Tire size suggestions please.

[sully06]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

A wider tire will produce more aero drag, and a heavier wheel will lose more in rotational mass. You want light, tall, narrow, and LRR... or the best combo of them all. How heavy are the 14" wheels versus the 15" wheels?

the 14 steel wheels are a bit heavy the 15s are only 16lbs

[ksa8907]

Is tire width really a significant concern? 195 to 215 is only 20mm, isn't RR a more important factor? I may be wrong but I don't see a small increase in width making a discernable difference.

I suppose it depends how the fenders and front fascia are shaped.

[sully06]

I believe you are correct but if I can stay closer to the 195 it would benefit even more. 215 might be too wide and might rub when turning. I need to really look at it and see

[mcrews]

It's less than 1/2 inch. Remember 1/4 on each side

[sully06]

That is true thank you sir 215/70 is looking like a better option at this point

So these yokohamas are 30 bucks cheaper per tire and the specs are very similar to the Michelins

Size: 215/70R15
LRR: BluEarth
Sidewall Style: Blackwall
Serv. Desc: 98T
UTQG: 800 A B

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by mcrews

It's less than 1/2 inch. Remember 1/4 on each side

the difference between 195mm and 215mm is 20, which is 4/5 of an inch. I do think these tire widths have been tested by metro or someone on this site. Small differences in width can make a difference, IIRC, was the take away. The tire is a rapid spinning rough surface in the flow of air... so search for the tests, if you are interested. But I'd also wonder about the greater contact patch and whether a wider tire of an LRR brand would have greater rolling resistance than a narrower tire of the same LRR brand. Also relative tire weights might offset wheel weights. If the 14" steelies are 20lbs but have 19lbs 175/70-14 Michelin Defenders on them, they dont weigh more than 16lbs 15" alloys with a 23lbs set of 215mm defenders on. There is a thread on here "tall tire test" that you might read too... very thorough, if you want to get this in depth about it. in the end you gotta love what you drive and so you ought to get what you'll love.

[sully06]

I wanted to get an idea how much weight difference we are talking about. The Camry actually has a full size spare so I weighed it, its 40 pounds. The new wheels I bought are 16 pounds and I weighed a 195/65 15 tire I had laying around it weighed 17 pounds. So roughly dropping 7 pounds per tire/wheel which is 28 pounds I think that's substantial.

Spare was a steel wheel with a Michelin MX4 195/70 14. The 195/65 15 was a Firestone FR710. I know the weight will vary depending if I go with that size and the brand/style of tire.

[California98Civic]

If you drop 28 pounds from wheels, you can multiply the number by a factor of at least 2, maybe 4, to account for rotational mass. So 28 pounds dead weight is more like 56 or 112 lbs in effect.

[sully06]

Thanks now that I've settled on that size I need suggestions on tires I really want the Michelins but they are steep on price and I only drive about 15k a year so 90k mile tire is excessive they will dry rot before I wear them out

[mcrews]

go to tire rack.com