Forceum MT08 on my Tercel….am I crazy?

[Creekside]

My Tercel is going to need tires soon and while shopping around I discovered these. They’re available in 165/80R13 and I currently run 155/80R13. I work on a 100 acre complex that is all gravel, have a 1/2 mile gravel driveway and run several errands on gravel. The average little P series 13” tire doesn’t hold up great especially with the full trunk of tools I carry for work. The size difference is negligible and the speedometer accuracy could be challenged anyway in a 28 year old car. What do you guys think? I probably put 100 miles a week on it anymore. I should also add that I run back and forth to hay and farm equipment on our farm almost daily with it too. Nothing really harsh, mostly hay fields and maintained private gravel roads.

https://www.amazon.com/Forceum-Off-Road-Light-Radial-Tire-165/dp/B09MWHR4SS

 

[dishdude]

Does this beast ever go out on the highway?

 

[Creekside]

Does this beast ever go out on the highway?

Long distance, no. The furthest it might go would be 40-50 miles from home. Primarily everything I do with it including going to work is within 10 miles of home. All on 55mph or less state highways. If I was still driving 100 miles round trip every day I wouldn’t even consider it.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Dang I would have been all over those on my first car, an '86 Tercel wagon 4x4 w/ 6 speed manual. Did a lot of off-roading with that beast all over the Nevada mountains & desert, and even had it in Vermont for awhile in snow country. All on 13" passenger tires, only got stuck once (that I couldn't push it out of).

I see no reason not to try them. Don't expect great life given the tread pattern if you start using it on the highway primarily, but from what you describe for your driving routine, I think they'd work just fine. The 10mm difference in width translates to a really small amount of height even with the 80 aspect ratio. I doubt you'll notice the speedometer difference.

I'm curious what year/model yours is..?

 

[Creekside]

Dang I would have been all over those on my first car, an '86 Tercel wagon 4x4 w/ 6 speed manual. Did a lot of off-roading with that beast all over the Nevada mountains & desert, and even had it in Vermont for awhile in snow country. All on 13" passenger tires, only got stuck once (that I couldn't push it out of).

I see no reason not to try them. Don't expect great life given the tread pattern if you start using it on the highway primarily, but from what you describe for your driving routine, I think they'd work just fine. The 10mm difference in width translates to a really small amount of height even with the 80 aspect ratio. I doubt you'll notice the speedometer difference.

I'm curious what year/model yours is..?

1994 base package I guess. 1.5 4 speed, all manual windows and doors and no power steering. You even have to pull the radio antenna out manually. I’m not sure if there was different trim levels or not. I absolutely love this thing.

 

[92saturnsl2]

1994 base package I guess. 1.5 4 speed, all manual windows and doors and no power steering. You even have to pull the radio antenna out manually. I’m not sure if there was different trim levels or not. I absolutely love this thing.

Tercels were awesome cars. My '86 had the carbureted 1.5L (8 valve) with a whopping 69 horsepower, but it always got you where you needed to go. I'm sure the fuel injected (16 valve?) in your '94 was a huge improvement.

 

[eljefino]

The 1433 lb load capacity is bonkers. It's so over and above what a cheezy all-season would have that I'd be concerned it will telegraph every pebble and shake your car to bits.

The amazon listing shows a closeup of the sidewall which has DOT approval, so they should be road-legal.

 

[Creekside]

Just pulled the trigger on them. $394.36 shipped to my door from Priority Tire. I'm going to have the wheels refinished before I put them on so it may be 3-4 weeks but I'll update when I can start driving on them.

 

[Creekside]

They showed up today. Wheels are headed to the powder coater Monday to be refinished and then I’ll install the tires. Excited to see how they hold up.

 

[Sedin26]

Nice. You probably don't have a lot of choice anyway - I was looking for new tires for my 1993 Tercel a while back and not many brands even make 13" tires. Costco said the don't sell them at all....no Michelin, etc.....just off brands.
Keep us updated on how these do!

 

[Creekside]

Nice. You probably don't have a lot of choice anyway - I was looking for new tires for my 1993 Tercel a while back and not many brands even make 13" tires. Costco said the don't sell them at all....no Michelin, etc.....just off brands.
Keep us updated on how these do!

Nope there’s probably 5 options. It’s always run tiger paws since I’ve had it with good results but I was driving it 100 miles a day on the highway. They don’t like gravel.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I’d definitely say you are crazy lol. In a nice way though haha. I’d never run cheap no name brand tires ever. No matter the car or age. I could not live with myself going down the road knowing I have something that could cause an accident. Not saying it would or that an expensive tire wouldn’t just I’d be more leery of a blowout with a cheap tire. In my opinion tires and brakes should always be name brand. I’d personally go with Uniroyal Tiger Paw if available in that size. Those ones you got look like tires that would go on a truck lol.

 

[97prizm]

They almost look like a truck tire with the aggressive tread pattern

 

[OVERKILL]

They almost look like a truck tire with the aggressive tread pattern

Almost? LOL! They definitely look like a truck tire, and are even labelled LT, hahha.

 

[Creekside]

I’d definitely say you are crazy lol. In a nice way though haha. I’d never run cheap no name brand tires ever. No matter the car or age. I could not live with myself going down the road knowing I have something that could cause an accident. Not saying it would or that an expensive tire wouldn’t just I’d be more leery of a blowout with a cheap tire. In my opinion tires and brakes should always be name brand. I’d personally go with Uniroyal Tiger Paw if available in that size. Those ones you got look like tires that would go on a truck lol.

These seem to be well known with a little googling, just not to me before I made this post. There’s a good bit of YouTube videos and posts on other forums about them. As far as price, Tiger Paws are actually cheaper. I have had good results with them on highway driving but they don’t hold up to gravel nearly as well. It’s just not what they’re intended for(in Uniroyal’s defense, neither is the car). Time will tell how these do. These also aren’t Chinese tires which is where some of the cheaper tires got their bad rap. There’s hundreds of Ling Long, Double Coin etc. running down the road on OTR trucks even on some of my equipment. I don’t mind cheaper tires as long as I can do some decent research on them before purchasing.

 

[Creekside]

Almost? LOL! They definitely look like a truck tire, and are even labelled LT, hahha.

They almost look like a truck tire with the aggressive tread pattern

This particular size is popular with the Japanese mini truck crowd apparently. The little right hand drive cabover trucks with flatbeds. They carry all the necessary DOT information so I have no concerns even though I’d never heard of them. Lots of reviews out there on the larger sizes of the same tire.

 

[LawrenceGazebo]

These are hilarious, I love it!

 

[Creekside]

Couldn’t be happier how they turned out. I scuffed the center caps with red scotch brite and painted them with aluminum colored plastic paint from Oreillys. Left brake is back together, haven’t started on the right side yet. Still waiting on the bearings and seals, they’re stuck in DHL land somewhere. All Raybestos brake parts and Timken bearings and seals.

 

[JC1]

My Tercel is going to need tires soon and while shopping around I discovered these. They’re available in 165/80R13 and I currently run 155/80R13. I work on a 100 acre complex that is all gravel, have a 1/2 mile gravel driveway and run several errands on gravel. The average little P series 13” tire doesn’t hold up great especially with the full trunk of tools I carry for work. The size difference is negligible and the speedometer accuracy could be challenged anyway in a 28 year old car. What do you guys think? I probably put 100 miles a week on it anymore. I should also add that I run back and forth to hay and farm equipment on our farm almost daily with it too. Nothing really harsh, mostly hay fields and maintained private gravel roads.

https://www.amazon.com/Forceum-Off-Road-Light-Radial-Tire-165/dp/B09MWHR4SS

Is that guy Aaron Rogers in that video? The Tercel Tire packers?

Cool project hopefully it works out for you. I had an 83 Tercel 4 spd. Your car needs a nickname. How about littlefoot (not bigfoot)???

 

[Aredeeem]

I got 235,000 miles out of a Tercel 4 Speed over 10 years. Never replaced the battery, never worked on the clutch. An amazing little car.