Geo Metro taller tires

[White118]

That's some help, thank you for the info I'll check around and see if I can get some taller rims and tires, hoping to get rims for free.


-Matt

[mwebb]

Originally Posted by White118

That's some help, thank you for the info I'll check around and see if I can get some taller rims and tires, hoping to get rims for free.


-Matt

i do not believe you will be able to get them for "free"
but
half of the fun of buying on craigslist is the negotiations prior to consummating the transaction

195 60 15 tires will fit as well
185 65 15 and 195 60 15 will fit on the rear , but not on the front

in this case
LRR is king do research on the LRR tires in that size and buy them used on craiglist as well
a tire worn 50% rolls better than the same tire , brand new , assuming the tire is worn evenly and the belts are UN damaged .

[DesertTortoise]

I've tried to add a photo which appears at the following site. It's helpful in this whole tire size discussion.

TireRack dot com slash tires slash tiretech slash techpage.jsp?techid=7]Tire Tech Information - Calculating Approximate Tire Dimensions[/url]

I simply want someone to authoritatively tell me the limits of tire size to fit a Metro/Swift/Firefly - the maximum tire height (or diameter) and overall width. Don't want to talk about wheel size. I don't believe that really matters. I can use the 12" or preferably the 13" wheels which I already have, or get some used 14" or 15" (yeah, 4 x 4½).

As tire height and width are readily available for any tire, knowing the limits allows me to determine what tires would be a suitable fit. Obviously I'll look at more than simply these two numbers, but they're a significant component in evaluating my options and making a decision. I don't necessarily want to go to the max, especially on width.

I live off grid in the Mojave Desert in southern California. My home sets atop a rocky hill and provides me with views for as much as 50 miles. I love it. However, the "driveway" is bad news. I need a tire with a larger footprint and better traction without sacrificing mileage. Snow and ice will appear only once or twice in five years and be gone quickly, so that is a non issue. Rain shows up only slightly more often ;-) but it's not much of an issue either. But the driveway is steep with a combination of gravel and dirt that is the consistency of powder. And it tends to become rutted both vertically and horizontally over time and between too infrequent visits by the tractor or bulldozer guy. It's never been an issue with my old 4WD 4Runner, but it can be hell with the Metro. The name should have told me that it's a city car, not a mountain goat.

Any help U can offer is very much appreciated.

BTW, this is not any sort of endorsement of TireRack dot com, but the graphic is quite good. I'm sure they're very nice people over there, but I've never done business with them. I've been using DiscounTire dot com (AmericasTire dot com here in California) for 25 years now, and they've always gone to great lengths to treat me well. And if they have the chutzpah to set up shop in Costco's front yard (as they have at their Rancho Mirage/Palm Desert store), it tells me they're not afraid of stiff price and service competition.

[CapriRacer]

Desert,

If you'll go to Discount Tire's web site (Sponsored Listings), they have a place where you can input your vehicle. If you follow that, eventually you'll get to a place where it will tell you the original tire size on the vehicle you inputted - AND - there's a button below that: "View Optional/Plus Tire Sizes" - which will tell you what they think also fits. They base this on physical measurements of the vehicle and not guesswork. If they say it fits, I would take it that they know it will fit. - and if they don't list a particular tire size, I think you can assume it will NOT fit - for whatever reason.

Word of Caution: They do NOT take into account the rim currently on the vehicle - so if your car came with - say - 15" rims, they may list tire sizes that are too wide (or too narrow) for the rims. This is something that has to be checked.

I did your vehicle (I assumed it was a 1990!) and it looks like they get different answers between vehicles that came with 12" and ones that came with 13"! The fact that they make this distinction would seem to point to some difference, so I would be very careful in this area.

Also, the actual physical size of a tire can vary quite a bit. That is, you can NOT assume that a tire is built exactly to the "size" indicated by the size designation. Tire Rack has specs on every tire they sell. The important dimensions are width and overall diameter. Unfortunately Discount Tire's web site doesn't seem to list the actual specs.

And one last word of caution: You have to be concerned about wheel offset. This can completely change the picture. I assume that Discount Tire's list is for rims that have the proper offset.

[DesertTortoise]

Thanks so much CapriRacer,

Two months delay is saying thanks is sad, but I hope late is better than never. Unfortunately, other pressing issues confronted me and my rather limited resources, and I had to put new tires on the back burner for a while.

I very much appreciate Ur taking time not only to answer my question but also to invest time and energy in researching it. I will use your resources again when replacing tires becomes a bit more pressing issue.

Thanks,

jim

[villain.ind]

i wouldnt use taller tires if most of your driving is at low speeds such as in the city or around town. however, taller tires on a highway driven car is better. its all a gear ratio thing. i drive an hour to school everyday and i have taller tires on my cabrio to help w highway mileage. they were also on sale and cheaper than oem

[firdale]

Well admit im lazy n didn't read other metro tire threads, but we have alwaqys gotten the best FE from the now impossible to find (at least in our area) 145x12s. Have 14 inch and 13 inch mags a couple of the cars came with, but could never get as good milage from them as we could with stock size tires. Which on ours seem to be all 12 inch. Was really noticable in winter when even studded 12's would consistently get more MPG than bigger diameters. Probably becoming a mute point as all I can find around here are 155x12's anymore (and none with studs). But, as an example my wife commutes @150 miles 3 days a week. The 145x12's would consistently hit mid to slightly upper 50's on her 4 door. 155x12's get 51-53. Her's is the best FE metro we have in the fleet of 8 in our family. The others are all in upper 40's with 12 inch wheels and 13 inch mags, low 40's for the 14 inch mags. Of course my daughter's automatic stuggles to hit 40 no matter what we do to it.
And, metros off paved tarmac aren't a good long term plan. I commute 5 days a week on a ralley car race stage of gravel, potholes and ruts. Was optomistic and took my metro one day. Was pretty clear it wouldn;'t survive long term. I bought a jeep xj and am shooting for 25 mpg out of it.
With 12 in tires getting very hard to find in my area, would love to hear what you settle on for wheels and tire combination and how it does in FE.