Echo winter tires on Yaris?

[xtremesniper]

Hey guys,

I have a 2004 Echo Hatchback RS that we bought winter tires for, and I just got a 2009 Yaris Hatchback RS this year. The difference, as far as I understand, is that the Echo has 14" wheels and the Yaris has 15" wheels.

Is there any issue to using the 14" wheels on my Yaris? Performance, handling, fuel efficiency, etc?

[thebarber]

no problems w/ 14's on a yaris.....heck, i use echo winters on my aveo and aveo winters on my yaris! all 14"

im assuming you have 175-65-14 tires....they're a bit short for the yaris, so your speedo will be off by about 3% too slow, but its not a huge deal.

my yaris came with 14" steelies stock...they'll clear the calipers....

[Brand]

175/65 R14 tires are fine for a yaris. They're one of two sizes accepted. I know the '09 model comes with that size base, or 15" (which I have) convenience package. I think it's 185/60 for the 15".

I can guarantee the 14" will fit, 'cause that's the size of the snow tires I have on my Yaris (that were on my Echo for 2 months or so)

[thebarber]

keep in mind, not all 14" wheels are made the same....offset matters!

but echo and yaris are the same.

[MUSKOKA800]

I run 14" Echo wheels and 175/65/14 winter boots on my sedan. I bought them from an ex-Echo owner.
They fit fine but drop the car a full 1/2' lower than the stock 185/60/15 set-up. To correct this issue go to 175/70/14 which are the same height as 185/60/15. I plan to change to the taller size for this coming winter. The shorter tires combined with my TRD suspension severely limit which car washes my sedan can be bathed in not to mention deep snow passage.

[talnlnky]

Hey guys,

I have a 2004 Echo Hatchback RS that we bought winter tires for, and I just got a 2009 Yaris Hatchback RS this year. The difference, as far as I understand, is that the Echo has 14" wheels and the Yaris has 15" wheels.

Is there any issue to using the 14" wheels on my Yaris? Performance, handling, fuel efficiency, etc?

canada has snow..... drive the car that you care less about in the winter.... let the echo get the winter abuse... not the new yaris.

yeah... yaris will do 14's perfectly fine... in fact... there was at least one person that fit 13's onto the yaris.

[thebarber]

canada has snow..... drive the car that you care less about in the winter.... let the echo get the winter abuse... not the new yaris.

yeah... yaris will do 14's perfectly fine... in fact... there was at least one person that fit 13's onto the yaris.

lol, despite the snow, you CAN drive 1 car year-round

13's fit on the yaris, but width and offset of the wheel are super important....i havent seen a yaris fit 13" steelies yet.

[xtremesniper]

Hmmm, thanks for the replies guys.

I don't have the model number of the wheels on me right now, but I found this on the Yaris website: P185/60R15 All Season Tires

But mine aren't steel. They're aluminum because I got the RS package.

The winter tires are steel. But yeah I guess it would work either way. I was mainly concerned about handling and fuel efficiency, but now you mentioned the speed readout being affected, and that's something I'd be concerned about as well.

I would consider just driving the Echo around for the winter, but I don't think it'll be too much of a problem. The only thing I'd be concerned about is the front lip of the RS is kind of lower to the ground than normal Yaris bodykits (kinda like this: http://mediap04.toyota.ca/media/yarishb/exterior/i_ext_main1.jpg ) so I'd be worried about it being abused by the snow too much.

[thebarber]

you'll be ok

rolling on the small rubber means youre speedo may read 3% too fast....so when it says 100kph you'll be doing 97....not the end of the world...

youll be about 10mm lower than your stock rubber because the sidewalls are shorter, i don't think you need to worry about the lip as long as you're not trying to climb snow banks

handling, 185 all seasons vs 175 snows in the cold.....all seasons suck. you won't notice the width that much. i run 185's on the yaris and 175's on the aveo....not enough of a difference in handling to notice

economy? always drops in the winter regardless of tire size.....and you won't notice much of a difference between 185 and 175. 205 to 175....maybe...but ill let you know when i go from 205's to 185's in the coming weeks....ive just been effing the dog putting the winters on the cars...

[MUSKOKA800]

Hmmm, thanks for the replies guys.

I don't have the model number of the wheels on me right now, but I found this on the Yaris website: P185/60R15 All Season Tires

But mine aren't steel. They're aluminum because I got the RS package.

The winter tires are steel. But yeah I guess it would work either way. I was mainly concerned about handling and fuel efficiency, but now you mentioned the speed readout being affected, and that's something I'd be concerned about as well.

I would consider just driving the Echo around for the winter, but I don't think it'll be too much of a problem. The only thing I'd be concerned about is the front lip of the RS is kind of lower to the ground than normal Yaris bodykits (kinda like this: http://mediap04.toyota.ca/media/yarishb/exterior/i_ext_main1.jpg ) so I'd be worried about it being abused by the snow too much.

I'll be removing the lip from my Aero Sedan for this winter when I mount my winters on Sunday. It's only 8 or 10 screws to remove and it's gone.
Between my short rubber and TRD drop I had plumbs of snow launched skyward when I hit the deep last winter. Must have looked cool from outside but having the front end (between facia and rad) packed with snow was less than desirable.

[talnlnky]

lol, despite the snow, you CAN drive 1 car year-round

13's fit on the yaris, but width and offset of the wheel are super important....i havent seen a yaris fit 13" steelies yet.

I know you can drive one car year round... I bought my yaris in the winter... and that winter we had 90+ inches of snow.

point being, if you get in a wreck, since it is technically used (you drove it off the lot)... the insurance companies will shaft you on the payout... and unless you have gap protection you have just throw away a few thousand dollars. If you wreck in the 04 yaris, you either 1: don't have payments, or 2: won't be nearly upside down in the loan... if at all.

also... if they use de-icing agents on the roads up there.... the paint & possibly metal will be damaged slowly over time.

[why?]

You can get in a wreck any time, no matter how little you drive the car. And de-icing stuff won't damage the car if you clean it regularly.

[xtremesniper]

Hmm thanks for the info guys, I'll have to do some thinking before winter rolls in. I might remove my front lip (wouldn't I need to replace it with something at all? Or will it magically turn into a "normal" yaris?) and bear the winter tires... Or just drive the Echo around. Or both, since both cars would need some driving at some point so it doesn't age while sitting in a garage.

[IllusionX]

I'll be removing the lip from my Aero Sedan for this winter when I mount my winters on Sunday. It's only 8 or 10 screws to remove and it's gone.
Between my short rubber and TRD drop I had plumbs of snow launched skyward when I hit the deep last winter. Must have looked cool from outside but having the front end (between facia and rad) packed with snow was less than desirable.

8-10 screws.. and 5 clips. you almost have to remove the whole bumper to gain access to them properly.

I yanked mine off last winter after i went through a snow bump.