Tire Issues

[aeonaaron]

Got the donut on the front left axle. my tire size is 215 40ZR17. Cant really find that size around here unless its new. Can I just put any old tire on for now? What are the cheapest & quickest options? Need help... Im poor.

[tarbasd]

Walmart cheapest new tires are pretty cheap - and crappy, too, so drive carefully - but they work.

[aeonaaron]

what if I just throw a used tire and rim on there for a temp fix. what size should I use? Can I do this?

[bennor]

I guess I gotta ask the question. Are you willing to trust your life to a used tire (that I assume someone else drove around on for god knows how many miles) in order to save a few dollars? Tires are about the last place you want to try and cheap it out, even if you don't have much money; but its up to you to decide on that issue.

While you can replace just one tire its not recommened. The recommended suggestion I've always been given by tire guys is to replace both tires (back or front) at the same time. Otherwise you end up (so they told me) with tires that have different mileage on them so one or more will wear out faster than the others causing possible loss of traction, tires out of alignment, and other issues.

One thing you didn't mention is what happened to the original tire before you put the donut tire on? If you still have that tire and it was a simple air leak or puncture and its on the tread you can usually have a local garage or tire center like Sears fix the flat and remount on the car for a small fee.

You haven't posted your Corolla year and model. Posting that, along with how many miles are currently on the tires may help for others to provide more help. You can find the OEM tire size at http://www.tirerack.com. Go through the Update Garage to select your year, model, etc., and then select tires. Then you can view the Original Equipment Size Tire for your car. For example for my 2005 LE the OEM sized tire is 195/65-15 (195/65R15). With the correct tire size you can check around locally and on websites like craigslist.org for new/used tires in that size, in your area.

Please post back on how you make out so others can learn from your experience.

[aspen007]

While it's certainly better to have all your tires and wheels the same size, you can get bye temporarily with mismatched tires and wheels.

Here are a couple of suggestions.

First put the mismatched tire on the back and make sure you have two matching tires on the front since those tires impact your steering more than the rear tires.

Next get a tire/wheel combination that is as close in size and width as your present tire.

Your current 215/40/r17 has a outside diameter(height) of 23.8 inches, an inch or so lower than the normal 195/65/R15 Corolla tire that has a height of about 25.0 inches. This extra inch in height will affect the level of your car but shouldn't mess up your steering too much since the rear wheels of the car have independent hubs.

[aeonaaron]

I found this tire. 215/40R17
whats the difference minus the 'z'

[aspen007]

I believe the "Z" references the tire's speed rating. Z rated tires are rated for speeds above 149 mph. At one time that was the top rating.

However, there are now W (168 mph) and Y (186 mph) ratings that tell you how much above 149 mph the tire is rated.

So all W and Y rated tires are Z tires. However, all Z tires aren't W or Y.

[TrailDust]

Tire ratings, including speed ratings, on Wiki....

[kmorgan_260]

I have found that todays tires are very well made and if you inspect them carefully you can have very good service from used tires. I have 5 vehicles and three of them have two complete sets of tires (snow tires and summer tires) so if I bought all my tires new I would be broke. I have picked up some very good bargans such as recently bought two Yokahamas with over 50% tread for $25 each. They were over $200 new. IMHO used tires are a viable option. I do try to make sure they are matched pairs on each axle.