tires and wheels Anyone go from 14s to 15s, likes? dislikes?

[jrhone]

I am considering moving up to 15" wheels fom my 14's....has anyone done it and what were your thoughts? My fear is that I will lose some ssidewall making my ride worse. I have Ireland Stage II and Bilstein Sport shocks. My ride now isnt bad at all...but I dont want it to get too bad though. Thanks.

[M3M3]

yep, you loose sidewall and the tires in the 50 series tend to be performance tires, which are stiffer. so ride quality will be a factor. but you have already moved way down the harsh ride path with not just stage one, but stage two ie springs. you can't have performance and ride at the same time. kinda like there is no such thing as a quiet, dust free performance brake pad....

[BillWilliams]

I did and liked the 14s better.

The car rides a bit rougher and I do not like the looks as well. Not enough rubber showing.

[eurotrash]

I like my RB/SDrive combo Chris sold me.. but must admit that sometimes that much wheel is a bit bawdy looking.. dangerously close to too much. But 7" of rubber sure looks bad ass from the front and rear. Handles like a dream over the bottlecaps that came on it. - over all, I fkn love them.

[jrhone]

Yeah 18 years ago in my first 2002, I added 15" Rotas and BFG Euro T/A's in 195/50 size and the thing did handle like crazy...in the dry I found it impossible to break the rear end under cornering and in the wet it was stable...I did not have suspension work done on that car so I am on the fence. I need new tires so I am thinking about this now. I like the looks of both the 14s and 15s and since my car is so low, the reduced sidewall wont be an issue. If I could get a staggered set of rims, 6's in front and 7's in the rear that would be ideal...keep the quick steering and responsiveness up front and add more grip in the rear...win/win....Did you huys notice more understeer with the 15x7s up front? Thats another worry of mine....

[Guest Anonymous]

I have 14x6.5's with 60 series tires and will probably stick with them, although I saw 55 series tires on 15" "Alpina" knock offs on Gary's bright yellow car from PA at the BavAuto event in October, and the rubber height looked just right, for me.

_________________________

Roger

'72Malaga

RBenson685@aol.com

[M3M3]

Yeah 18 years ago in my first 2002, I added 15" Rotas and BFG Euro T/A's in 195/50 size and the thing did handle like crazy...in the dry I found it impossible to break the rear end under cornering and in the wet it was stable...I did not have suspension work done on that car so I am on the fence. I need new tires so I am thinking about this now. I like the looks of both the 14s and 15s and since my car is so low, the reduced sidewall wont be an issue. If I could get a staggered set of rims, 6's in front and 7's in the rear that would be ideal...keep the quick steering and responsiveness up front and add more grip in the rear...win/win....Did you huys notice more understeer with the 15x7s up front? Thats another worry of mine....

the bigger tires up front would DECREASE understeer. more grip. i prefer to keep tire sizes same all around and use shocks/springs/bars to control handling dynamics.

understeer = you go off the road and hit the tree with the front of the car.

oversteer = you go off the road and hit the tree with the back of the car.

;-)

[dubois]

I've had 13's, then 14's, then 15's, and now I am back to 13's. The ride is really not bad with 15's, never found it to be an issue on my car.

I believe the 02's would do well with any, I have even driven an 02 with 16's and it was fine. It boils down to looks and feel, which is very personal and subjective. For me, I love the looks of my skinny tall rubber tires (13's) and the car just "feels" happy.

[m-racer]

I have used a bunch of different set ups over the years. I was pretty amazed at one point when I went from 13's with 205-60's to 15's with 195-50's as the car felt much lighter and more nimble and I did not expect that. I have used 14" Panasports with 60 series tires and still felt the 15's with 195-50's felt better. One thing I can tell you is that (providing you have flares) is that you can go with too much tire. I used 15x7 Alpina's with 225-50 rears and 205-50 fronts and the steering effort was just too much, the steering feel wasn't good and the car felt heavy. I couldn't wait to get back to narrower tires. I am currently running 16x7 Alpina's with 205-40's and cant tell much difference from my track wheels which are 15x7's with 195-50's.

[TobyB]

I've had 13's, then 14's, then 15's, and now I am back to 13's

+1.

Width and offset play a factor, but that big balloony 13" tire's lots of fun.

And on our 3rd world streets, easier on the car and the driver.

t

[TimMN]

My 13x6 revolutions with 185/70 bridgestones weigh a whopping ... 24lbs!

I sure wish good tires were still available in that size, I love 'em.

Tim