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Toyota Highlander Tires and Wheels

788 messages,  Last post on Apr 28, 2013 at 4:42 AM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Highlander, Tires, SUV

Messages Page 37 of 79

#360 of 788 Re: Toyo Open Country H/T tires [damifinomike] by rd1943

Sep 30, 2009 (1:11 pm)

Replying to: damifinomike (Sep 23, 2009 8:20 am)
I have a 2008 Highlander Limited, 24,000 miles on the Toyo a2’s. I drove in a snow storm in Boston last year and it was a scary experience. 18k on the Toyo’s then and they were impersonating toboggans. I have been looking for replacements since then. Same luck as others on this forum both with Toyota customer service and dealers. Toyota’s position that a slight change in tire size might damage the vehicle and void the warrantee is a smoke screen and is ludicrous. What happens when tire tread wears down or you drive with an underinflated tire? The vehicle is not calibrated for smaller tires!!! After getting a quote of $303 per tire for new Toyo’s and reading that the Duelers don’t perform any better in the snow and with the Toyo HT hard to get, I went to a local tire outlet. He steered me to the Nokian WR G2 Suv. The 255/55 r19 tire has a sidewall that is .2 inches taller than the 245/55. This changes the ride height of the Highlander by about .2 of an inch. It means that the speed registered on the speedometer will be about 1 mph slow at 70 mph. The vehicle will say you are doing 70 when in fact you are doing 71. Gas mileage figures on the console display will say you are getting 1% less than you are really getting because the slightly bigger tire takes you and inch or two farther each time it turns around. Thant's the total impact on the calibration of the speedometer, transmission etc. Slightly lower rpm at any speed, but that’s good for mileage. The Specs on the tires: 500 treadwear, A traction, A temperature. V speed (150mph) Severe winter / snow (Mountain/snowflake) rated. Low rolling resistance for better gas mileage. With these specs the tires should be good in heat and snow, handle well and go for 50k miles or more. I was sold. Tires were less than $220 each. The tires fit well and look good. Rear strut clearance which is the only thing close is still more than ½ inch from the tire and that clearance does not change with load or suspension movement. I have had many cars and have put over sized tires on some of them. Never had a problem related to tires. I’m sure the Highlander will be the same. I can live with a veiled Toyota warrantee threat but I won’t drive another winter on tires that endanger me or my family. I’m looking forward to having a 4wd vehicle that will handle well in the snow again.

#361 of 788 Re: New Tires [damifinomike] by joe05

Oct 01, 2009 (5:16 pm)

Replying to: damifinomike (Sep 30, 2009 5:43 am)
Unfortuanate as it is, a Toyota dealership offered her the same advice. Requiring her to purchase 4 new tires because 1 went flat.

#362 of 788 Re: Toyo Open Country H/T tires [rd1943] by marcar

Oct 05, 2009 (4:21 am)

Replying to: rd1943 (Sep 30, 2009 1:11 pm)
Wondering how long you've been driving on the Nokian WR G2 Suv's as we're considering purchasing them for our '09 HL Ltd. but are a tad concerned about the upsize to 255 from 245? Love the Haakapiilita's.....that's our fave winter tire, but didn't think we'd find them to fit the HL. Thanks and safe driving.

#363 of 788 Re: Toyo Open Country H/T tires [marcar] by damifinomike

Oct 05, 2009 (5:36 am)

Replying to: marcar (Oct 05, 2009 4:21 am)
Greetings:
Never heard of the tire brand you noted in message. As noted in prior posts, be *VERY* careful and fully understand the issues with going to *Bigger* tire as you note in your post. You indicate driving an '09 Highlander. I suspect your vehicle is still under warranty? IF yes, you may have issues with any warranty work on vehicle suspension and other underbody components by going to different tires. I am going with Toyo tires for "one-more-time" on vehicle with hopes that Michelin or other companies will "soon" have more 19-inch tires from which to choose.

#364 of 788 Re: Toyo Open Country H/T tires [as48] by as48

Oct 05, 2009 (7:08 pm)

Replying to: as48 (Sep 28, 2009 7:09 pm)
After reqesting from Toyota a specific answer, I was receive an email that stated that the Country H/T 245/55R19 103S tires are suitable for the 2008 Highlander sport.

#365 of 788 Re: Toyo Open Country H/T tires [damifinomike] by nowlen

Oct 06, 2009 (12:22 pm)

Replying to: damifinomike (Oct 05, 2009 5:36 am)
posted by damifinomike:
Greetings:
Never heard of the tire brand you noted in message.
 
Hey Mike: try this:
 
Go to Google.com
 
Search for Nokian and you will find :
 
http://www.nokiantires.com
 
Nokian Tyres is the largest tire manufacturer in the Nordic countries. The company develops and manufactures summer and winter tires for cars and tires for a range of heavy machinery. It is also the biggest retreading materials manufacturer and the biggest retreader in the Nordic countries. In addition, Nokian Tyres runs the Vianor tire chain with over 360 outlets across Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakstan, Switzerland and the US.
 
No need to thank me, I'm always pleased to help with Advanced computer techniques!

#366 of 788 2008 Toyota Highlander Tires by hotrod28

Oct 06, 2009 (1:26 pm)

I have the 19" wheels and ended up switching to the 255/55/R19 Michelin Latitude tires. We have over 6,000 miles on them and they have been great. The car rides better, grips the road better than the toyo tires and we have had no issues with rubbing, cornering, or excessive wear.
 
The larger tire will give longer tire tread life because you have more tread on the 19" tire than on the 17 or 18" wheels. The diameter is larger so the circumfrence of the tire is longer. This assumes that the tread depth is the same on both tires.

#367 of 788 Re: 2008 Toyota Highlander Tires [hotrod28] by nowlen

Oct 06, 2009 (9:49 pm)

Replying to: hotrod28 (Oct 06, 2009 1:26 pm)
Not (very) true about more rubber...
The diameter of 17" OEM tires/wheel combo is actually just .07" (yes point-zero-seven inches) smaller in the 17 than in the 19, and the section width is IDENTICAL! Not all that significant. Things will even up after just a little tread wear. Just a matter of mathematics. Here's an easy calculator: http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.dos to help you figure it out.

#368 of 788 Re: Decisions, decisions [doubles3] by as48

Oct 11, 2009 (6:02 am)

Replying to: doubles3 (Sep 27, 2009 10:48 am)
I tried to order the TOYO 245/55R19 H/T tires from several sources, but they are out of stock. One of the suppliers notified me that the these tires are on a nationwide backorder with aMinimum of 30 days out.
Tires can blow up on a trip any time, therefore manufactures should design the cars (with the excetion of exotic cars) with tires that are commonly available. I don't like the idea to travel in a car that has hard to get tires. You may get stuck without a car for many days, and worse is if you are on a long distance trip.

#369 of 788 Re: Decisions, decisions [as48] by damifinomike

Oct 11, 2009 (9:07 am)

Replying to: as48 (Oct 11, 2009 6:02 am)
Greetings:
 
Yes indeed. Never thought of this 19-inch tire situation when purchasing my Highlander back in '08. I hear same story about the Toyo tires from two places in Michigan. I did act quickly enough to get the Open Country Tires from Belle Tire warehouse and I guess, those will be tires of choice for now. Tires have arrived at local Belle Tire shop and will be getting them mounted within next couple of days... Just in time for snow season. Vehicle has just passed 30K and OEM tires (Toyo Open Country) are shot.
Happy shopping and hope you find tires soon.

Messages Page 37 of 79

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