Stock tires are junk.

[Hammerli]

The Bridgestone Turanza EL42's that came on my SE Sport are really crappy tires. Oddly the day before I bought the car I watched a guy in a SLE slide off the iced roads going about 35. I stopped to help him, and he told me the tires were poor. So I went to Tire Rack, and that indeed seems to be the general consensus. In fact they are on of the lowest rated tires in their category, and their winter traction is in the non-existent range. Fortunately I caught this before I bought the car, and the dealer cut me a check for $250 towards buying new tires. Of course that was after I told them that I was not buying the car unless they did something about the tires.

Dry performance is poor too, way too much sidewall flex transitioning into corners, and ABS comes on in places even our Celica has no trouble with.

[bigpow]

I agree.

1. poor traction (especially during rain)
2. too thin for 17x7 (215? come on Toyota!)
3. el cheapo brand (I remember old Toyotas came standard with Toyo tires)

I've heard good things about Michellin Pilot (cheaper than comparable Toyo)... wondering...

[fotodad]

I agree.

1. poor traction (especially during rain)
2. too thin for 17x7 (215? come on Toyota!)
3. el cheapo brand (I remember old Toyotas came standard with Toyo tires)

I've heard good things about Michellin Pilot (cheaper than comparable Toyo)... wondering...

I replaced my factory tires with Michelin Pilots. I'll give you guys a full review once I get some more miles put on them in various driving environments.

[HKSV6SLE]

well the first solara's came with bridgestone potenza Re92's...i didn't know they ever came with toyo's out of the factory.

[slingshot]

well the first solara's came with bridgestone potenza Re92's...i didn't know they ever came with toyo's out of the factory.

Yes, my 99 Solara came with Potenza RE92's and I had to replace them before 30K miles. Compared to them, the new tires are fantastic. The old tires squealed on most turns. I've yet to make the new tires squeal on high speed turns and it seems to handle fine in dry and wet conditions so far. I'm not expecting great snow performance but that is where front wheel drive helps out anyway. My old car with RE92's never had problems in the snow.

[bigpow]

well the first solara's came with bridgestone potenza Re92's...i didn't know they ever came with toyo's out of the factory.

Old Toyotas like 1993 Corollas did. They only put Japanese tires at that time. Believe it or not!

[Guest]

I agree.

1. poor traction (especially during rain)
2. too thin for 17x7 (215? come on Toyota!)
3. el cheapo brand (I remember old Toyotas came standard with Toyo tires)

I've heard good things about Michellin Pilot (cheaper than comparable Toyo)... wondering...

I replaced my factory tires with Michelin Pilots. I'll give you guys a full review once I get some more miles put on them in various driving environments.

Went to Tire Rack today to have Michelin Pilot Sport A/S mounted in size 225/55/17, since 215 is not offered. WARNING - they might fit an SLE, but they DO NOT fit on SE Sport. They dropped it down, and they were rubbing badly on the spring seat, to the point the tire would not turn. Unfortunately in the stock size, they had almost nothing, so I ended up with Blizzak WS 50's for winter, since Dexter from Tire Rack told me Pirelli should be coming out with a 225 P Zero Nero in an 18" fit that should work. I now have all winter to decide what rims I want.

[Animal]

Any1 with OEM Bridgestones notice vibration on cold mornings when you start driving? Apparently a common problem is flat spots on the Turanza EL42s after they sit a few hours.

Called Bridgestone consumer affairs. They directed me to an authorized dealer to check 'em out. The dealer didn't even look at the tires - he called their tech support number.

Tech support said, "Yep, they do that, but it's because of this fantastic new technology called UNI-T that makes the tire superior in every other category." In fact, a woman in TX is suing Firestone/Bridgestone to get them to put the technology into ALL their tires! They're already working on doing just that.

So when I was talking to tech support, a real nice woman told me that she knows about the lousy reviews the tires are getting on tirerack.com but they're still among the best out there. I told her I was going to find a dealer that would take them in on trade and get a different brand... Frustrating when a company acknowledges a problem but says it's not a problem - almost as if they learned the technique from Toyota (on the left pull problem).

[msz31]

How many people experiencing the left drift problem have the same tires and how many have changed tires and no longer have the problem? Im wondering if there could be a mold problem with the tires.