Low profile tires on economy cars

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

jsharp

Joined
Dec 25, 2002
Messages
3,593
Location
Outside smalltown, IL
So my daughters '06 Camry with 43K miles needs new tires. I check the size - 215/55 X 17.

Looking around, I see that many brands of tire in this size are on back order. Not too surprising, she's likely not the only one replacing them about now.

What gets me though is the prices. $135->$185 a tire. Yikes! For an econobox.

Seriously, what's the point of putting a low profile 17" tire on a car like this? It's not like a 4 cylinder Camry with an auto is much of a performance car.

Me thinks the engineers bowed to the marketing and styling people and now she's paying for it. And I'm sure the Camry isn't the only model like this.

Anyone else think this is just a silly waste of $$ ?
 
I agree completely. I miss the days when my small econoboxes came with 155-80-13 tires. So cheap to replace. Even my Cavalier now I'm happy has 195-70-14's, not 15's or 16's......
 
Yeah it's goofy. pontiac vibe is pretty much a cool looking yet nerdy econo wagon and it comes with 16" standard and 17" optional.

Some dodge trucks have 20"-ers.

You know a lot of people are going to shop on price and get a tire that sticks pretty nicely in the dry but is a disaster on snow and probably mediocre in rain...
 
eljefino has another point. In looking at tires this size the majority are V rated performance tires. Just what she needs
smirk2.gif
She can tack a big wing on the back and get a 5" Autometer tach for the dash
LOL.gif


Seriously, it looks like we're going to try a set of H rated Goodyear Assurance TripleTred's

The treadwear numbers look OK, the price is OK for the size, and they're available. I'm not a Goodyear fan but I'm hoping these tires will work well enough for her.

Saturn_Fan, I understand the potential benefits of the tires on the car. But in this case I think they're more imagined than real. I'm sure they could have used a 16" or 15" wheel and tire and got equal performance with less cost. This is just money spent for style with little substance IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: astraelraen
55 series isn't low profile lol. Maybe for an SUV.


Maybe for an SUV yes. Or an low powered econobox. This isn't a performance car of any kind. It's a 4 cylinder Camry. That's my point...

Would you have felt better had I made the title "Why 55 series tires on econoboxes" ?
 
Last edited:
said this long ago. Couldnt agree more

The folks who disagreed with me the first time cited the fact that the prices will come down, like they have for other tire sizes in the past.

I dont know... Ive not seen it yet.

JMH
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: jsharp
So my daughters '06 Camry with 43K miles needs new tires. I check the size - 215/55 X 17.

Looking around, I see that many brands of tire in this size are on back order. Not too surprising, she's likely not the only one replacing them about now.

What gets me though is the prices. $135->$185 a tire. Yikes! For an econobox.

Seriously, what's the point of putting a low profile 17" tire on a car like this? It's not like a 4 cylinder Camry with an auto is much of a performance car.

Me thinks the engineers bowed to the marketing and styling people and now she's paying for it. And I'm sure the Camry isn't the only model like this.

Anyone else think this is just a silly waste of $$ ?
well she has a camery not a corolla. tires in a 17 are not cheap. [censored] i spent that much on the tires on my cavalier and they are 16's. her car is not a ecnobox it is a midsized car.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
I agree completely. I miss the days when my small econoboxes came with 155-80-13 tires. So cheap to replace. Even my Cavalier now I'm happy has 195-70-14's, not 15's or 16's......


Definitely something to consider when buying a car. I appreciated it when normal cars started to get 15-16 inch tires with a 60-65 aspect ratio. Going beyond that (lower and lower aspect ratios and larger rims) seems to be more for style and posting good numbers in magazines. Performance is important for safety but the gains are getting minimal.

I would never want to go back to my '87 Escort with 80 series 13" tires. What horrible handling.

It would be nice if manufactures would at least attempt to pick a standard size tire. Some sizes seem to only come on a couple of cars and so there is very little selection due to minimal demand.
 
Originally Posted By: jsharp
Seriously, what's the point of putting a low profile 17" tire on a car like this? It's not like a 4 cylinder Camry with an auto is much of a performance car.

Me thinks the engineers bowed to the marketing and styling people and now she's paying for it. And I'm sure the Camry isn't the only model like this.

Anyone else think this is just a silly waste of $$ ?


Obviously people want to buy cars with wheels like that. If she didn't want them, I guarantee they would have traded them straight across for some 15" steelies off a base model if she had asked. Or, she could have saved even more money by purchasing a lower priced trim level to begin with. It was her choice.
 
Originally Posted By: novaracer69
well she has a camery not a corolla. tires in a 17 are not cheap. [censored] i spent that much on the tires on my cavalier and they are 16's. her car is not a ecnobox it is a midsized car.


A camry in 4cyl trim is effectively an econobox, no matter how you want to cut it.

It might have power windows and door locks, a sunroof, ABS and alloy wheels, but that is the norm - so does the Hyundai accent.

Its not a highline model, its not a lexus or BMW or MB. Its a basic version of a common car in an economical trim. No need to go fast, drive in a "performance oriented" manner, or to show off, you just can't do it.

And that is the point. 17" tires arent cheap. Here you buy a 4cyl car, for better economy and a more attractive purchase price, and get what? >>$100 tires to slap on? There goes your "economy".

It doesnt benefit safety or performance, its just meeting the vanity of folks, who for the most part cannot afford it.

In a 15 or maybe even a 16" size, OK, you can get some decent tires that are readily available and work well in all conditions. Hit up to a 17" wheel, and youve got acquisition issues, not to mention all-weather performance issues.

JMH
 
The Camry is an 'econobox' in terms of Gas mileage or size ???


Buy your tires online and pay the $12 to get them mounted/balanced at your local tire shop.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
The Camry is an 'econobox' is terms of Gas mileage or size ??


Buy your tires online and pay the $12 to get them mounted/balanced.

Or go to your local discount tire, and they'll match the online prices.
 
Try the Scion xD. 195-60-16. Currently, only TWO mfgs make a replacement in that size, and one is OEM (don't like them).

To the OP,

Consider 0+ sizing to a 225-50-17 and see if your options open up and the price comes down. It did for my OEM 215-50-17 Matrix tires. A 225-45-17 (for my car) is a much more common size and is cheaper.
 
Last edited:
JHZR hit my opinions of it exactly. This car is one step up from a base model and she didn't buy it for performance. She bought it because it has a ton of room and the other attributes you get with a 4 cyl. Camry of this trim level vs. a car like a Corolla. OK, maybe it's not quite an "econobox" as some people see them. But it's not a high end car by any stretch. It's just a *very* common family car.

Yes, it was her choice but she's not a car person. She didn't consider the cost of every last replacement item when she purchased it. As if she'd know and as if even 5% of the people who buy cars can or will do that.

LT4 - They're 215/55 X 17's and the selection isn't as wide in that size nor are they as inexpensive. Nothing under $100 from Tire Rack if we eliminate all of the high performance tires that I doubt will last long or be very good in the midwest winter.

The super low end tires like Hankook or Fuzion don't seem appropriate here either given she drives 20K+ miles per year. Nor does changing sizes or buying online make sense for her. She wants something at least equal to what she had with no issues and no potential warranty problems.

I've had "we won't warranty tires purchased on the internet" issues before and I can't imagine her dealing with that 500 miles from home on a Sunday in Forgottenburg Nebraska.

Tire rack isn't really any cheaper either. The Goodyears she ordered locally are only $4 each less from Tire rack and that's before shipping. Even with local sales tax it's not going to save her much money.

Honestly, I'm sort of surprised this topic got so many opinions. Interesting to see the viewpoints of the people on the board since we're all obviously car people. Especially compared to my daughter the appliance operator...
 
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette

The Camry is an 'econobox' in terms of Gas mileage or size ???



Given where things are at these days, corollas and civics are bloated and oversize. Can we really depend on size?

Id consider a 4cyl camry as a modern economy car. Just like a civic, corolla, fit, yaris, etc.

Some are, some arent. The OP obviously bought the car in its configuration looking for economy, only to have tire costs unexpectedly become an issue. I dont doubt the same thing happens to lots of folks everyday.

JMH
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

R
New Tire Confusion
2
Replies
38
Views
2K
Bill Judson
supton
Dunlop Wintermaxx tires
Replies
9
Views
567
Rand
R
Tires & Tire Pressure for 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
Replies
12
Views
589
Sequoiasoon
wings&wheels
Petlas Tires?
Replies
6
Views
1K
slacktide_bitog
mrsilv04
Tires with really odd tread damage, mainly on the inner half of the tread. Shearing?
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
BrendanC
Back
Top