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Posted by: tiim5 Oct 15 2004, 08:21 PM

What tires have you used, with what result? I plan on buying either 195-60 15 or 195-65 15 on 2.0 Fuchs. I will drive freeway to work, 45 mile round trip, with weekend fun driving to include, hopefully, a D/E or A/X . What works, please tell me your tales and reccomendations as well as what to stay away from. I realize there has been discussion on this previoulsly, I couldn't find it in my search. My car is a 73 1.7, Bilsteins, 100lb springs, and adjustable front sway bar. Thanks.

Posted by: Series9 Oct 15 2004, 08:40 PM

205/50-15. Pick your favorite vendor. They will totally change the character of your car.

Posted by: grantsfo Oct 15 2004, 08:41 PM

Yokohama AVS 100 is a decent street tire in 195/60/15. I would look at 205/50/15.

Posted by: ! Oct 15 2004, 08:53 PM

Kumhos....they'se cheap....

Posted by: tesserra Oct 15 2004, 10:36 PM

A friend just got some new Avons that Tire Rack is pushing. He likes them much better than Khomos they replaced, and I think they were cheaper. Kinda fast wearing for a daily driver but he loves them.
Definetly 205s, 50 or 60 series, I like 60s.

Good luck, tires last at least 1 year, it sucks getting tires that last too long that you don't like.

Geroge

Posted by: Levi Oct 16 2004, 01:49 AM

Tires..

Posted by: SLKWrx Oct 18 2004, 01:22 PM

Sorry to hijack just a little bit, but will the 205's fit without flares?

Posted by: Aaron Cox Oct 18 2004, 01:23 PM

im running 205 50 falken azenis on my car. insane grip. cheap tire too.

enjoy, YMMV

Posted by: seanery Oct 18 2004, 02:35 PM

I've run the 165s, 195s and 205s on my cars.
On a 15" factory wheel I think the 195/60s are THE BEST size out there.
205s fit some cars, not others.

The 16s I'm putting on are 205s, haven't tested them yet, hope they fit.

Posted by: SirAndy Oct 18 2004, 02:55 PM

best tire out there for your $$$ ...

Andy

Posted by: Mueller Oct 18 2004, 03:11 PM

if you enjoy a semi-comfortable ride, stick with the 60 series tires.....when you go to the 50's the ride suffers and then you'll want to lower the car to get rid of the ugly space between the tire and the fenders........

Posted by: trekkor Oct 18 2004, 03:21 PM

I also run the Falken's. Very, very good tire. For the street you can't go wrong. They hardly make a peep. Exceptional for a/x, too.
I have found their limit , however.
I am searching for something for race only. Yoko A032's.

I have a set of 195/50/15 Yokohama YK420's if you want to buy them. Great for street. Not good for serious a/x.
420 is their wear rating. Falken's say "200". They're lower.
The A032's are 60.

KT

Posted by: mikerose Oct 18 2004, 03:31 PM

Quote .when you go to the 50's the ride suffers and then you'll want to lower the car to get rid of the ugly space between the tire and the fenders...


???????????????
195/50 :finger2:


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Posted by: trekkor Oct 18 2004, 03:47 PM

I like my car very low. A for the ride suffering...Nope.

Ride is improved. It's currently at it's best.

I'll never go back to the tall skinnies.

KT


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Posted by: Mueller Oct 18 2004, 03:51 PM

hey Mike.....

your car is already lowered...I'm guessing this guy has a pretty much stock 914 and is just looking for decent street tires and not low profiled tires that "everyone" is trying to push on him

if he currently has 195/60 or 65's, going to 195/50/15 will be a shock

Mike, want to help me install my engine this Saturday?
(the /4, not the /6 )

Posted by: davidcalvin Oct 18 2004, 03:55 PM

I put 185/??15 s on mine. Sumitomo AVS whatevers. The guy told me that was as wide a tire that I could put on without flaring the fenders.

They ride sweet. I was going to go with Yokohamas... but he talked me into trying the Sumitomos. Really made the ride nice. Also they do pretty well in hard rain, as I found out last night.

David

Posted by: GTeener Oct 18 2004, 04:02 PM

I have 205 x 15 x 7's on my fronts and no flare.

Tires are Khomo Victoracers 'cuz it's an AX car mostly.

Posted by: nebreitling Oct 18 2004, 04:11 PM

something that no one's mentioned: this guy will be putting a lot of freeway miles on the car. for that reason alone, i'd go with at least a -55 or -60 aspect tire. this will keep you from running 4000 RPMs to keep up with traffic.

i'd go with 195/55 or 195/60 (perferred for freeway driving) if i were you.

i know that you can get kuhmo ecsta 712's in 195/55 (not expensive) if you're a little more "performance oriented".

Posted by: Series9 Oct 18 2004, 04:27 PM

I've put 205/50-15s on five 914s with rims up to 15x7 and never had any trouble getting them under stock fenders.

I have a friend using 205/45-16s on 16x7 Fuchs, and they also fit under stock fenders.

I'm mostly using Kumho 712s right now and am very pleased with the performance/price ratio.

Posted by: anthony Oct 18 2004, 04:50 PM

With the new points based system the Yoko A032s will have a 100 point penalty. The Falken's are "free" - actually any tire with a wear rating of 100 or greater is "free". Is there a tire that is stickier than the Falken but that still has a wear rating of 100 or greater?

Posted by: Part Pricer Oct 18 2004, 05:23 PM

I've got to agree with Nathan on this one.

I've got tires on two sets of wheels. Normal freeway/street driving tires are 195/60/15. I also have a set of Falkens that are 205/50/15 that I use for AX.

The Falkens are great for AX and the occasional ride to/from. But, for cruising on the highway, it throws off the gearing and I'm constantly running at 4000+ RPM to drive at the speeds that I am used to.

For a daily driver/commuting tire, I'd go with 195/60/15.

Posted by: nebreitling Oct 18 2004, 05:41 PM

nope.

Posted by: SirAndy Oct 18 2004, 06:10 PM

hmmm, i run ~3800 for ~80mph on 225/50x15 ...

there's only a 3% difference between my 225s and the 205s.

seems strange that those 3% would have such a great impact ...
Andy

Posted by: nyum96 Oct 18 2004, 06:18 PM

These are mine for all my cars. They last a long time and have very stiff sidewalls. They are worth the money to me. I am all about safety and these are what I trust, even in the Georgia hills.

My 10cents

BB



http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+RE950&partnum=055HR6RE950&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes

Posted by: nebreitling Oct 18 2004, 06:25 PM

did i say "keep up with"?

i should have said, "pass like a maniac"!


but really, according to the tire calculator (i wish i had one at my finger tips!), your 225/50's read 6% fast. my 195/50's read 10.7% fast. or, 3978rpms to keep up with your 3800rpms at 80mph.

but whatever, i have no axe to grind with tire sizing...

Posted by: Part Pricer Oct 18 2004, 07:00 PM

Ummm...I never said that.

Posted by: mikerose Oct 18 2004, 08:52 PM

opps Tires, Pirelli P-700-Z. 195/50 and Yes I drive like a maniac

Posted by: VegasRacer Oct 18 2004, 09:15 PM

I just ordered a set of Toyo T1-S in size 225-50-16 for Elvira.
I'll let you know how they do on Friday after I get 'em mounted.

Posted by: drgchapman Oct 20 2004, 09:55 PM

Just mounted up Hoosier 205/50-15, WOW!!!!!! A/X killers! Check out the tire that dominated the SCCA finals this year. HOOSIER.

Posted by: Brad Roberts Oct 20 2004, 10:08 PM

Hopefully you have VERY good control of your brake pedal. The biggest issue with newbies running Hoosiers: they flat spot them the first time out on them if they have not gotten used to using their brakes with STICKY tires. Be careful. There is a reason why I dont start my customers out on the Hoosiers. They get Hoosiers when they can demonstrate good braking techniques. Saves them money in the long run.


B

Posted by: dinomium Oct 20 2004, 11:32 PM

Once again again Brad hit the nailon the head with his Sage like advice. I think the stock tire might be the A-022 Yoks 195.55.15 is a 120. Another thing is that some tires (Like Yok) have differing hardness with sizes. Such as the A-022s 205/15 is a 160 and the 195/15 is a 120... Dunlop, Potenza, and Michies dont. Just some more minucia that has addled my brain over time...

Posted by: 9146986 Oct 21 2004, 08:32 AM

My personal favorite for a 914 street tire on a stock 15" wheel is 195/15. It isn't the highest performance aspect ratio, but it provides much improvement over stock tire size and has a decent ride.

Last year Tire Rack was selling off their remaining stock of the old style Yokohama AVS and I got two sets of tires from them. I haven't mounted either set, so if anyone's interested PM me. The AVS is fairly sticky, a decent rain tire, with fair to poor treadwear.

PK