ADVICE ON TIRE CHOICE, stock drive train 74, 1.8 ltr. Options

[pnewman]

Hey guy's any preferred tires for my stock (drive train) 74, 1.8 ltr.

Pirelli's? (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/dry.gif)
sizing?
Mostly city/ some hwy.

thanks as always
Pete

[SirAndy]

195/50 if you're the sporty kinda guy

195/60 if you want some more comfort and you do a lot of highway driving

205/50 falken azenis if you want to try out AX some time ...

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif) Andy

[rhodyguy]

depends on the type of wheels you have, size wise.

k

[red914]

i put 195/60 kumhos on my '72 1.7. great ride, great handling. haven't ever autoxed, but for driving around and ripping up on and off ramps, they were a great deal. got 'em at discount tire.

[grantsfo]

I ran 195/60/15 on my stock 74 1.8. Falken Ziex 512 in 195/60/15 are a deal at $39 ea at www.edgeracing.com

[MecGen]

Hey
I run 195/60/15, awsome tire combo for my 74. Just got some others, 205/50/15, gonna try it this spring....after the snow.....
WBR
Joe

[Brando]

I think my next tyres will be these:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...romCompare1=yes

for 15x5's... that's 195/60/HR15 right? I forget how those measurements go... Any suggestions for a 'spirited driver'?

[Joe Ricard]

I've got mis matched street tires. all on Mahles. Yoko EVS100 fronts 195/50-15 Bad ass tire. super quick turn in. they came on the stripper so what the hell.
Rears are 195/60-15 Goodyear gt+4 Suck plain and simple! 400 tread wear and wimpy side wall. But they are in good shape so I will use them. I can still out drive most things on the street but my limit is much lower than with say my Autocross tires.
205/50-15 Kumho V700 R spec on Fuchs. Probably could get traction on the ceiling with these.

I have had 195/60-15 Dunlop D60 front and 205/60-15 rear on EMPI's Very cushy ride but suck for anything else. Heavy / hard couldn't keep them balanced wouldn't stick to fly paper.

[Dave_Darling]

195/65-15 is also a good size. Keeps the gearing close to stock, softens the ride a little over the sizes with shorter sidewalls.

I'm going to try the Yoko ES100 for my next street tires.

195/50-15s have short sidewalls; lots of feedback from them and good grip and excellent response. Plus lower gearing for quicker acceleration. But you have to shift more often, and you wind up running pretty high revs on the freeway to keep up with traffic (e.g., 4000 RPM). And the ride is definitely more harsh than with taller sidewalls.

--DD

[MarkG]

QUOTE (grantsfo @ Feb 17 2005, 06:33 PM)

I ran 195/60/15 on my stock 74 1.8. Falken Ziex 512 in 195/60/15 are a deal at $39 ea at www.edgeracing.com

I just had those put on mine (only there weren't $39 at Sears...oh well).

How do you like them? Never had chance to drive my car since it went straight to the shop after tire install (and there is sits 4 weeks later STILL trying to meet Colorado Springs emissions.....).

[Rhodes71/914]

QUOTE (grantsfo @ Feb 17 2005, 06:33 PM)

I ran 195/60/15 on my stock 74 1.8. Falken Ziex 512 in 195/60/15 are a deal at $39 ea at www.edgeracing.com

After reading this and checking the tires out at the edgeracing site I had my local tire guy see what his best deal was on them. He sold them to me for $58 a tire, with mount and balance. That $39 a tire turns into $53 after you add shipping. I like to support the local guy anyway.

WOW, what a difference tires make. I had used crap on there before so anything would have been better but I have been pushing the car had on the corners since I put them on and I am impressed.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif)

[ChrisFix]

Does anyone here use OEM sized tires 165-15s, and if so, how does the car ride and handle? I'm trying to decide between going the vintage OEM route and something more modern (probably 195-65-15s). This is for 4-bolt Fuchs (5.5 X 15) on a '74 1.8 stocker.

Thanks for input.

[mike_the_man]

I've got some 165 Pirellis on my 74 2.0L. I haven't had much chance to push it too hard yet, but I have had the back end slide out a bit on a corner. I'm planning on moving to 195 or 205s this spring. I see no point in putting skinny tires on a 914. Handling is what they do, and a wider, stickier tire will help with that. The more grip the better!

[ChrisFix]

Yeah, I know the wider tires will way outperform the OEM specs, but I wonder if it is fun to drive it like it was built. I know a lot of people spend a lot of time and money to improve upon the original, but I'm looking for feedback on what it's like to drive in 1974. After all, it can be fun to hang the tail out!

[Gary]

QUOTE (ChrisFix @ Mar 11 2005, 02:29 PM)

Yeah, I know the wider tires will way outperform the OEM specs, but I wonder if it is fun to drive it like it was built. I know a lot of people spend a lot of time and money to improve upon the original, but I'm looking for feedback on what it's like to drive in 1974. After all, it can be fun to hang the tail out!

IMHO, it's decidedly dicey to drive on 165's. Mine with a 1.8L and a stock swaybar would wiggle like a fish on spirited driving through S curves. It responded fine to appropriate throttle and steering input, but polar moment of inertia is so short that you have to react pretty quickly to keep the front end pointed frontwards... Switching to 205's helped a lot. On 205's all around I couldn't make things interesting on anything close to sane street speeds.