Have my 84 Supra (P-Type) in the shop now; 194,000 miles, original clutch. It sat out all winter and needs a bit of work done to get it running.
The tires I have are pretty worn, and a bit of dry-rot is showing up.
I'll need to replace them soon, and have been reading up on the tire issues with the 14x7 wheels (original wheels on this car).
I checked the list of available tires on this site, but I'm wondering three things:
1) Can anyone explain the 7mm offset, and the 37mm offset now standard? I checked the link on this site that gave diagrams about offset, but I sure couldn't figure it out. Will this even effect my tire purchase?
2) for standard driving, do you want different wheels on the back than the front?
3) anyone have any reccomendations on the available tires?
My Supra is a sometimes station car, and a weekend short-tripper. Will not be driven in a high-performance style, at least until I have a bit more cash to drop into it.
Thanks for your input,
Keith

Well, I can't say what tire to look at, I'm particularly fond of the Bridgestone brand though. Have had 'em on all my vehicles for the past 12 or so years and have never had any problems with them. This is one of those subjects that are more a matter of preference, rather than one brand is better than the other, although there are some that you should definitely stay away from!
As for rim offset, you really don't need to worry about that unless you're changing the rims too! A quick explanation of offsets though, if you have a 0 milllimeter offset, this basically means that the mating surface, (the part of the rim or what's known as the bolt up face that touches the surface of the brake rotor assembly), is exactly in the middle of the rim's width. If the rim is 8 inches wide, that mating surface is exactly at 4 inches into the rim. If you have a +35mm offset, the rim sits 35mm further outside of the vehicle, (or 35mm away from the rotor ass'y). if you have a -35mm offset, it sits 35mm further inside of the fenders.
this pic may give you a better idea of how offset works...
move rim this way for:
<<<=== negative offset ||| positive offset===>>>
http://www.usacomp.com/images/85%20cs.gif

www.vulcantire.com

Falken Zeix 225/60/14's

I think they were $220-240 for a set, after shipping...

I like them, nice ride, good grip, LOW price =)

--BillyM

Just picked up the Falkens also, great tire and cheap, and better than the BF Goodrich TA"s I had..Vulcan tire has great service too.
Brian

Michelin Pilots are great tires but a bit on the expensive side, about $100 each. I was used to getting tires for my legend (225/45/17 and $130-$200 per tire) so this seemed very reasonable to me, but if you are used to a more normal size the Falkens are a lot easier on the wallet. If you have the money though I would highly recommend the Michelins.

I have both the Falkens and the Pilots... I wld recomend the Michelins cost no object. They are all-around better, but they are also twice the price of the Falkens.

http://www.celicasupra.com/greg85/pages/PICT0273.htm

http://www.celicasupra.com/greg85/pages/PICT0279.htm

Well, opposite of what everyone else is doing, I can tell ya one tire NOT to order...

Yokohama Avid ST's. They are a stupidly low speed rating (103 I believe), with a "B" traction rating. The only up side to them... they are incredible in the snow... which at this time of year is no longer a concern... I plan on getting another set of tires and keeping these as winter tires...

Keith D,

Here's our recommendations:

http://www.celicasupra.com/ptypetires.htm

If you still want to stay with the stock 225/60/14 tire size on all 4 corners, this is still what's available.

One brand of tires that we DON'T recommend, are those Grand AM Radial GT's from Les Schwab.... Very hard rubber compound that has the consistancy of a pencil eraser :roll:

I'm currently on Yokohama A509's in the stock size on all 4 corners. These tires unfortunately, are now on the discontinued list, so you can't get them anymore. I like them, because of the 160AA rating, so they're nice & sticky. Bad thing, is that they are only 2 season tires (wet & dry), thus they are not M+S rated. And yes, they do suck in the snow!!!! Now that I have my MKI w/ the BFG Radial TA's, that will become the snow car, should this takes place....

The A509's that I have are just about worn out.. I probably have another 2 - 3K miles on them, before the wear indicators come in contact w/ the pavement.... For my replacement tires..... :D I have another spare set of A509's waiting for mounting... :D Heehee... 8) (thank you again Don & Shawn @ Nix99).

Looks like the Falkens are it. I'm going to re-finish my wheels with the existing rubber, then order the new tires.
Thanks everyone for their advice.
K
:usa

Yokohama Avid S/T's are too good tires. :twisted: They are T speed rated(118mph). The UTQG is 420 A/B which means it wears 4.2 times better than the standard, traction is A quality(highest), and temp resistence is B which means it passed a test where it ran at 100mph for a half hour but failed when they tried to run it at 115mph for a half hr. They are also well suited for snow and mud because they are M+S rated. They also scream like crazy when you peel out and dont leave too much tread behind. I've had these tires for about a year and a half and I like them. I paid $65 a tire plus $20 to have them mounted and balanced. They work very well in Minnesota and don't look bad either :D

Hey, they sound like great tires.... as long as you don't drive hard. I'll stick with something a bit softer that will ride better, make less noise, and give me more grip, oh, and I've taken my car faster than 118 already. If I ever get a set of snow tires I'll definitely take a look at them though.

One brand of tires that we DON'T recommend, are those Grand AM Radial GT's from Les Schwab.... Very hard rubber compound that has the consistancy of a pencil eraser :roll:



Awwww.......come on now....Those are my super-accidental-drift tires! And at 45 bucks a pop, you bet I'll do a 30 second burnout!

Nick

LOL!!!!! :lol:

Funny!!... I do agree tho, that's about all those Les Schwab Grand Am radials are good for... When our infamous RabidChimp (Aaron Garney) first purchased his 85 Blackpra, they also had those lovely Grand Am's on them. And yes, he too was doing lot o burnouts, so that he could get rid of them sooner. Now I believe when he finally switched over to the Falken FK06U's, he was a little bit easier on those tires, but the last time I saw his Blackpra, the rear's had quite a bit of wear on them... :shock:

I'm not even sure if those Grand Am's will work out well in a burnout contest, they're so hard that you won't get enveloped by as much tire smoke as you would w/ a softer tire. :)

They do alright making smoke by themselves, but next to a softer tire...Ummm.... :oops: My red 84 had some weird Kellys on it....those were about useless, but they smoked pretty good.

Guys, we want the best rated tire A temperature, A traction and M+S for the MK2. TireRack.com has very good info on tires. I wouldnt buy a tire with less than a A rating on temp, maybe B on traction. Another brand to look at is Dunlap and Sumitomo sp??

Dont forget to look at the 215 or 235 size as well you might find a good deal on these sizes.

Hey All,

I just purhased Yokohama A509's 225/65/R14 for my Supra. Now all my family are running on Yokohama tyres :lol:.

I got them yesterday and I'll let you know how i go with them when i do a little more Kilometres on them.

Cheers.

Huh???????

Are these 60's or 65's????? Don't remember seeing any in a 65 size.

I know that the A509's were still available for awhile in AUS, after they were discontinued in North America several years ago, but I heard within the last year that they were also being discontinued in AUS now as well??? Where did you find these???

BTW, you are going to LOVE these tires in the rain!!! The 160AA treadwear sticks like glue, even in the rain!! Enjoy them while you can!!

what tires would you guyz recomend for a Daily Commuter?

i have also hear about some people using 235/60 14 tires where and how much?

and lastly

I remember when i got my 83 it had 225/50 14's on it. the car looked like it was lowered. is that any good for the car? are there any tires like that still available? iv been looking for some but i couldnt find any.

Sorry, you guyz probably think im a PITA for asking so many questions. but hey i cant help myself

Imo, Falkens, 225/60/14, $216 after shipping for a set from www.vulcantire.com. I'm very happy with them. They arent the stickiest tires in the world, 400TW, but should last a good long time for commuting. The only other tire I would purchase is the Kuhmo 225/50/14 tire, but they are something around $85 each. Would make very very stickey tires, but wouldn't last too long.

--BillyM

CJSREDPRA ,

I know that the A509's were still available for awhile in AUS, after they were discontinued in North America several years ago, but I heard within the last year that they were also being discontinued in AUS now as well??? Where did you find these???


You are right, they are going to be discontinued stocking them where I am. From what i heard from my local tyre center (where i got the tyres fitted) is that there were 2 sets when he enquired about stock and now there is 1 set left after I got a set for mine. I can't remember if the profile is 60 or 65 (can't be bothered to go out in the cold to check the tyres) all i can remember that they are the factory tyre size.

The Yokohama A509 are great tyres. Our family car has been fitted with them since 1994 and they are fantastic. The car is on its second set of A509 and sad to hear that they stop stocking these tires. They are soft and great in the wet. My brother has the A539 on his 84 Celica and is fun to drive in the wet. Dad has the Yokohama tires fitted on his new Celica which is fitted from factory and they are great in the dry.

What is the life expectency of these tires if driven like civilised people and not a race car?

Cheers.

Hey Chris, what are you running on the silver slug? I'm thinking the Falkens when I get some MKII rims, and I'm wondering if they will fit no prob?

Sam,

the mk II 14x7's fit well and look good on mk I's. Damon has a set on his.

sweet :)

Let's see.....

I installed this current set of A509's when the odometer was "~around 235K miles". I'm now at 277K miles and all 4 tires are about ready to come in contact w/ the treadwear indicators. I'll minus "about" 8 - 10K miles, since last summer I was running the 16" Compomotives, before I put the stock rims back on around the end of October (when the crappy rain season started). So I'd say if you're actually driving like Grandma & not pushing the tires around like you were on a AutoX course, you "might" be able to get 45K miles out of them. Everyone else on the Yahoo list has said that they've gotten 30K miles out of them, but then again, these guys weren't driving civilized.... :shock: :lol: One of the hazards of having soft 160AA treadwear tires, they will wear fast.. :P

Sam: The MKII P-Type 14x7" wheels are a nice upgrade, as long as you stay w/ either 215/60's or maybe 205/60's. The 225's might be kind of "large".

I'm still keeping the stock 14x5.5" MKI aluminum wheels & don't plan to upgrade the wheels. I'm trying to keep the wheel setup stock & simple. LOL!!!! LITERALLY, the day I got the MKI home, I was on the phone w/ Discount Tires & I ordered a set of BFG Radial TA white letter's in the stock 195/70/14's (the Goodyear Vector passenger car tires HAD TO GO ASAP!!). I had heard rumors that BFG was DISCONTINUING this tire size in the Radial TA model line & the rumors are true!!! I got one of the last full sets left in the country!!!!! I specifically wanted white letters (since the 81 Performance Package cars had white letter Dunlops), and I wanted something nice & not cheesy/cheap.. So I got what I wanted.

Cpl Bob. Which one of Damon's MKI's??? Can't remember what Damon is running on the 7MGTE dragmobile, but his Black 81 actually has the L-Type 15x6" wheels. Not the P-Type 14x7's.

The 225's might be kind of "large".

Bigger is better, right 8) Really though, would I have rubbing issues with the 225s? I want the biggest tire I can squeeze on this bad boy. If not, I guess the 215s would work....but I don't see the Falkens in a 215, and I'm really liking the look and price of them.

Sam,

Yes, there might be some rubbing issues w/ the 225/60's in the MKI. Of everyone that has installed the 14x7's on their MKI's, I don't believe they are running 225/60's, they are usually using something smaller, like the 205's or 215's.

Plus there is also the issue of speedometer accuracy.