So here's the story: I purchased my 89' Celica GT vertible' in June and I've loved it since. Problem is, it is my only vehicle at the moment and winter is coming. I'm searching for a snow solution, and I'm having a hell of time. I'm still running the 13" rims, which apparently are very hard to find snow tires for, I may just go with some cable chains for the time being. Does anyone else run their celica through the snow or am I the only crazy one? I did a search not too long again and it seemed as if everyone was running 14" wheels... I am unsure if that is the OEM size for other years and models or if everyone else has upgraded their wheels so it's easier to get tires. Any input is appreciated.
13 was oem for the st and gt models.....14 for the gts and alltrac...... i run mine in the snow but i live in oregon and we dont call it snow......we call it ice....lol.
Well your Oregon snow has got to be much worse than my Pennsylvania snow :hehe Do you do anything special for the snow?
well...if living in canada makes a difference :thumbsup: i used to have the 13" oem rims on my old 88 GT. i put all-seasons on them and i used them all winter last year. we had snowfalls from an inch of icy mix of slush up to a foot of the fresh stuff. i never needed winter tires, my school is on top of a mountain (burnaby mountain) which is about 1200ft elevation rise over 3 miles and i daily drove it without ever getting stuck. we had a snowstorm in april at school after i already switched to summer tires, but i was still able to make it up the 6% grade (a few sections up to 10% grade) just fine. i even took it up to cypress mountain (road from sea level to 3000ft base) and while i was snowboarding, a foot of fresh snow was dumped throughout the day. i was still able to get out of the mountain with only cleaning the windshield/rear window. point is, these celicas are quite easy to drive in the snow, winter tires or not. as for size, i was able to buy 185/70/13 tires at my nearest tire store.
That's interesting, I was curious as to how the car's going to be in the snow. Front wheel drive should help, glad you're having success in Canada. I have a near 40 degree hill to climb before I reach the 1/4 mile hill which is my driveway, which is what I'm worried about. I had trouble finding the 13" snow tires online, I should stop by NTB and check though. I was researching some cable chains and I found these things called snow socks that are popular in the UK I'm curious about too. They are basically Kevlar socks that slip over your tires.
tirerack.com has some michelin x-ice, but they are 175/70/13. not too far off. it's a more common size than 185/70/13. your speedo will read 5% too fast, there's more on there: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearc ... iameter=13
november-april i use all-season/oem 14" wheels since it's not so bad in vancouver april-november summer tires on 16"
Well no one "has to" change tires for the season but it helps. I just want to make sure I can make it to work as this is my only car atm. I'll have to check your link when I'm on a desk top, I was on tire rack the other day but I wasn't finding squat.
Actually in Europe there are countries where it's a law. They won't let you pass the borders in winter if you don't have winter tires on and chains in the boot. I change it every year too, but if there is heavy snow, I don't use the Celica, rather take the bus. Not that I won't be able to drive in snow, but I'm always worried that some idiot who doesn't know how to drive in the snow may slide into me. The Celi is too precious for me to take that risk I have a set of 15" rims for my winter tires (185/60) and I use the T23 rims on summer. It was quite an adventure when we brought the car from Germany after I bought it. It was january, snowed all the way, we even saw some cars upside down on the autobahn, and in the hill areas we smiled at all the fishtailing BMWs and Mercs that we passed.
LOL hill areas are so fun. i was smiling the whole time going up a hill with summer tires no problem while a 350z was having trouble going DOWN the hill. i watched a poor m3 hit a curb fishtailing too :/
driving with summer tires still.........she drives great on the snow last year......havent had any this year yet.
I'm kind of excited for the snow now, kinda sounds like it might be fun :naughty Just gotta decide what I'm gonna end up going with
My gt-s did great in the snow on all seasons and even better on snows. The vert I don't drive in the winter at all :hsdance
