Tires for 1989 Corolla

I'm having a bit of difficulty in finding tires for my 1989 Toyota Corolla (155/80/13). Despite it's age, the car has only 122K miles and runs perfectly. I drive mostly 5K yearly in the city and rarely on the highway; and in Atlanta we almost never have snows. I also plan to keep the car for another 5 years, considering the low mileage to date.

At the tire shop that I had been going to, they have discontinued Michelin and didn't really have anything to fit the 13'' size. By a Web surf, I've come across a few made by Kumho (Powerstar 758 & AS/ 795), General (Ameri GS4 & AmeriSE), Cooper (Trendsetter), Bridgestone (S402), & other mongrel names. Any particular recommendations? Any to avoid?

Thanks

Reply to
agal
Loading thread data ...

You can go to a 165/70-13 with no problem. You may even be able to use a

185/70-13. Heck I did this with a Tercel!

Check Sears.

Reply to
Hachiroku

I'd go with a more popular 165/75x13 or even 175/70x13. Check link for size difference and speedo error.

formatting link

Reply to
Wolfgang

Thanks for the advise on tire size. I ran each of these tire specs through

formatting link
for a comparison. Here are the results:

155/80/13: 7 tires 165/70/13: 1 tire 185/70/13: 13 tires 166/75/13: 0 175/70/13: 21 tires

So, what happens if I use another tire besides the 155/80/13 on my car? Is there a problem in fitting a larger width on the rims and will a reputable tire shop be willing to undertake this? Again, mostly street driving under 50mph and rare highway driving. I must say, that over the 17 years I seem to have gone through a lot of tires: cheap ones Continental, NTW no-name at first and more recently the Michelins.

Thanks again:

Reply to
agal

Man, try another couple of shops. The OEM for my 1987 Corolla is a 145. I moved up to 155 just to improve traction on the mud and dirt I originally drive, but with each bigger footprint, you lose gas mileage....it ain't much but at $2.50 a gallon.....

I've never had problems finding the 155 tire. My favorite is the Toyo Spectrum, but Toyo's 800 ultra is also a nice tire. Considering that my local Toyo dealer is a jerk, however, I've recently been buying Delta (not the forture, that's their low-end tire).

They do well in the wet and give me about 35K -- not bad considering the rocks, branches and other assorted backcountry debris I usually trek over.

Reply to
timbirr

Well, I lied. I still have Toyos on my Corolla (I just looked). I have Delta on my van and my Camry. Just curious, called my local Delta dealer and he said Delta doesn't do 155. He said a lot of tire companies have dropped the smaller tires from their lineups.

So, then I checked the Sears and the Discount tire web sites. And they have slim or none in 155. What is it. Have all the companies decided that they don't make enough profit on the small tires.

My traction with the 155 is fine. It's cheaper, it weighs less (important when you rotate yourself), etc....I hope Toyo continues with the 155...they still have them at the moment.

If you are interested,

formatting link

Reply to
timbirr

First, go to

formatting link
and look for the Tire SizeCalculator; I belive it is in the Technical section. punch in or choose your original tire size.

punch in a 165/70 or 175/70-13. It will give you a comparison and a speedometer error. The error will be negligible.

I went from 155/80-13's on a Tercel to 185/70-13's on a Tercel, and it had the effect of running out of steam LONG before the tires even squealed! And, I managed 45MPG, with an Automatic Transmission.

175/70-13's are a dime a dozen...I would go with thet.
Reply to
Hachiroku

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.