I would appreciate it if folks who have 14-inch Fuchs wheels could share photos of them on the car along with their tire size.
Our 1970 914-6 has what appear to be authentic Fuchs 5 1/2 J 14. I believe these were an original factory option. Trying to decide on tires. The manual and sticker on the car only indicates "185 HR 14". So no sidewall height is indicated.
I know there are lots of tire threads. I've been poking around the forum and I've seen listed everything from "http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?s=&showtopic=336919&view=findpost&p=2698136" to "http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?s=&showtopic=341490&view=findpost&p=2759112".
Vredestein Sprint Classic would seem like an easy choice, but they are out of stock everywhere I have looked.
Ultimately I guess I'm going to be stuck with what's available today and making an aesthetic choice. It will be spirited street driving in California, so I don't need to worry about all-weather or track demands. What's on the car now is 195/70R14 90R - Riken Radial 70 Steel Belted. Not a great photo as it's on a lift and the engine is out. I would normally run with a bit higher air pressure.
Best thing I did to MySix, was 15x6 Fuchs in 1978..
Attached image(s)
I’d be looking at 185/60/r14 which was a common tire for the 1st gen, North American miata.
Miatas of that era were on 5.5” rims
Used to be lots of good choices but not sure how it is in 2023. Offered plenty of grip and footprint for a 2000 lb car without the disadvantage of going to larger rims and adding rotational inertia and unsprung mass.
I don't have Fuchs, but I just purchased some 14 inch wheels that I am going to put on my 914. I don't have pics of them on the car because I need to refinish them first, but I am going with Falken Azenis RT615K+. 195/60/14
They are performance tires, but that doesn't seem to be an issue based on what you've said. I bought these because they have been around awhile and have pretty decent ratings.....I also like the way the tire looks. Here's a link:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Falken&tireModel=Azenis+RT615K%2B&partnum=96HR4RT615KP&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes
I just took a quick look and there are still some decent options for 14” but a whole lot less than there used to be. Options still range from high mileage all seasons that are going to lack grip to high grip Toyo Proxies for auto crossing that will sand blast your rocker panels because they pick up so much road debris.
Modern cars have moved to clown size wheels and tires. That may be great for 2 1/2 ton lead sleds that needed big brakes and have plenty of HP and torque courtesy of modern powerplants. However, large wheels and tires just sap acceleration and drive up spring rates, and damping which degrade ride quality.
I’ve long been a fan of 14” and 15” wheels which seem to me to be the sweet spot for 914s. I think you are wise to stay with the 14” Fuchs - not many of those floating around anymore. Cool original wheels that often got dumped in the rush to American’s bigger is better fixation.
The beauty of a 14 inch Fuchs is that the car was designed around that tire
It has the second best offsets of all of the Porsche wheels for a 914
(Closest offset to a 7R wheel)
So you can fit a slightly wider tire
I have a set with 215/14 tires mounted
That fit under stock fenders
Although I use them for trailer wheels now
To get the ride height needed for loading the car in/out of the trailer
You’ll need to go with a tall profile if you want speedometer accuracy
Or recalibrate the speedometer
I have Riken 185-60-14’s on my car.
Don’t know if they still make them..
Used them on an early 911 mostly.
This tire is under inflated and the ride height
is wrong so this may not be a good picture to compare..??
I have these on an Alfa and can confirm that they are an excellent tire - they are also just about the right OD for your 914:
https://lucasclassictires.com/185-70VR14-PIRELLI-CINTURATO-CN36-1857014Pir.htm
Maybe it was obvious to others, but I was fishing for the aspect ratio of the side wall for the original tires. Thanks to the table from @http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=2526 and a https://www.calculator.net/tire-size-calculator.html?ctw=185&car=80&cws=14&cc=y&cnws=14&ctype=1&x=40&y=6 factoring in the wheel size, I think the closest modern day equivalent is:
185/80R14.
This lands you at: Tire Height: 25.66'' (652 mm)
Anyone got that combo they can share a photo of? It is about 1/2" difference in sidewall height from what we have now.
I wonder how wide you can safely go on those rims. It read somewhere that 165 - 195 works?
How unique is the "J" wheel collar (i.e. tire bead) profile? Does that become a special tire choice?
These will get you to 25.6" diameter:
https://www.cokertire.com/tires/185hr14-michelin-mxv-p.html
A couple of recent BAT auctions served up a direct comparison on nearly identical cars.
notice the 80 profile.....
Below is six pages of opinionated opinions on the Pirelli CN36, and some on the Michelin:
https://www.early911sregistry.org/forums/showthread.php?153320-CN36-opinions-I-m-super-disappointed
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