Tire Upgrade for Toyota -- Recommendations?

[hoodrat]

I've been doing a lot of exploring out in the desert of Death Valley and similar places in southern California, and I've had my fair share of flat tires as a result. My goal is to eventually buy a used Jeep or pickup truck, but in the meantime I am stuck using my 2006 Toyota Corolla. Are there any kind of tires that you'd recommend that are more durable than the standard ones Discount Tire always sells me? It seem the cheap-o tires just can't hold up to some of the gravel roads I've been on. Is it wise to put a sturdier, more heavy-duty tire onto my car? Just looking to get a better, stronger, longer-lasting tire that won't be as susceptible to going flat.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Climber Rob]

I have been very pleased with the Hankook Optimo 727 on our Subaru. It sees a lot of gravel and dirt forest service roads and they hold up great during the summer months.

 

[corax]

You might want to shoot a PM to JRally, he has an older Toy Celica that he build specifically for the dirt and might be able to shed some insight on a good street/dirt tire

 

[rusty_tlc]

Without doing some suspension mods you may not be able to fit a Light Truck (LT) tire, that will limit the available options to Passenger tires which rarely come with much in the way of tread.

You could get a snow tire but they would wear fast on dirt roads.

 

[hoodrat]

Thanks, everybody, for the information. I'm still checking out my options. Might just have to buy a used truck or something. I'll keep you posted on what I end up doing over the next month or two regarding the tires on my Corolla, etc. Thanks again for your suggestions!

 

[rusty_tlc]

I was thinking about your post today, my wife and I started out exploring the deserts around Las Vegas in a 74 Celica so it got me reminiscing.

You don't mention it but if you drive a Corolla I assume you are on a budget. :elkgrin:

A 2WD truck with a limited slip or auto locker diff will get you a lot of places in DV and the southern deserts. Get an auto if you can, they perform better if you don't have a low range transfer case. If you can do your own work you might pick up an older truck and keep the Corolla as your DD while you get the truck reliable.