GR Yaris Ideal tyre width for road use?

[G16E-GTS]

Hi all,

I'm going to replace my stock GR Yaris wheels with Protrack Ones (9.0 x 18 5x114.3 ET35) for the road, and I'm struggling to decide on tyre sizing.

My brain is telling me to go 255/35, these are the closest in dimensions to the OE tyres and would provide a good deal more grip. However, I've seen plenty of people on here who seem to prefer narrower tyres for road use.

I'd like to stick with PS4S tyres (feel free to convince me otherwise) if possible, as I've fallen in love with them on the stock wheels. So the options are:

• 235/40R18 (~£165)
• 245/35R18 (listed on Michelin's site but seem to be impossible to get hold of in the UK)
• 255/35R18 (~£200)

Looking forward to your thoughts! Thanks in advance.

 

[Onehp]

You're already locked on rim width, then one also needs to talk about tyre stretch. 235 is quite stretched and will give more steering and limit feedback, but will also cost some comfort. As for grip, for the road, the 235 will get temps sooner and thus grip probably just as much as the 255. Push really hard on peak summer, perhaps the 255 will be more in the sweet spot of heat. In rain, 235 better as it will get more heat in and just aquaplane less.
Stretch is also a matter of tast in the looks department. Personally I'm not a big fan of tyre stretch...

Conclusion: get some Sportcontact 7's in 245

 

[G16E-GTS]

You're already locked on rim width, then one also needs to talk about tyre stretch. 235 is quite stretched and will give more steering and limit feedback, but will also cost some comfort. As for grip, for the road, the 235 will get temps sooner and thus grip probably just as much as the 255. Push really hard on peak summer, perhaps the 255 will be more in the sweet spot of heat. In rain, 235 better as it will get more heat in and just aquaplane less.
Stretch is also a matter of tast in the looks department. Personally I'm not a big fan of tyre stretch...

Conclusion: get some Sportcontact 7's in 245

Thanks for the reply

I'm not necessarily locked on the rim width, the Protrack Ones are available in 8, 9 or 9.5. Makes sense to me to increase the width rather than stick with 8, and 9.5 is a little excessive for road use. Happy to hear differing opinions on that, though.

I've heard good things about the SportContact 7 and they're cheaper, my only worry there is they seem to only be available in 40 or 45 aspect ratio not 35, so there's a pretty big difference in sidewall size (increase of 10mm for the 40). Probably just me being pedantic, trying to get as close to original dimensions as possible.

 

[Michael Knight]

the lighter the better. 225 has plenty of grip for this platform.
I like Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 alot on road - wonderful feel and light footed, car feels very nice to drive.
Not following the logic of just adding wider tyre, unless you want to have a wide look.

 

[Orion]

the lighter the better. 225 has plenty of grip for this platform.
I like Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 alot on road - wonderful feel and light footed, car feels very nice to drive.
Not following the logic of just adding wider tyre, unless you want to have a wide look.

Agree, never felt 225 width to be a limiting factor on public roads (PS4S, PSC2, GYEF1SS, CSC7) and God knows I've tried

I would go for CSC7 in 225/40R18, maybe on 8.5" rims...

 

[Onehp]

To be a bit blunt, this car works pretty well with whatever you throw at it. I've got 205, 225, 235 and 265 and it all works... it really depends on what you're looking for and how specific you are about the car behaving in specific circumstances. If 9" for looks that's fine, that et35 that works too with a tiny bit of tramlining added. So what are you looking for, ideal for what? More grip? Plenty already. What about rain? Track? Enjoy the car moving about/adjustability? Purity of feedback? Tactility? etc

 

[LittleMav]

To be a bit blunt, this car works pretty well with whatever you throw at it. I've got 205, 225, 235 and 265 and it all works... it really depends on what you're looking for and how specific you are about the car behaving in specific circumstances.

Agree. I’m right now on 205/50/17 Cup2s on a 7*17 et 35 wheel - the level of grip in the dry is immense and the fun in the rain too…

For winter, I’ve CC2s in 235/45/17 on the Protrack 9*17 wheel: a perfect go
anywhere anytime setup - for me…

 

[doabackflip]

the lighter the better. .

Reducing unsprung weight makes a massive difference to how the car feels and rides, I have 18x9 wheels for track and they are noticeably worse than OEM for road feel and harshness. I would aim for the lightest wheel/tyre combo possible, and OEM forged wheels are lighter than 95% of aftermarket options…

I haven’t tried 17inch, I would guess they might shed more weight, but maybe lose a bit of feel due to more sidewall flex?

 

[Onehp]

Yeah lightweight helps feedback a lot. And on wheel/tyre combo weight, tyre weight can vary a lot too, sits at a larger radius so matters more. And one reason the top tyres are great and highly rated, ps4s, sportcontact 7 and also Asymmetric 6, is that they are suitably lighter the most other sport tyres. Something usually overlooked. Tyrereviews.co.uk usually mentions tyre weight in their own tests at least.

That said, I do find that heavier wheels on lowish pressure can be quite comfy as they smoothen out the stock sporty damping a bit. And heavier wheels keep a slide going a bit better, but with less control/finesse...

As said, it all depends on what your goals are.

 

[Galerion]

Reducing unsprung weight makes a massive difference to how the car feels and rides, I have 18x9 wheels for track and they are noticeably worse than OEM for road feel and harshness. I would aim for the lightest wheel/tyre combo possible, and OEM forged wheels are lighter than 95% of aftermarket options…

I haven’t tried 17inch, I would guess they might shed more weight, but maybe lose a bit of feel due to more sidewall flex?

Yep. I agree with everything here.
I bought the OZ Superturismo WRC as my winter wheels

I love the look of them and they obviously fit the car perfectly but they are heavy. They are 11,5 kg while the OEM wheels are only 8,3 kg. That's over 12 kg of additional rotating mass. Even me as a non-professional could immediately tell the difference in how the car feels and drives. Don't get me wrong. It doesn't make the car undriveable or drive bad or anything like that. You will just feel that mass no matter what you are doing. My line of thought was that because these are my winter wheels performance is not that important anyway. But after driving with them the entire winter Im actually thinking about selling them again and getting something light like the Tomason TN25 Superlight which only weight 7,9 kg.

We are all car guys so we want to customize our car but the reality is that if you want to go for different wheels you will only do it for the looks and not for the performance. Toyota didn't cheap out here. The BBS forged wheels are among the best ones on the market. Period. The PS4S is the same on the tire market though to be fair there are now tires like the Bridgestone Potenza Sport or the Continental SportContact 7 which are even better.
For driving on public roads you will gain zero benefits from deviating from this. The car isn't lacking for grip at all so there is nothing to improve there.

Only if you are a hardcore track guy you would gain some benefits by switching to some wider semi-slicks but that's pretty much it.
I mean you can do it. There is no problem with that. You just have to be honest with yourself about the reason you are doing it and again it won't be for performance.

Don't be like me who bought himself some expensive wheels thinking the performance decrease doesn't matter, only to later be bothered by it anyway.

 

[Onehp]

I have a studded set where the rims weight like 13,5kg, total weight 25kg. When used in the conditions studded are needed, it doesn't really matter. But the putting on my 17,5kg non-studded 205 17" wheels, it feels very delicate in comparison. I had a set 235 summers with the same weight, Protrack 17x9 with A6, and they felt great.
But as you say, performance isn't lacking and summer time, I actually think there is too much grip for fun...