Tyres tyres tyres sizes!
 

Anobody got some info or results on different tyre setups. I know deacreasing the width of the tyre helps but what about increaseing the profile (Tallness of a tyre) i saw a new suzuki swift in traffic and noticed its tyres look rather large on the 14 inch rim. after some researching i found out it runs a setup of 165/80 r14. my stock setup is 175/65 r14

on this site willtheyfit. com i compared the 2.

the results show that i will gain 18.3mm (0.72inch) on the circumfrence. bigger wheel means less turning to be done to maintain same speed bringing revs down. how significant will my FE change? the width has also reduced so i know that wil help.

If your stock is 175/65R14 then step down to 165/65R14 and get Bridgestone potentza Re92's. They WILL give at least a 5% increase. They are 5% better than the next best tire out there (Michellin energy savers).

When I went from 175/65R14 on my insight to 165/65R14 potentza Re92's I gained 8mpg in my insight. From 55 to 63 on average, sometimes more. So I roughly gained 15%.

Tire size isn't very important compared to the tire itself. I discuss this in more detail here:

Barry's Tire Tech

Short version: Differences in tire size are on the order of single digit percent, where differences between tires of the same size are double digit percent.

And bigger is better.

i found them but no1 that stocks them yet. i also found this tyre 175/65R14 BRIDGESTONE ECOPIA 200 82H . will read into it. i currently have falken tyres on bt the are poor quality. i want to change just the front for now.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...res-25208.html

14 pages of back and forth on the Bridgestone Ecopia used on the BMWi3. This is the tire I would like on my car some day. The diameter is very close to the stock 165R-15s.

Beware replacing only the fronts and ice. My car's at the body shop right now for that very reason.

I still say taller is better only if you lower the suspension equal to the radius increase. Otherwise you increase aero drag. Also, taller sidewalls hurt handling, so taller tires need taller wheels. But it is worth it if you use the bigger wheels to fit bigger brakes. Always use the maximum wheel width for your chosen tire size, and always choose flat-face wheels that still have holes for brake cooling.

A short sidewall improves turn-in. That's all happening between the bottom of the rim and the contact patch. How would increasing the rim diameter affect this?

if this is true, explain formula 1 tires.

do you mean ice like snow ice? here its nice and warm we never get any snow:(

i do not worry too much about handling. its straightish highway for 99% of the route. here the ecopia tyre comes with a pothole and sidewall damage warranty on on the roads here that would help alot. i have a second car that is the family car with the baby seat in so this car is purely going to be used for the commute to work and back.

No snow, just a 10° drop in temperature at dusk and standing water on a freeway on-ramp.

I'm not sure about F1, but tires (with tread) have a 'slip angle', the difference between the direction of travel and the direction the tire is headed. It's what makes them 'talk' before they give way.

Turn-in is how quickly the car responds to steering input. With a tall sidewall and a narrow rim the wheel twists inside the tire until it responds. A rim wider than the tread braces the contact patch. This is probably true for F1.

Yes, a shorter sidewall tends to improve response time in a tire - the time lag between your turning the steering wheel and the vehicle responding.

HOWEVER, it is possible to change the response time by stiffening up the sidewall, so even tires with taller sidewalls can be made fairly responsive.

And F1 tires? Those are MANDATED and everyone has to use the same sizes - which has not changed for quite a while (I'm guessing 20 years). What has happened is that F1 regulations froze things so there wouldn't be such a difficulty in swapping between tire manufacturers - and then took it a step further and specified a single supplier.

Indeed. The tyres in F1 are from old regulations. But the teams would love biggers rims. They have 13" rims now. And stil extreme brakes. But not lomh ago they tested a new rim size. I believe 18". This for better brakes and more responsive tires. The are now runnin realy low tire preasures. I believe they were around 1.2 bar. And a huge amount of suspension work is in the tire sidewall. I.m puting up 3 pics of the wheels they tested. Hope this clears someting.

Eddie, I always look to Tire Rack when I shop tires, 90% of the time I have been happy with my choice after using their data.

Passenger All Season

Standard Touring All Season

Gran Touring All Season

High Performance All Season

Now the Bridgestone RE92s mentioned previously are listed under High Performance and I'll let you see the survey results and decide for yourself.

Look over the charts and find something near the top that is available and isn't expensive as heck. I use these prices from Tire Rack to help determine what the "Real" cost is of a particular tire since Tire Rack sells with very low margins compared to most.

Once I decide on a tire and have the price, I figure another $100 to mount & balance and $50 for profit/shipping. Then I call around and see who'll give me the best price for that 1 particular set of tires. This way you avoid a ton of confusion.

In my mind I want the best value in a tire that performs well in quietness first, then handling, then snow (I travel up north a lot), then ride comfort, then rolling resistance. What good is an economical tire if it's expensive and you hate how it performs.

It looks to me like the General Altimax RT43 would be the best value. It's in the Standard Touring area.

Good luck. Hope this helps, I know you're half a world away.