which tires? the wife's new DD.

So, the wife just bought a 05 corolla. well, it has steelies and hub caps sporting econo-junk tires. this led to me convincing her to allow me to get her some actual rims for the car. the question now is what tires should I get for it?

I am looking for something a bit sportier than the standard china specials that everyone seems to put on these cars but I don't want to compromise on wet traction and hydroplaning. my car has 'performance' tires and it seems that they never are quite as good going through standing water as economy tires.

So, I guess what I am looking for is a tire that has better traction and better stopping distance and at the same time doesn't lose out to econo-box tires in the wet.

this is for southern south carolina so there shouldn't be a need for any winter driving, we rarely even see a snowflake(this year being an exception.)

Continental DWS.  They are my go-to tire for regular people who I care about, and are amazing in the wet. They were what we got last for both my mother and mother in laws cars.  Reviews here have been nothing but positive.  

For upsized wheels, the 17” that came on the Scion tC will bolt on to an 05 Corolla and they are quite cheap on the used market.  Celica GTS 16” would fit too. 

I put conti dws2’s on my Jetta and they rocked. Of course they were much more expensive than the elmaypop-o’s, but damn they were worth every penny. Just before I turned it in for dieselgate, I put on uniroyals which I should have just ran on the steel wheels for better performance.

the TC rims were actually what i was looking for. lol

should I stick to the original 195's or go up to 205's?

Kumho Platinum LX. Cannot recommend enough for a daily.

Sonic said:

Continental DWS.  They are my go-to tire for regular people who I care about, and are amazing in the wet. 

They’re excellent in a couple inches of snow, too. I’ve had several sets on several different cars. 

I have Sumitomo HTR ENHANCE L/X on my Colorado. They have been great tires. Outstanding traction in all conditions including rain, snow and ice. 

General Tires are good and reasonably priced.

Another vote for the Continental DWS06 (the current one).  

Excellent wet and dry traction. Very smooth at normal speeds, or well into the triple digits. I don't know how many miles are on mine, but it is at least 10k and they're wearing very well. 

I have some Firestone Firehawk A/S tires currently.  Good in the wet and dry.  Mediocre in light snow/slush/ice.  Could just be that I am running 225 width (wider than stock) on a freaking minivan (mazda5)

I have Cooper Zeon RS3-A on the Passat.  I haven't hydroplaned it yet, they seem grippier than I need for street use, and have lasted quite well.  They also do fine in a decent snow.  Good tires.

I like good tires, made in the USA. I run Cooper CS5 (made in Mississippi) on my wife's CRV. They are great, love them!

On my GTI I run Goodyear Eagle Sport A/S for daily 3-season use. (These are actually made in Chile :( 

Another vote for Continental DWS.  Have had them on several different cars and they were great.  

Floating Doc said:

Another vote for the Continental DWS06 (the current one).  

 I don't know how many miles are on mine, but it is at least 10k and they're wearing very well. 

I just replaced a 30,000+ mile set that were aged out but still had plenty of tread.  Despite the long tread life, they don't drive like bagels.  I put another set of DWSs on the car.

KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:

I have Cooper Zeon RS3-A on the Passat.  I haven't hydroplaned it yet, they seem grippier than I need for street use, and have lasted quite well.  They also do fine in a decent snow.  Good tires.

I bought these for the Acura TL 6-speed that my son drives.  The have held up well.  I bought them when discount tire had one of the 100 off sales on ebay.  with a rebate as well i think they were less than 300 for the set.

smokindav said:

I like good tires, made in the USA. I run Cooper CS5 (made in Mississippi) on my wife's CRV. They are great, love them!

 

On my GTI I run Goodyear Eagle Sport A/S for daily 3-season use. (These are actually made in Chile :( 

Have these on the van, love them so far.

Pirelli P7. I bought a set on Dec. 2015 and after 87,000 miles, (rated for 80k) had to replace them and the wet traction is the best I ever seen on an all season tire.

In reply to Daeldalus :

I have a set of 195/(something)-16 Continental DWS with only 50 miles on them I’ll sell cheap.