Wheels And Tires... - Corolland: the Toyota Corolla Forums

Well, these are the tires on my car. These are mounted on stock steel wheels with stock hubcaps. I believe they have more than 80% of their tread left. Looking at the specs for the tire, they seem to be reasonable (S speed rating, A traction, B temperature). My personal experience is that the rain traction isn't as good as I would hope for. But then, I once had some awesome tires on my old ford probe, and they felt like they were glued to the road.

Frankly, the stock wheels and hubcaps are ugly. I've never been a big fan of flashy wheels, but I wouldn't mind something reasonable. I've been seriously thinking about preparing to get new wheels and tires. I really wouldn't replace the existing ones before they got down to 50% tread left. But the time to start thinking about it is now. I see the expected life of the current tires is 40,000 miles, and I put 2,200 miles per month average on my vehicle. Assuming I'm starting at about 80% tread, I should have about 32,000 miles left on these tires. That's 14.54 months at my current usage pattern. So, in about 5 months, I'll be around 50% tread. Thinking now about tires (and wheels) to be put on in the July-September timeframe is good. Gives me time to shop around and decide what I like, and set aside money for it.

So I have a few questions...

Is it worth going to a larger wheel? I happen to like 15" wheels in general (it's what my probe had). I'm concerned about the impact that would have on driveability of the vehicle. Also, I really hate those low profile tires.

Is it ok to put a wider tire on? I'm guessing it will reduce gas mileage slightly, but I can live with that.

Are there other questions I should be asking?

Thanks in advance,

jim

Those wheels look fine. I got all-season Yokohamas 185/65R14 on mine. The LE models of Corolla use 185 compared to 175 on the CE and VE model. My Yokohamas perform just fine in rain/snow, as well as for performance. Going up in diameter of your wheels is up to you. If you use normal sized tires for 15", it will reduce your wheel's space inside, as well as increase your ride height. Also, while a larger diameter will give you a better selection for rim styles, friends have told me increasing the size of your wheels can affect your speedometer's reading.

I agree with you fully. The stock hubcaps on the 8th gen Corollas and earlier are extremely ugly and tacky (in my opinion). A couple of months back, I was searching for alloy wheels. My personally advise, NEVER put chrome wheels on Corollas. Some cars just don't look good with chrome. Well if you want good wheels for your 98, I would highly suggest the OEM alloy ones. They are probably the best looking ones you are going to find for 14". Here is a pic of them:

98-02 OEM alloy wheels

I put these on my Corolla and they look very nice. They are also very durable and just as strong as the stock steel ones (the alloys weigh about 19 lbs compared to 20 lbs of the steel ones). The only thing I have to warn you is that they are rather expensive since they are brand new reproduction of a discontinued design. Unless you get lucky and can find someone on eBay or Craigslist, expect to be paying $140+ for each wheel. Mine were $150 each. I used my tax refund to pay for them default_smile .

Bikeman982

I can tell you that larger tires such as 205's will not fit on the car with the stock rims. They hit the struts and are too tall.

My son has a couple of brand new ones that he tried to put on and now they are on Craig's list for sale.

I agree with you fully. The stock hubcaps on the 8th gen Corollas and earlier are extremely ugly and tacky (in my opinion). A couple of months back, I was searching for alloy wheels. My personally advise, NEVER put chrome wheels on Corollas. Some cars just don't look good with chrome. Well if you want good wheels for your 98, I would highly suggest the OEM alloy ones. They are probably the best looking ones you are going to find for 14". Here is a pic of them:98-02 OEM alloy wheels

I put these on my Corolla and they look very nice. They are also very durable and just as strong as the stock steel ones (the alloys weigh about 19 lbs compared to 20 lbs of the steel ones). The only thing I have to warn you is that they are rather expensive since they are brand new reproduction of a discontinued design. Unless you get lucky and can find someone on eBay or Craigslist, expect to be paying $140+ for each wheel. Mine were $150 each. I used my tax refund to pay for them .

Those wheels are ok, but not really to my taste. Back when I had my ford probe, I liked the wheels it came with:

https://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u241/ba...d/89probegt.jpg

That's almost exactly what my car looked like. I miss it sometimes. default_sad

When I ever thought about new wheels for it, the only ones I liked were from the later model GT:

https://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u241/ba...13361991111.jpg

I really like simple lines. Swirls don't interest me. A nice and simple 3 or 5 spoke design is more my thing. Found some I kind of like here.

The picture shows a 5 lug, but they also make a 4 lug. The price is ok too. Anyway, that gives more of an idea of the style I like.

jim

just do a +1 size on the wheel tire package at tirerack. i think you'd want a 195/45/15 to stay near the stock rotational diameter? theres alot of online size calculators that you can use to figure out what you need.

i hear that the falken ziex 512 grips great in the dry and wet but leaves something to be desired on snow. the yokohama avids i have are pretty great tires, but i wouldnt mind a little more stick to them in the dry.

Before I got these OEM ones, I was looking at the OEM alloy ones from the 95-99 Mitsubishi eclipse. Here's a pic:

http://i1.sell.com/6/68/451673/37/232/2437777-m.jpg

They are straight lines in an angled design. I actually liked that design more than my OEM ones, but it only comes in 5 lug. There are converters, but most people recommend against using lug converters.

The reason why most 14" ones come in a swirled or angled design it's too small to do straight-centered lines. That picture of the one you want is probably 16" or more. When you go down to 15" or less, its hard to stay straight since there is less distance on the spokes and visiblity on the openings. I understand what you mean by preferring straight spokes; they look great on my Lexus SC400; however, that car uses 16" so its easier.

You can get clean spokes on 14" -15" wheels - just depends on where you look and your budget. If you pick up a forged wheel, most will have very simple lines (can't get too fancy/crazy with most single piece forged wheels). Try other online sources like Tirerack.com and 1010tires.com for some more examples.

Bikeman982

I have 195/70R14 on the rear and 185/70R14 on the front - on stock rims on my 1994.

It makes the car look a little bit higher in the back and a little sportier.