2006 Scion tC

[The Critic]

2006 Scion tC. The stock tire size is 215/45ZR17.

I was considering Goodyear Eagle GT. It's about $550 installed for a set of four. They are the cheapest name brand tires that are Z-rated. I'd rather stick with the factory speed rating as this isn't my car.

What do you folks recommend?

Thanks.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Why is a Scion speced for Z rated tires?

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Why is a Scion speced for Z rated tires?

Probably because it's a "sporty car." The OE Yokohama or Bridgestone tires are Z-rated.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Who's car?

 

[sky]

I have a 2005 tC. This spring I'm ready to put some Falken 912's on there. They should be a fair upgrade from the stock RE92's. The 912's are fairly priced well too.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Why is a Scion speced for Z rated tires?

Probably because it's a "sporty car." The OE Yokohama or Bridgestone tires are Z-rated.

Hmm... TireRack seems to think H-rated tires are OK for this car for some reason.

Anyway, is General a name brand in your books? If so, the General Exclaim UHP is $85/each at TR. But the GY GT you picked seems to be getting good reviews as well. Also maybe Yoko Avid W4S.

 

[bepperb]

Z rated tires on a TC are completely unnecessary. I wonder if Toyota wanted the stiffer sidewalls for better handling, or if that was a selling point to uninformed buyers, or if Bridgestone and Yokohama just gave them a deal on the tires.

Either way, I'd get a higher quality H rated tire. 130 mph isn't enough? The Camry is limted at 128, I'd be surprised if the Scion isn't as well.

But I understand the OP's desire to stick with OEM for a car that isn't his.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

If the person just does normal driving it'll be unlikely that he/she will be going that fast. Maybe educate him/her about it and let the person make the decision on his/her own?

Those sound like awfully expensive tires to put on a car like the tC. Kind of funny since it is my sister's current dream car. I think of it as a souped up 2 door Corolla. I'll make sure that if she ever gets one that it will have the smallest wheel size that comes standard. Don't tell me it is the 17" ones being talked about.

Heck if I could have found some decent priced H rated tires with a long tread life I would have put those on instead of the V rated ones and I think my car can actually go pretty fast (with the elimination of the speed limiter. Haven't tried though and don't plan on it).

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Those sound like awfully expensive tires to put on a car like the tC. Kind of funny since it is my sister's current dream car. I think of it as a souped up 2 door Corolla. I'll make sure that if she ever gets one that it will have the smallest wheel size that comes standard. Don't tell me it is the 17" ones being talked about.

Those are actually the smallest ones. There are also optional 18" ones. The size in question (215/45/17) is not extremely common, hence the relatively high price, even for less-known tires.

However, the brakes are small enough that you could fit aftermarket 15" rims on there with 195/65/15 tires which are much more reasonably priced, alas, they don't look very sporty, which is probably why the manufacturer doesn't offer them on the tC.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
If the person just does normal driving it'll be unlikely that he/she will be going that fast. Maybe educate him/her about it and let the person make the decision on his/her own?

It has more to do with liability and covering your own a_s_s. If there is a placard on the car that only lists V- and higher rated tires, then most tire installers will refuse to mount anything else - they don't want any trouble in the unlikely event of tire failure being attributed to incorrect specs. I know it sounds ridiculous, but we live in a very litigious society...

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Hmm... TireRack seems to think H-rated tires are OK for this car for some reason.

Anyway, is General a name brand in your books? If so, the General Exclaim UHP is $85/each at TR. But the GY GT you picked seems to be getting good reviews as well. Also maybe Yoko Avid W4S.

Are the Exclaim UHP tires all-season or are they summers? Tire Rack lists them has summer tires. I can't seem to get a clear answer on this.

 

[Quattro Pete]

They are summer tires. You haven't specified if they had to be all-season.

 

[Audi Junkie]

The tires he wants happen to be Z-rated, wth? I'm anxious to try them, having good experiences with my Eagle REs.

 

[HTSS_TR]

It's all-season as marked "M+S" under "L" of EXCLAIM, when you select SuperView of the tire on Tirerack.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Ooops... my bad. You're right... General actually classifies them as all-season.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Ooops... my bad. You're right... General actually classifies them as all-season.

Right, but Tire Rack says otherwise. There must be a reason for this.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Well, they kind of explain it in the description...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Exclaim+UHP

I guess it would be best to contact the manufacturer for further explanation. Looking at the tread design though, I would expect this tire to fare rather poorly in winter conditions.

Is snow driving a concern for the person that will be driving this car? If so, I would pass on the Exclaim UHP.

 

[Audi Junkie]

My UHPs are bald in a few months.

 

[wantin150]

If they are around when the time comes, I am looking at the GT's for my wife's car, a Scion xD, even more underpowered than the TC. The GT in that size 205-55-16, 0+ from a 195-60-16 is V.