Dropping from 195/60 R14 to 185 60 R14?

[Sahara]

The tires I want are only available as 185's. 195's are what the previous owner mounted to my car, and I like the look, but sourcing more 195/60 is becoming tedious. Do you think I'll regret dropping down in size a bit? 

[Chris_B]

The 185/60 gets you to the factory tire size. if you have been running 195/60 tires, these are taller than stock. You should prepare  yourself for higher revs at any given speed (not by much);. 

[Mike Self]

Take a look at the "revs per mile" figures for the OEM 165/80 x 13 tires vs the 185/60 x 14.  If they're close, then your speedo and odometer will red very close to original.  That's the reason that folks sticking with 13" wheels went to 185/70 or 205/60 tires--they're within a few revs per mile of the OEM 165 tire.  

 

mike

[jgerock]

I did this on my tii, then later sent the speedometer for recalibration after I installed a 3.91 LSD.

[dlhoovler]

Of the two, 195/60r14 is closer to the factory size. The "correct" aspect ratio for a 14" 185 width is actually 65. That's what I've run for a few years on my car, but there really are no performance-minded tires in that size anymore.

 

But 185/60 won't be far off, certainly not considering the inaccuracy of most 2002 speedometers. If anything, it will slightly improve your acceleration, with the tradeoff of slightly higher revs and a slightly more-optimistic speedo at any given speed. Again, just a few percent, probably not enough that many people would notice. 

 

-Dave 

[AustrianVespaGuy]

I did this to avoid some minor but annoying rubbing issues I was having with the 195s.  With a 3.91 and 5-speed, that 2-3% difference isn't very discernible.  But if I only had a 4 speed, then I'd probably want a 3.64 rear end to help compensate for on the highway.  Remember too, though narrower, you have almost 5% less sidewall on the 185s, so while overall grip is still a little less with the smaller contact patch, you'll get less tire roll and a corresponding better feel/confidence in cornering.

[jimk]

I ran a set of 185-65 on 14 in rims for a long time.  Not bothered about performance tires, they were Yokohamas, I drive with 4 wheels on the ground.

[Conserv]

There are lots of tire and wheel size calculators, e.g.:

 

https://tiresize.com/calculator/

 

Recognizing, as Dave points out above, that ‘02 speedometers tended to emerge from the factory with errors — and didn’t exactly heal themselves — you can start with one of these charts and work from the “most perfect” size toward a “less perfect” size, based on actual availability of tire brands and models meeting your needs. Below is a sample of the chart this Website produces, showing deviation of various 14” sizes from the stock 165/80R13.

The closest size, as already mentioned, is the 185/65R14, only 0.4% larger than the stock wheel.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Conserv

[Sahara]

4 hours ago, AustrianVespaGuy said:

I did this to avoid some minor but annoying rubbing issues I was having with the 195s.  With a 3.91 and 5-speed, that 2-3% difference isn't very discernible.  But if I only had a 4 speed, then I'd probably want a 3.64 rear end to help compensate for on the highway.  Remember too, though narrower, you have almost 5% less sidewall on the 185s, so while overall grip is still a little less with the smaller contact patch, you'll get less tire roll and a corresponding better feel/confidence in cornering.

Rubbing is also the main reason I'm considering downsizing a bit. 

[AustrianVespaGuy]

While on this topic, anyone run the seemingly only available 195 Falken Azenis tires? How are they?

[mgben]

These guys did 

 

I am  months or year away from the road but I Considered them. You may love them in GA but up near Chicago I have the wording about dont even think about supporting a vehicle..

From Tire Rack site

The Azenis RT615K+ is a further evolution of Falken Tire's championship-winning Extreme Performance Summer tire, the Azenis RT615K. Developed for drivers of muscle cars, sports cars, street rods and performance sedans who want ultimate grip in warm, dry and wet conditions, the Azenis RT615K+ is not intended to be serviced, stored nor driven in near- or below-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.

 

Extreme Performance Summer tires exposed to temperatures of 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed in any manner, such as by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels, or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle.

[FunElan]

4 hours ago, AustrianVespaGuy said:

While on this topic, anyone run the seemingly only available 195 Falken Azenis tires? How are they?

 

I just had my second set of 195/60-14 Azenis installed this week. They're great tires. 

[Sahara]

4 hours ago, mgben said:

These guys did 

 

I am  months or year away from the road but I Considered them. You may love them in GA but up near Chicago I have the wording about dont even think about supporting a vehicle..

From Tire Rack site

The Azenis RT615K+ is a further evolution of Falken Tire's championship-winning Extreme Performance Summer tire, the Azenis RT615K. Developed for drivers of muscle cars, sports cars, street rods and performance sedans who want ultimate grip in warm, dry and wet conditions, the Azenis RT615K+ is not intended to be serviced, stored nor driven in near- or below-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.

 

Extreme Performance Summer tires exposed to temperatures of 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed in any manner, such as by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels, or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle.

This is my concern. The car is going to be an unheated storage unit in the winter here in KC, and even if I move it to my heated garage it's still going to see below freezing some times, there's no way around it.