Suggestions for new LRR Tires (Vx)
 

I'm going to be getting some new tires this spring as mine are terribly checked on the sidewalls and would prefer have more confidence in my vehicle when driving down the freeway. Any suggestions out there for LRR tires for the Vx?

Even on non LRR tires in the stock size are rare, my plan is to buy some 14" Honda Insight or 14" Honda Civic HX rims and get some 165/70 R14 LRR tires.
Otherwise getting wider tires is the only other option if you want LRR tires and it seems well worth the extra cost in buying used rims.

hmm... that sure makes things a little difficult. This is the stock tire size correct: 165/70-13

155/80R13 or 175/70R13 might be suitable replacement if you're looking to keep your stock wheels.

are the insight and hx civic wheels aluminum as well or no? Might end up going that route as I can see how this will become a PIA

Here are some that are at least listed, not sure about availability: Tire Details Nika Avatar V344 | Pep Boys

Another set of options: http://www.performanceplustire.com/p...65_SLASH_70-13

Option: http://www.directbuytire.com/category-s/58.htm

Option: http://www.onlinetires.com/user/vehi...allbrands.html

Lastly, amazon's options: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=165+70+13+tire

I'm going to see if I can find a good tire to go with the stock wheels. I've got the OEM aluminums that came with the car :) I'd probably end up spending just as much or more on wheel replacements. I think for my winter driving I will get a different wheel size because I used studded snows tires and need to get a new set next winter as well.

What is a good way to tell if a tire is LRR?

Well.... This is pretty much what I have come up with now, not really concerned too much with the prices, however if anyone else finds this thread then they may be. It wasn't too much work to add them anyways:

GT RADIAL TIRES CHAMPIRO 70 - 49 ea. free freight
NANKANG TIRES CX668 - 52 ea free freight
IRONMAN TIRES iMOVE - 59 ea. free freight
MAXXIS TIRES MA-202 61.15 ea. free freight

165/70R13 79T HERCULES RAPTIS TR1 1657013 165/70/13 - 45.99 ea. freight?

165/70-13 SUMITOMO HTR T4 78T BSW 47.81 ea freight?

Goodride GRC0142 SP06 165/70R13 79T - 55.48 ea. shipping too much (92.98) lol

Can anyone make any suggestions based on the above tires?

junk
 

Hmm.... Well... What recommendations would you go with as far as LRR tires given you have 14/15" wheels?

The vx stock tire size had an overall diameter of about 22.1", I've been looking at some of the top LRR's out there and they haven't come too close to that overall diameter.

These ones are pretty close: Potenza re92 P165/65R14 78S SL LRR: Low Rolling Resistance - 22.5" outside diameter

Edit: Even in a 14/15" wheel, I haven't found many options for a tire diameter that comes close to 22.1" (about stock vx diameter). I am beginning to think the SUMITOMO tires are the best bet.

From what I've seen of the off brands... you'll regret buying them, the Sumitomo tires I had on my old VX and they are nice, they used to be listed as a LRR tire but they were on the bottom of the list.

My current plan is to buy Insight rims for summer tires and use my stock VX rims for snow tires.

If I stick with the stock setup, then it will be the Sumitomo tires.

What year range on the Insight? 00-07? What tires do you plan on getting with the insight wheels?

edit: I just looked and I'm running 175/70/13's now on my vx wheels. Doubt they are LRR tires either. When I looked, I was more interested in size than the brand/make/model. I'll take a look again next time I'm in the garage.

The other option is to stick with the 175/70/13's. There are a few more options: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...70&diameter=13

Those are LRR specific. I think there were 10 total tires in that specific size at tirerack

Here are the tire options I find for the insight (99-06): Tire Search Results

Pretty limited as well.

For 165/70-13 i found:

Michelin ENERGY E3B 1
Continental EcoContact 3

Do you have any links?

Found a list of wheels with the same bolt pattern, however you have to watch the center hub hole size to be sure it fits. Kind of interesting to see all of the vehicles with the same bolt pattern:

Acura CL 2.2 / 3.0 98-00
Acura Integra 86-01
Acura Legend 86-90
Acura TC 2.5 92-95
Acura TL 2.5 96-98
Acura Vigor 92-94
Chevrolet Aveo 04-07
Chevrolet Cobalt LT - LTZ 4 LUG 05-07
Chevrolet GEO Prizm 93-03
Daewoo Lanos 98-03
Daewoo Nubira 98-03
Dodge Neon 4 Lug 94-06
Ford Escort 91-01
Ford ZX2 98-03
Honda Accord 82-89
Honda Accord 90-97
Honda Accord 4 Lug 4 CYL 98-02
Honda Civic 01-05
Honda Civic 80-95
Honda Civic 96-00
Honda Civic Hybrid 03-05
Honda Civic Si 02-05
Honda CRX 88-95
Honda Fit 2007
Honda Prelude 92-96
Hyundai Accent 00-05
Hyundai Accent 06-07
Hyundai Accent 95-99
Hyundai Elantra 01-06
Hyundai Elantra 92-00
Hyundai Sonata 03-05
Hyundai Sonata 93-02
Hyundai Tiburon 97-02
Hyundai XC250 97-99
Infiniti G20 95-98
Infiniti G20 99-03
Kia Image 01-03
Kia Optima LE - EX 01-06
Kia Rio 5 01-05
Kia Rio 5 05-07
Kia Rio Base LX 2007
Kia Rio Base LX 01-05
Kia Sephia 00-04
Kia Sephia 94-97
Kia Sephia 98-01
Kia Spectra 5 05-07
Kia Spectra EX - SX 05-07
Mazda Miata 90-05
Mazda Protege LX - LX 2.0 90-01
Mercury Titan 88-90
Mercury Tracker 91-99
Mini Cooper 2007
Mini Cooper 02-06
Mini Cooper Convertible 2007
Mini Cooper Convertible 05-06
Mini Cooper S 2007
Mini Cooper S 02-06
Mitsubishi Galant 93-98
Mitsubishi Lancer ES 02-06
Mitsubishi Lancer OZ Rally Ralliart 02-06
Mitsubishi Mirage 93-02
Nissan Altima 93-01
Nissan Sentra 91-99
Nissan Sentra S - SE-R - SER 2007
Nissan Sentra S - SE-R - SER 00-06
Nissan Versa 1.8S - 1.8SL 2007
Plymouth Colt 86-93
Plymouth Horizon 87-90
Plymouth Neon 4 Lug 95-00
Pontiac G5 Base 2007
Saturn Ion Ion-2 - Ion-3 03-07
Saturn S Series 91-02
Scion Xa 04-07
Scion Xb 04-07
Suzuki Aerio 02-07
Suzuki Esteem 95-03
Suzuki Forenza 04-07
Suzuki Reno 05-07
Suzuki Swift 95-01
Suzuki Verona 04-06 04-06
Toyota Corolla 93-02
Toyota Echo 00-05
Toyota MR2 00-02
Toyota MR2 03-05
Toyota Yaris 2007
Volkswagen Cabrio 95-03
Volkswagen Golf 4-CYL 92-98
Volkswagen Jetta 4-CYL 92-98
Volkswagen Passat (4-CYL) 90-97
Volvo S40 / V40 4 Lug 00-04.5

You can cross reference information here as well: lugpattern.net

There's no better eco tire than the Bridgestone Potenza 165/65/R14. Get some HX or Insight wheels, and these tires, and you'll be golden.

I bought some Primewell tires (just 2) last time because no one had Bridgestones in my tire size in stock.

Huge mistake. Get a good brand, don't cheap out on your tires. They were slick as anything in the rain, and made an awful whirring/roaring sound so loud I couldn't believe anyone would even sell a product so terrible.

Took them back and traded up on some Bridgestone B381s and I've been happy as a clam.

Sam

Looks like some trim models came with 185/60/R14 size tires on 14" wheels. I got a set of super lightweight HX wheels a while ago (from a VW guy) so you just have to look around.

Anything with 4x100 bolt pattern and 56.1mm or larger centerbore will work.

VW's of the era had 57.1mm centerbore so they will work fine. BMW E30's had 4x100 too and are swappable with VW's so unless they have some crazy offsets I have to imagine they'd work on Hondas.

Mazda Miata wheels will not fit (small centerbore)... I'm not sure what other Mazdas used. VW wheels will need ball seat lug bolts. Be sure to get matching lugs.

If you get larger than 57.1 bore you might think about getting shims, though it really shouldn't be a big problem in normal street driving.

This link should help you choose comparable sizes if you find a well-priced 15" wheel and/or tire set.
Tire Size Calculator - tire & wheel plus sizing

edit: double post

My argument against the 14" wheels, is that on tire rack there is only one tire available for the 99-06 insight. Bridgestone Potenza RE92. I would assume this is the tire you are referring too. It seems that soon, we will all be just as bad off as we are now trying to find tires for the 13" wheels.

Bottom line, there simply aren't many tires that come close to the original diameter of the vx stock tire size. About 22.1. The 165/65/R14's are one of the closest and they are about .5" larger. The 185/65/14 size that is on the Hx wheels are close to 1.5" larger in diameter.

The ultimate solution: Get a shorter gearset and throw the larger tires on. Then they all balance out with plenty of options :)

Tire Rack used to sell the Michelin Energy Saver Tire in 165/65R14 but a lot of other places still do and your local tire shop should be able to order them for you.

Yes, Tire Rack still has that ONE tire in that size.

ryland, can you let me know (honestly) what your opinion/experience with the sumitomo tires have been?

We need Basjoos' input on this. He drives lots of miles so he's gone through a lot of different tires on his CX/VX.

This is bad, potentially dangerous, advice.

First of all, modern wheels are not centered via the lugs, they are centered via the centerbore. A too-large centerbore means potentially massive vibration when rotating.

Second of all, the centerbore may also be load bearing. A too-large centerbore can result in lugs shearing off, with predictable followup results such as the wheel rolling into the ditch whilst your out-of-control car swerves into oncoming traffic.

Third, offset matters. Offsets are all over the map on the list you posted.

If you're looking to use rims from another car, and you want to guess at the fit (which I strongly recommend you do NOT do), at least try to stay with the same maker. Honda for Honda, for example. The odds are fair that the centerbores will be the same. Better still, research the car a bit more, find out the centerbore and offset, and make sure they'll work on your car, before you plunk down your money.

EDIT: there are also centering rings available, to fill the gap between the hub and the rim. I personally avoid them, but they do work.

Thanks for the suggestion wdb. Very much appreciated.

I would love to here basjoos' opinion.

I liked them, I only bought two because that is all I could get at the time and that is all that I needed at the time as well, my neighbor still has those same tires on the car and they seem to be holding up fine but there are other better lower rolling resistance tires that I would rather have, seeing as how I also need a set of snow tires and a set of summer tires I figure having snow tires on light weight VX rims is a good idea and Honda insight rims for summer tires because they are even lighter and have a flat smooth face.

Yeah, if you don't use centering rings with a larger bore you'll have problems.

You also act like offset is some huge deal. Seriously? I've run wheels from ET32 to ET45 on the Rabbit and had no problems. You just have to check what the stock offset is, which should be printed on the backside of the wheel.

My Civic HX wheels are ET45, so obviously that is OEM (anything lower such as ET35 should be fine too). I haven't seen many wheels with any higher offset than that. As long as they clear the brakes, there's nothing to worry about.

I have had the sumitomo htr t4's in the 165 width for about 50 thousand miles now on my vx. replaced two that wore faster than the other about 10k miles ago. the wear was my fault, not rotating as much as I should have been. I woild also say to try and stay with the 13" enkeis that you already have on there, they are some of the lightest wheels you can find. I like the sumitomos. they are cheap and the max sidewall says 51 psi so you cango that high or higherand let em rolllllll.

Ok so let me hyjack this thread. I've got a set of vx wheels and a set of hx wheels. I've got two almost new 175/70 13 tires on steel wheels 16$ each and they're on 1979 be rabbit rims yes they fit yes the hub is slightly larger and no I have no vibration or wobble issues. So what to do. Buy two 13s. What size 14 tire us going to really be close to my original vx or cx wheel? Yes I've got like two sets of steel wheels also. Did I mention I'm very frugal.

That's only 12mm different = 1/2". That's not very much.

My Capri also uses a 4X100mm bolt pattern and it is a positive offset (RWD) - and the wheels will fit on a FWD (negative offset) - so, yes, offset can be a huge deal.

I called around today to see if I could scrounge up some sumitomo's locally. One shop could get them, but they wanted $130 a tire (before taxes etc...). ha ha ha.. Not happening. Will call a few more places tomorrow or next week. Not in a huge rush since I have the rest of winter to find some tires.

I doubt you'll find any. I've been looking for 4 months now.

You have to get them online. Onlinetires.com

Yes, you can get them online. I have even posted links directly to them in this thread. A local shop could get them, but they practically wanted gold for them considering the size/quality of the tire.

Try ordering them...the y are OUT. Stop posting

http://www.onlinetires.com/products/...4+78t+bsw.html
47 bucks a tire
12 bucks to ship each
Post

quit the bantering and only post relevant information.