I want to specify the tyre brand

[Bill CLS]

I'm looking to buy a new Yaris and want it fitted with Michelon Cross Climate tyres which are brilliant in winter conditions and which lasted 50,000 miles on my Auris.  But Toyota dealer is saying this cannot be done and is expecting me to buy these Michelins in addition to the standard ones fitted. So, buying 8 tyres with £700 added to the price.  Has anyone encountered this  problem.

[Trewithy]

I have never specified (or wanted to specify) the tyre type or brand on any new car I have bought.  I just accept whatever tyres the car comes with.  If you want something different to standard fit then you will have to pay.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Not really a problem - more of an unrealistic request.

Car manufacturers will contract with a limited number of tyre manufacturers to supply certain sizes and types of tyres for each model to ensure continuity of supply. The production system won't allow for customers to choose what tyres they want. None of the 5 manufacturers we've bought new cars from (21) have allowed customers to specify tyre brand or tyre range fitted to our cars.

Similarly custoners cannot specify a particular brand of oil, or fragrance of washer fluid is used at the factory.

You get what is fitted.

It is your choice whether you take the dealer's suggestion, or change the tyres at your cost after delivery.

[bathtub tom]

1 minute ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

 change the tyres at your cost after delivery.

Then flog them.

[Mojo1010]

They don't upgrade tyres at factory, too much work I guess. 

I think the Yaris comes with falken which I don't want but will have to use it up, then changed to premium - Goodyear/Michelin. 

[TonyHSD]

In other countries like Bulgaria for example Toyota offers customers choice of tyres , winter packages to include winter tyres on steelies and much more colour choices  plus additional accessories. If you visit their website you won’t believe what is available, even the website is better than uk one by all means. I had to check the Turkish website too, perhaps will be even better. 
In UK despite Corolla been build here people pay highest prices for least possible options , choices and extras. Even alloy wheels same spec just different shape cost extra money but you won’t be able to have the original wheels for example. As Kevin said, buy the car as is and then for the tyres or wheels of your choice. 👍 

[flash22]

It can't be done on a new car, the car was type approved with a specific tires, the cars are then tested for emissions, this also affects the taxation class

once you take ownership, you can do as you please

140 - 150 each fully fitted, for the Fat Man's CC's assuming they're the 205/45R17

Falken also do a similar tread pattern in euroall and eurowinter (£130-140 fully fitted)

tbh you don't know what the factory tyres are like until you put some miles on them

 

Edit. what works on one car may not be right for another

[Mojo1010]

30 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

In other countries like Bulgaria for example Toyota offers customers choice of tyres , winter packages to include winter tyres on steelies and much more colour choices  plus additional accessories. If you visit their website you won’t believe what is available, even the website is better than uk one by all means. I had to check the Turkish website too, perhaps will be even better. 
In UK despite Corolla been build here people pay highest prices for least possible options , choices and extras. Even alloy wheels same spec just different shape cost extra money but you won’t be able to have the original wheels for example. As Kevin said, buy the car as is and then for the tyres or wheels of your choice. 👍 

That's interesting to know. Guess we get screwed for money and have less options. 

[dave hendy]

I have a motorcycle and owners are even more influenced by different tyre manufacturers and specific types in their ranges but unfortunately you can’t specify what you get as the manufacturer will have deals with different manufacturers of tyres to get them cheaper.

As said your best option is to have them changed and sell them on👍

[Cyker]

It is a bit annoying but that's just how it is. Getting them changed after is the way to go, esp. if the tyre place will part-ex the old ones off you!

I disliked the 17" rims on my Mk4 so much I changed to 15" ones!

It'll have paid for itself in a few years from the slightly decreased fuel use and the massively cheaper tyres! (Despite being the same diameter, the tyres for the 15's and nearly half what it would have been for the 17s!!  )

 

[anchorman]

I’ve just changed them on mine but they were on offer for £405 at black circles.  They are Michelin Cross Climate 2s which are much stiffer and slightly noisier than the original Cross Climates I had on a different car.  My Yaris had Contis on which were very soft.   My car had done 7500 miles but I’ve sold the tyres to a fella for £100 so it’s cost me £305.  It might mean the difference between me getting home one night so if you have similar concerns, you just have to take it on the chin.   

[TonyHSD]

27 minutes ago, anchorman said:

I’ve just changed them on mine but they were on offer for £405 at black circles.  They are Michelin Cross Climate 2s which are much stiffer and slightly noisier than the original Cross Climates I had on a different car.  My Yaris had Contis on which were very soft.   My car had done 7500 miles but I’ve sold the tyres to a fella for £100 so it’s cost me £305.  It might mean the difference between me getting home one night so if you have similar concerns, you just have to take it on the chin.   

Good job done 👌

The latest all season tyres have stiffer carcass and shoulders on most tyre makes, perhaps to help with handling in the hot summer days. I found too uncomfortable for my likes and gave them to my dad. Another man compared these to primacy 4 and he also said the same, the summer ones are softer and more comfy, despite the all seasons has very soft treads and side walls.
These all weather tyres shines when the roads turn white and people with summers are stuck and can’t even move at all 👍

[Eddiefh]

How about a set off budget winter tyres and swop every spring and autumn 

[anchorman]

8 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Good job done 👌

The latest all season tyres have stiffer carcass and shoulders on most tyre makes, perhaps to help with handling in the hot summer days. I found too uncomfortable for my likes and gave them to my dad. Another man compared these to primacy 4 and he also said the same, the summer ones are softer and more comfy, despite the all seasons has very soft treads and side walls.
These all weather tyres shines when the roads turn white and people with summers are stuck and can’t even move at all 👍

These Continental Contact all seasons on a Yaris Cross aren’t stiff at all.  If anything they are a softer ride than the original Falkens.  

[Stopeter44]

18 hours ago, Bill CLS said:

….But Toyota dealer is saying this cannot be done and is expecting me to buy these Michelins in addition to the standard ones fitted. So, buying 8 tyres with £700 added to the price.  Has anyone encountered this  problem.

If you we’re lucky, your dealer would offer your a trade in/trade up. Mine said he used to do that, but ended up with too many tyres unsold. At least, so he said. 
 

I’ve got a virtually unused set of summers in the garage, plus a hardly used set of winters. At least the dealer fitted the all seasons I wanted at no charge.

[TonyHSD]

5 hours ago, anchorman said:

These Continental Contact all seasons on a Yaris Cross aren’t stiff at all.  If anything they are a softer ride than the original Falkens.  

I agree, even in my case with the Goodyear vector 4 season gen 3 the tyres are super soft to touch and when holding them. However once fitted to the wheel and inflated to the correct pressures they are stiffer than their summer equivalent. And here is the thing, if you compare between different brands for example Continental all season  with Falkens summer tyres can be tricky, because all tyres brands does their products slightly differently. This is the reason why I choose Goodyear, so I can compare with their summer ones., the summer efficient grip performance 2 wins the comfort test.  The man from Russia compares Michelin CC 2 with Michelin Primacy 4 and said exactly the same. First time I tried all season tyres on hybrid, I will never do again.  These type of tyres are not suitable for me, might be the best choice for others 👍
Here pictures to look inside the tyres, we can see how different the carcass on both are and the all season feel heavier too. Same brand, different products. Both very good tyres. I am testing the all season on my dads car soon and will share experience. 

[TonyHSD]

8 hours ago, Eddiefh said:

How about a set off budget winter tyres and swop every spring and autumn 

Absolutely, 

this could be not just better, but the best option indeed. Especially for those who covers a lot of miles. The all season tyres are hybrid killer imo., they reduced efficiency 3-5mpg immediately, they are not more comfortable than summer tyres in cold temperatures, only work down to -5C°. For driving on snow and ice, they are just better than summer tyres but this doesn’t make them winter tyres at all. I thought they will be at least more comfortable than summer tyres as they look and feel like winter tyres, however I was wrong. They are stiffer by construction and they are heavier than summer equivalent. In cold temperatures they are more grippy than summer tyres but also less comfortable. They have specific use and can be really good choice for people who live outside big cities where snow and ice are more common, for those who drives less than 10k a year, and for non hybrid cars., more powerful petrol, diesel or electric cars, with a lots of low end torque. For driving on rough roads, off road and gravel, mud etc. 
Hybrids need free role to maintain ev mode longer time and higher efficiency. Winter tyres also rise the fuel consumption, however they are softer and more comfortable at lower temperatures. They are not suitable for summer use though., but if you live In mountain regions with low average temperatures during the whole year you can easily run on winter tyres instead of all season ones. Again, tyres are like shoes, there is no one type fit all. 👍

[Cyker]

Do winter/all season tyres need different tyre pressures maybe?

I just had mine re-shod and it was really awful - numb, spongy, dragging on the steering while I turned.

When I got home I realized I forgot to tell them what to inflate them to, so they'd just done it to the normal 32psi

Pumped it back up to 38 and it's made it much better - sharper, smooth rolling, responsive - just how it was before  

So the tyre pressures definitely make a difference!

 

[Hybrid21]

4 hours ago, Stopeter44 said:

If you we’re lucky, your dealer would offer your a trade in/trade up. Mine said he used to do that, but ended up with too many tyres unsold. At least, so he said. 
 

I’ve got a virtually unused set of summers in the garage, plus a hardly used set of winters. At least the dealer fitted the all seasons I wanted at no charge.

Dealers nowadays don't need to offer these kind of services to sell new cars. It's too much like good customer service which is basically a thing of the past ☹️

 

[SinglePointSafety]

My experience of all-season (Michelin CC) tyres on both a Golf Alltrack and Skoda Kodiaq is that the ride was softer (filtered out a lot of the 'road buzz') and with significantly less noise than the equivalent summer tyres. The Kodiaq original wheels were 19-inch with 50-section tyres and these were swapped to 17-inch with 65-section tyres, so with correct tyre pressure the ability to deal with my local disastrous roads was much improved. No noticeable change in fuel consumption: I was able to do direct comparisons to verify

Note that some folk have reported that some all-season tyres are initially noisy but after a few 1000 miles have got much quieter. Not my experience but I don't disbelieve them

When the Kodiaq was sold I put the original wheels/tyres back on and sold the smaller wheels/tyres for a very acceptable price. I will probably do the same on the Yaris Cross if/when it arrives - ie swap the 18-inch for 16-inch wheels and put all-season tyres on (but not XL tyres, which can be quite stiff). The 16-inch all-season tyres are a fair bit cheaper than 18-inch tyres so I'll get some of the cost back

Incidentally, absolutely none of the local tyre dealers will take 'part-worn' tyres, even if they've only done delivery mileage

[anchorman]

On 10/23/2022 at 9:49 AM, SinglePointSafety said:

My experience of all-season (Michelin CC) tyres on both a Golf Alltrack and Skoda Kodiaq is that the ride was softer (filtered out a lot of the 'road buzz') and with significantly less noise than the equivalent summer tyres. The Kodiaq original wheels were 19-inch with 50-section tyres and these were swapped to 17-inch with 65-section tyres, so with correct tyre pressure the ability to deal with my local disastrous roads was much improved. No noticeable change in fuel consumption: I was able to do direct comparisons to verify

Note that some folk have reported that some all-season tyres are initially noisy but after a few 1000 miles have got much quieter. Not my experience but I don't disbelieve them

When the Kodiaq was sold I put the original wheels/tyres back on and sold the smaller wheels/tyres for a very acceptable price. I will probably do the same on the Yaris Cross if/when it arrives - ie swap the 18-inch for 16-inch wheels and put all-season tyres on (but not XL tyres, which can be quite stiff). The 16-inch all-season tyres are a fair bit cheaper than 18-inch tyres so I'll get some of the cost back

Incidentally, absolutely none of the local tyre dealers will take 'part-worn' tyres, even if they've only done delivery mileage

I put CCs on my Lexus and they were much softer and quieter than the Bridgestones that they replaced but these CC 2s are stiffer and noisier than the contis that they replaced.  I’m not bothered, it’s just an observation, I’d rather have noise and get home on a snowy night than quiet and sit in a snowdrift all night.  I’m assuming they inflated them to the right pressure which is dangerous so I will double check.   

[SinglePointSafety]

Anchorman, would be interested to know if your CC2s are XL spec and if the Lexus ones were non-XL

My son now owns the Golf Alltrack which was originally fitted (by me) with Michelin CC and recently replaced with CC2s: no difference at all in ride and noise, that's in 17-inch 55-section tyres. The tyre pressure recommended by VW is insanely high (to get better mpg) and the local tyre fitter recommended a more sensible lower pressure, which also improved the ride (made minimal difference to noise)

[Derek.w]

For years I driven company cars no choice of tyres not even when worn out replaced with same make and then the roads subject to a lot more snow and ice than what we see today in the UK.

[GR Weasel]

On 10/21/2022 at 4:38 PM, Mojo1010 said:

They don't upgrade tyres at factory, too much work I guess. 

I think the Yaris comes with falken which I don't want but will have to use it up, then changed to premium - Goodyear/Michelin. 

Mine came with Bridgestone Ecopia EP150.

[IT Troll]

It does seem odd that you can have a choice of wheels but not the tyres that go on them. If you are only going to fit one tyre then at least make it an all season model. No logic to delivering a car to the customer in the winter with summer tyres. Perhaps they are over confident in the capabilities of snow mode.