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[99 Camry, Manual] Tyres - the eternal question.

Hi everyone,

I think it's time to buy new tyres. To put it this way, if I get pulled over I get done a beaut.

Anyways, given Australian conditions, which tyres are better value for money? Currently I've got Bridgestones (I bought the car with them) but they seem to wear fairly bad (i.e. quick), driveability on wet roads is quite crap and they are/were noisy as hell. Tyre size is 185/75R14 89H. Oh, and changing the rims is not an option, TYVM. :)

The problem is that I haven't been able to find an Australian site with tyre reviews, let alone an up to date one, so this is the reason why I'm posting in this september forum.

From what I have seen, the US models are different (they don't even look the same, let alone have the same name), so I can't even get a rough information with regards to how good is a certain tyre or another. Plus the different weather conditions, different car makers and all.

Since I have to fork money for 4 tires in one blow, I think you can understand that I'm looking for some value in what I buy. I'd be looking at something that has a bit more life in it given normal driving conditions (no idiot-driving here), handles well in the wet and is silent. Price is not much of a problem as long as I don't go nuts on it - i.e $200/tyre is *way* too much in my opinion. It'd better start cooking my dinner for the next couple of years for that price.

Thanks,

Ino!~

--
I have seen things you people wouldn't believe.  Attack ships on fire
off the shoulder of Orion.  I watched C-beams glitter in the dark
near the Tannhauser Gate.  All those moments will be lost in time,
like tears in rain.  Time to die.
Reply to
Bogdan Iamandei
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I bought a set of Toyo Transas Teo in 205/65-R15 here in Oz, and they seem good. Quiet enough and OK in the wet.

Geoff

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Reply to
Geoff

I think the GTOodyear Regatta 2 is pretty good. Have it on my 93 camry and it works well in the rain, good handling overall and it is quiet. not to mention, the 75000 miles thread warranty.

Some people are saying that the yokohama avid touring and another yokohama is pretty good. I have some reservations about them. check out,

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and you will see what they are saying.

Goodyear assurance is also out. Thinking about buying those but they are damn expensive (about $80-100/piece not including installation, etc), not to mention that it is new and there ain't much reviews about them.

Reply to
skewe

I don't know what you get for tires in Aus, but the Bridgestones I had on my last brand new Toyota were very good, also discontinued a long while back!

My next Toy was new enough that it had the OEM's on it, and they were a Dunlop SP variant. Terrible in the snow, but since I have an '85 Trueno (that's correct for the pop-up headlight version, right?) I wasn't concerned too much about winter. Extremely good in the rain, however. We had near flood conditions (approx 3 inches per hour!) and I felt like I was driving on dry roads! Quiet and grippy. Oh, and go to a 185/60-14, you will notice a difference. I have posted a number of tire size calculators in the last couple days, so you can see what effect a different size tire will have on your speedo (not much, you're changing the sidewall height/circumference only a little; it will make your speedo off by only tenths of a MPH or KPH.

Reply to
HachiRoku

Currently I've got B249s on. They seem quite mediocre tyres. I've done about 27,000Km so far and they're bald as. Plus that the grip in rain is quite crap too even when they were newer/better.

Eh... :) a difference of about 9% in speedo indications, eh? :)

Oooh, SHINY! that's a keeper! Nice calculators. Now that kind of things *really* make your choosing job so much easier. Took me a while to find your posts - but then again, Google's my friend. :)

Right. So assuming that I am going to stay within the 3% tolerance I think I've settled myself on Toyo Proxes H4 (205/60-R14 88H) as it would be one of the very few tyres that fits a 5.5 rim. That is, a tyre with dimensions different of 185/75-R14

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Got a few tyre dealers saying that they're quite allright tyres. If anyone knows any better, by all means, do speak up. :)

Ino!~

--
I have seen things you people wouldn't believe.  Attack ships on fire
off the shoulder of Orion.  I watched C-beams glitter in the dark
near the Tannhauser Gate.  All those moments will be lost in time,
like tears in rain.  Time to die.
Reply to
Bogdan Iamandei

Hmmm...shouldn't be that much!

Proxes is a decent tire, but the size is a bit shocking! Going from a 185 to a 205? And it will fit on a 5.5 rim? (Interesting...VERY Intereseting!)

I was going to buy a set of Celica GTS rims for my Corolla GTS, same bolt pattern and hub ring, but it was shod with 225/60-15's and just wouldn't clear the front frame when turning. Should have just bought the damn rims anyway! I could have put a 195/45-14 on them and had some AWESOME handling (need a 6.5 to 7,5 for the 195's)

Reply to
HachiRoku

Well - according to the 1010 calculator, it is. :)

Well - it will - check the PDF on that page. It says "Approved rim codes" or something to that effect. But anyways, the size difference is too big so I just gave up on them. I made a slight miscalculation when I looked at them and that's why I thought I was going to end up with them.

Anyways, right now I'm sticking to Toyo 330 195/70-R14. They're fairly close to what I have now on, and all at just under 1% thow-off on the speedo and odometer. Will see how they go. Hopefully I'll be getting a bit more than what I got off these crappy Bridgestones.

Heh. I tried to get 5 rims for free off the tyre guy. He gave me a 10 for trying, but no rims! :)

Ino!~

--
I have seen things you people wouldn't believe.  Attack ships on fire
off the shoulder of Orion.  I watched C-beams glitter in the dark
near the Tannhauser Gate.  All those moments will be lost in time,
like tears in rain.  Time to die.
Reply to
Bogdan Iamandei

Interesting. Doesn't seem to be available in the US, but that's not surprising. There are a lot of models not for US sale. I have seen 2 BFG

180/55-13's in my boss' 'junkyard', and they are available in other countries, but not here. Wonder how he got them?

My experience with Toyo has been hit and miss. I have had a decent set on a Honda, a decent set on a Toyota, and 2 really NOT so decent sets on Toyotas. The 2 not so decents were OEM, the 1 decent was OEN, and the Honda's were aftermarket.

Reply to
HachiRoku

Hi,

those tyres sound a bit small for a Camry. Been using Bridgestone Donuts GR50 on mine for last 2 years, get about 70k out of them, substantially better than the RE92 etc which came as standard.

Not sure they make them that size though.

Think they around $110 now, not the best tyre but for the money they are very good - also v good in the wet.

rgds

Peter

Reply to
Peter

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