Tires

[Morgan]

any suggestions for tires to fit 14” steel wheels going on a ‘76 2002?

rim size is 5.5 x 14 H2 ET 35. Thanks

[Mike Self]

Those sound like steel wheels from an E30; paint 'em silver, use the Euro center caps and they'll look really nice and period on an '02.  Check the FAQ board's search feature for guidance on the proper size tire--one that won't rub and is the same rolling diameter as the OEM 165/80x13.  

 

The selection of any 13 or 14" tire is pretty limited--brands you've not heard of--but as a suggestion as to brand, I put a set of Maxxis MA202 tires on my E30 a bit over a year ago and have been very happy with 'em.  Good in the rain and dry (haven't tried snow and don't want to!) and were reasonably priced.   I'm sure others will recommend other brands too...

 

mike

[billy g]

Longstone Tyres has the CN36's available in 185/70r14. 

 

185/70 R14 Tyres - Set of 4 Classic PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CN36

WWW.LONGSTONETYRES.CO.UK

---

185/70 R14 Tyres This set of 4 Pirelli Cinturato CN36 185/70 R14 tyres is great value as these are a prime tyre made by one of the worlds best tyre manufactures to the very highest standard in an unusual size for today’s tyre market. 185/70 R14 is the low profile alternative to a 165 R14 or...

 

[Morgan]

Thanks. Will these fit with no rubbing?

[2002iii]

195/60R14 is what most people run on 14" wheels.

[Gordon]

+1 on 195/60-14 tires on E30 steelies. I ran this size for years on E30 bottlecaps and basketweaves with no issues before I upgraded to 15" wheels.  Plug in stock tire size and 195/60-14 in this speedometer calculator and you'll see that there is minimal speedo issues with running this size.  http://www.paspeedo.com/calculator.htm

[billy g]

2 hours ago, Morgan said:

Thanks. Will these fit with no rubbing?

 

Yep

[Slavs]

I personally feel that 14" wheels look too big on an 02,especially the E30 steel wheels.That offset sets them in a bit too much. An offset of ET25 is ideal. But, some people even use 15" wheels.

 

But, if you decide to go with those wheels which you state are 5.5" in width, the ideal width tire is 185. You can't use 70 series as that would set your ride tire diameter way over the stock , and your ride height will also dramatically increase. Your effective final drive gearing would also be 3.5% taller over stock. You are already using wheels which are +1" in diameter. So, you got to come down on the profile. An 185/65/14 would be just a hair taller (over the overall stock diameter of the 165/80/13. And the 185/60/14 would decrease your overall diameter by 2.8% compared to stock. I would probably go with this last option.It would reduce your gearing by 2.8% along with the top speed. But, this is negligible.

[jgerock]

My spare tire from the e30. 195/65-14.

[jgerock]

10 hours ago, Alexei said:

I personally feel that 14" wheels look too big on an 02,especially the E30 steel wheels.That offset sets them in a bit too much. An offset of ET25 is ideal. But, some people even use 15" wheels.

 

But, if you decide to go with those wheels which you state are 5.5" in width, the ideal width tire is 185. You can't use 70 series as that would set your ride tire diameter way over the stock , and your ride height will also dramatically increase. Your effective final drive gearing would also be 3.5% taller over stock. You are already using wheels which are +1" in diameter. So, you got to come down on the profile. An 185/65/14 would be just a hair taller (over the overall stock diameter of the 165/80/13. And the 185/60/14 would decrease your overall diameter by 2.8% compared to stock. I would probably go with this last option.It would reduce your gearing by 2.8% along with the top speed. But, this is negligible.

My tii has 14” wheels and 185-60-14 Dunlop tires. Looks great to me. Not too big.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/dunlop-direzza-ziii

[JsnPpp]

Good to know 195/60 R14s are available again. About a year ago they were hard to find.

 

Jason

[bergie33]

2 hours ago, jgerock said:

My tii has 14” wheels and 185-60-14 Dunlop tires. Looks great to me. Not too big.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/dunlop-direzza-ziii

 

Jim, which springs are you running?  I keep going back and forth about whether to get 185-60-14 or 185-65-14.  I have Eibach springs going in, with Koni shocks/struts.

[jgerock]

2 minutes ago, bergie33 said:

 

Jim, which springs are you running?  I keep going back and forth about whether to get 185-60-14 or 185-65-14.  I have Eibach springs going in, with Koni shocks/struts.

more details than you asked..

H&R sport springs, Ireland Engineering  fixed offset camber front spacers, 3 dot rear upper rubber spring pads, Bilstein HD shocks/struts, Suspension Techniques 22/19 bars.  All rubber bushings except for the sway bars. I’ve had the speedometer recalibrated after I installed a 3.91 LSD.

 

Car was bought with stock sway bars/ springs and 195-60-14 tires on e30 bottle cap wheels.

[mgben]

I went with 195 60R14 General Altimax from the tire rack on the E30 BBS basketweave rims you are using. I know the tires are not supurb but until I get the car dialed in they are round and black.

I wanted to go with Falken Azenis performance tires or Direzza like @jgerock suggests but the storage requirements are not doable for me here in the midwest (it is -1 degrees F today and my garage is 32 but still bad for pure summer tires.) 

Jim do you put your car on stands for the winter in VA? and the OP unsure where he is from. If Cali.. go with any tire you like. 

 

[jgerock]

1 hour ago, mgben said:

I went with 195 60R14 General Altimax from the tire rack on the E30 BBS basketweave rims you are using. I know the tires are not supurb but until I get the car dialed in they are round and black.

I wanted to go with Falken Azenis performance tires or Direzza like @jgerock suggests but the storage requirements are not doable for me here in the midwest (it is -1 degrees F today and my garage is 32 but still bad for pure summer tires.) 

Jim do you put your car on stands for the winter in VA? and the OP unsure where he is from. If Cali.. go with any tire you like. 

 

Cars stay in the garage or other means of storage for several months. I’ve never stored any of my vehicles on stands*/skates. Increasing the tire pressures seems to help prevent flat spotting.

 

* ones being worked on might be on jackstands