting for all. 👌🛞