Hey, I currently live in Toronto and bought my first car, a 1996 Corolla DX last October. After experiencing one winter with all-season tires, I knew I had to get winter tires for all upcoming Canadian winters.
I am starting to do research on winter tires, but I'm going to need some help since i know very little about cars and tires in general...
-What size are tires on 96 Corollas?
-Do I have to buy winter steal rims or any rims at all when buying winter tires?
-Which brand of winter tires are recommended for Corollas?
-How much should I expect to pay for 4 tires + service etc.?
-How many winters do these tires usually last?
Coming from a guy that lives on the mountains in the winter [practically] I have some advice, but it might not be the complete list.
Go narrow, it's the complete different idea behind tires for performance. The narrow the tire, the better chance it has of using the snow as traction.
If you can afford it, go for 4 matching tires. But i have gotten away with only 2 winter only tires for the drive wheels. You do want to have traction for all 4 corners if possible.
Snow tires have a multi-cell compound, that allow it to be stickier, and add to the fact that the winter tires out there now have hundreds of sipes [slots on the traction block that allow the weight of the car to spread them out, creating more traction for slippery areas] It also helps for hard pack, ice conditions.
I have personally used the Michelin x ice, and the original Blizzaks, and found that out of the two, the Blizzaks were slightly better for slush, and ice Although i have friends that spend 75% of their time on snow, and found that the Nokian tires were by far the best.
Their Hakkapellita [sp?] tires were designed in European winters, and now that I have a set of 4 on my car at the moment, I look forward to plowing through snow and driving with more confidence than ever before.
With your car now, you could easily unmount the tires curently on your rims, and then get 4 winter tires in place of them. but then you have to think about when spring summer rolls around, and having to swap them back. With that, it's far simpler to go to your local wreckers and ask for 4 steel rims w.o tires and then have those fitted for winters, so the transition from winter snow tires to your current all seasons is simple and painless.
Winter tires generally cost 90+ per tire with additional fee's for mounting and balancing.
I have been quoted 105 per wheel for Michelin X-ices , and 121 per wheel for the Nokian Hakkapellitta RSi's. Both with an additional 15 dollar for mountain and balancing from a Kaltire dealer here in Vancouver.
Winter tires can generally last 3 winter seasons, of both road and snow driving. This is all depending on how aggressive you are and how far you generally travel to get there. Because winter tires have a very very soft rubber compound, they don't carry any tread life warranty.
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I dont bite styles, but I do bite nipples, if she is freaky.
- tire size is 185 65 R14 or the optional size is 175 65 R14
- you can put them on any wheels you want long as there the proper fitment for the car, most people will have two sets of tires winters and summers
- Any brand of tires are fine obviously some tires wont come in the proper fitment
- for new tires you could spend as little as $350 and up
- Snow tires are soft and therefore wear out faster then normal all season tires, also aggressive driving shortens that life more than usual. My thing is to wait as long as possible to put them on until its consistently below 0 and or we get snow/road icing i wont be switching over , the last thing is people generally dont let snow's get bald because thats kinda retarded, I toss out snows if there down to 25% of the original tread depth
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Ah when she was in her glory, Not so nice anymore 358k 17years old her time is getting short ....
All season tires are shit in every season, they're too soft for summer and too hard for winter and they dont have the properties of a winter tire.
Sure if you dont have snow and the temperatures are same what we have during summer ~5C () then ofcourse you'll manage with summer tires. If you actually have some temps below 0C and no snow, you can still manage, but immediately when you get snow, you're gonna be in the risk zone.
With your car now, you could easily unmount the tires curently on your rims, and then get 4 winter tires in place of them. but then you have to think about when spring summer rolls around, and having to swap them back. With that, it's far simpler to go to your local wreckers and ask for 4 steel rims w.o tires and then have those fitted for winters, so the transition from winter snow tires to your current all seasons is simple and painless.
Sorry, I'm a little confused about this point. If I put winter tires on my current stock rims, can't I just switch them back to the all-season tires in the Spring?
If I get steel rims w/o tires, I can keep those on all season long? What do you mean by 'local wreckers?'
How much do steel rims usually cost including labor?
Sorry, I'm a little confused about this point. If I put winter tires on my current stock rims, can't I just switch them back to the all-season tires in the Spring?
If I get steel rims w/o tires, I can keep those on all season long? What do you mean by 'local wreckers?'
How much do steel rims usually cost including labor?
thanks
sorry for the confusion.
i meant to say, you can go to your local auto recyclers[local wreckers] to buy 4 rims from them. Generally, they will have them without tires. Then take those to your local tire shop, and then have your winter set of 4 tires ready for the season. With that being said, you will then have 2 sets of tires. your current set on your car, and then an additional set of 4 for winter.
There won't be any labor on steel rims, but it's all dependant on what the local auto recycler will charge you per rim. I can't see them being more than 25 per wheel.
Wal-Mart, and Costco generally have great deals on wheels and winter tires for our cars, as they will have a great selection. Give your local Wal mart or Costco a call to ask what it would cost for 4 tires mounted on 4 steel wheels.
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I dont bite styles, but I do bite nipples, if she is freaky.
ok. I suggest michiellen x-ice tires, I have them and they are amazing. You want as said a more narrow tire. Stock tire size on the corolla's is fine for that. I recommend another set of rims, a steel rim is around $50, for what you'd pay changing the tires every year just do it. Beside changing them all the time from rim to rim leaves the chance of the tire being damaged and you having to replace it.
How long they last is like any other tire, depends on the conditions. If it's a mild winter and it's warm and less snow, the tires will wear quicker. But they should last you a few seasons.
Edit
I just read above. DO NOT GO TO COSTCO OR WALMART OR ANYWHERE AND BUY DIRT CHEAP TIRES. You pay for what you get for. Now for the GTA cheap tires are fine, where I live in the barrie area I suggest buying the best. The x-ice tires I picked up were 175/70/r13 and were $100 a piece, even on ice I managed to keep it if the rear kicks out .
I just read above. DO NOT GO TO COSTCO OR WALMART OR ANYWHERE AND BUY DIRT CHEAP TIRES. You pay for what you get for. Now for the GTA cheap tires are fine, where I live in the barrie area I suggest buying the best. The x-ice tires I picked up were 175/70/r13 and were $100 a piece, even on ice I managed to keep it if the rear kicks out .
I do agree, but i was merely pointing out options for the lad.
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I dont bite styles, but I do bite nipples, if she is freaky.
I saw the Michellin X-Ice at Costco for about $110/each, wouldn't these be sufficient?
And I'm still kind of confused about the steel rims, what is the purpose of them? I'm guessing they add stability to the winter tires? When I switch back in the spring, I'm guessing the steel rims come off too?
I'm starting to look around a bit, but as one poster advised, I will probably wait a couple of more weeks until we get into sub-zero temperatures. I think our first snow fall of last winter was in January, but I think getting them early in November would be the safest solution.
Once again thanks for everyone's help and patience(I swear I'm knowledgeable in other topics not related to cars)
the purpose behind a set of steel rims is to mount spare tires onto them, or in your case a set of winter tires.
People that place aftermarket wheels on their car wouldn't want them to be used in snow, or slush, or even drive them in poor weather. So they then purchase a set of steel rims. They are the bare bones of wheels [rims] and due to their relatively inexpensive cost, the driver won't have to worry too much for their looks or performance.
Ideally, wait till you get colder temps, but also keep in mind that when it's colder and YOU want snow tires, chances are everyone else wants them as well. That might play into your availabitliy of tires when you do infact need to use them.
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I dont bite styles, but I do bite nipples, if she is freaky.
Last edited by Phreshnphunky; 10-16-2007 at 12:10 AM.
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Winter tire help for a newbie
) then ofcourse you'll manage with summer tires. If you actually have some temps below 0C and no snow, you can still manage, but immediately when you get snow, you're gonna be in the risk zone.
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