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> Yet another tire question, 195-55-15
Robnxious
post Sep 10 2017, 02:41 PM
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Yes, I know they will fit on a narrow body, that's not my question. My question is, if you have gone to the lower profile tire, how did you like it? How much does this lower the car as well, since I already scrap coming out the driveway, and just now went and bought one of those Bridjit curb ramps. I plan on also adding Mark's fiberglass airdam on it too. So basically my questions are

1) I know you get better handling due to less tire sway, but how is the ride compared to a higher profile tire? I have never driven on low profiles, and think they would look and perform nicely, but haven't heard (or remember reading) about people who have the lower profile tires. I think the 195s are the biggest I can fit in there from what I have seen, and I sort of like the narrow body look.

2) Will they make the car so low that clearance is a major issue? Does no good to lower the go kart down further if I can't get over one of Sacramento's MANY speed bumps

Thanks
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arne
post Sep 10 2017, 02:52 PM
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Overall diameter of a 195/55 is about 23.4", compared to stock sizes at 25.0". This means you will lower your effective ride height by about half of the difference, so call it 3/4" or so lower if you now have a stockish size on the car. It will be significant if you already have clearance issues.

Ride will generally be harsher, but how much harsher will be dependent on the particular tire make and model you select.
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mepstein
post Sep 10 2017, 03:12 PM
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205x60 fit most cars with 2.0 Fuchs so there's no reason you shouldn't be able to do 205x55 if you can find them. Might also look a little better than 195x55. It may be just me, I'm not a fan of low pro tires on our cars. I think the "look" is off and the suspension wasn't designed for it. Even with larger profile tires, our cars handle great.
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Robnxious
post Sep 10 2017, 03:26 PM
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QUOTE(mepstein @ Sep 10 2017, 02:12 PM) *

205x60 fit most cars with 2.0 Fuchs so there's no reason you shouldn't be able to do 205x55 if you can find them. Might also look a little better than 195x55. It may be just me, I'm not a fan of low pro tires on our cars. I think the "look" is off and the suspension wasn't designed for it. Even with larger profile tires, our cars handle great.


I have the Dan Gurney Western Wheels on it right now. I agree that the Fuchs don't look great with the lower profiles, but I think these would. I am on the lookout for a set of 2.0 Fuchs, but haven't found any at a price I like yet. I want to go with a wider and lower profile tire, and figured I would pick people's brains on this. Thanks for answering
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Robnxious
post Sep 10 2017, 03:29 PM
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QUOTE(arne @ Sep 10 2017, 01:52 PM) *

Overall diameter of a 195/55 is about 23.4", compared to stock sizes at 25.0". This means you will lower your effective ride height by about half of the, so call it 3/4" or so lower if you now have a stockish size on the car. It will be significant if you already have clearance issues.

Ride will generally be harsher, but how much harsher will be dependent on the particular tire make and model you select.


Thanks, I plan on using a good performance tire, probably about a 300 or 400 in what ever that scale is called for stickiness. I've only had issues with clearance getting out of my driveway, and am hoping that this Bridjit ramp will take care or that, though I won't be putting the tires on until I see how much more clearance I have with that.
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Mark Henry
post Sep 10 2017, 03:46 PM
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I think the low profile tires on a 15" wheel looks like crap on a 914.

It needs the 24.5-25" stock diameter to fill the wheel well correctly, plus it keeps the speedo correct.
IMHO If you want low profile tires do it the right way with bigger rims, on 15" rims it just looks like you cheeped out.

15" my picks 185/70, 195/65, 205/60
16" and 17" I'd use a tire calculator and keep the tire OD about stock.


Note there's an exception to my opinion but for AX only.
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arne
post Sep 10 2017, 03:46 PM
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QUOTE(mepstein @ Sep 10 2017, 02:12 PM) *
It may be just me, I'm not a fan of low pro tires on our cars. I think the "look" is off and the suspension wasn't designed for it. Even with larger profile tires, our cars handle great.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

It's not just you, Mark. I agree about both the look and the suspension bit. These cars were built for tall sidewall tires, and the limited benefits the low profile tires offer bring numerous compromises with them for street use.
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arne
post Sep 10 2017, 03:55 PM
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QUOTE(Robnxious @ Sep 10 2017, 02:26 PM) *
I agree that the Fuchs don't look great with the lower profiles, but I think these would.
My complaint on low profile looks has nothing to do with the wheels, and everything to do with proportions. The small sidewalls open up a larger fender gap when used on a 15" wheel, makes the car look jacked up even if it has been lowered. This is still an issue optically even if low profile tires are done the way the tire makers intended, by using low profile tires on larger 16" or 17" wheels to maintain stock overall diameter. To me, these cars need to have tall sidewalls to look right.
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Robnxious
post Sep 10 2017, 05:00 PM
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All right, I will yield to more learned minds than my own. Thank you for the advice gentlemen, I wasn't too sure on doing it, which is why I asked. I have heard the 195-65-15 tire, but was thinking how it would look with even less sidewall. I just really don't like all that sidewall, not sure how to explain why, I think the stance looks so much better with the lower wider tires.

Thanks again for your input!
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Coondog
post Sep 10 2017, 06:36 PM
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Here's what my 205-55-15 tire look like
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steuspeed
post Sep 10 2017, 06:36 PM
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I am running Dunlop Direzza Star Spec 195-55-15 tire (no longer available). It made a noticeable difference in ride height. Getting in and out is a bit more difficult. The front fender fill looks good, but the back has some gap on the front and back of the wheel opening. The speedo is off. Hole shot acceleration is better, but more shifting and higher rpm cruising at speed is the con. I have the LE spoiler too, but not installed. I'm worried it will scrape when I pull in my driveway as well. I had 195-65-15 Pirelli P6000 tires before. They actually had a stiffer ride than the lower profile Dunlops.

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GeorgeRud
post Sep 10 2017, 06:58 PM
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I'm running Michelin Exalto 195-65/15s on my 15" Fuchs and think they look appropriate on the car. So far, I've been satisfied with them for the ride and performance, but I don't race or autocross anymore.
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Dave_Darling
post Sep 10 2017, 11:53 PM
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I used to run 195/50-15s. I liked them at the time. Eventually, I liked them less.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/forums.pelicanparts.com-121-1505109211.1.jpg)


I had originally used 195/60-15 in the same make and model, and found several differences when I went to 50-series tires:
- Lower gearing for better acceleration out of corners
- Stiffer sidewalls resulting in (slightly) more grip
- Better feedback from the tires

- Harder ride due to shorter sidewalls
- Freeway speeds required ~500 RPM more
- On a few autoX courses I had to shift up to 3rd and back, costing me some time

When I went to 50-series tires, I was finally able to feel the car well enough to catch a slide before it evolved into a spin. I had never done that on the 60-series tires.

Eventually, having to run higher RPMs on the freeway did get to me. The type of tires I wanted to run were also becoming harder to find in 195/50, so I wound up going with 205/60-15s.

--DD
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BK911
post Sep 11 2017, 06:27 AM
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195.60.15
I like them.

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DRPHIL914
post Sep 11 2017, 08:41 AM
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ive run 4 diifferent rims and tire set ups on my car-
- in summary, the 14" 5 lug fuchs from a 914-6 were a taller tire an so ride was much softer - you can see them on my car in the August 914 calendar for this year, i was running them at Okteenerfest on tail of the dragon couple years ago- nice classic look and a comortable ride if you have lots of bumps- i assume a stock 15" fuch with standard height tires or like a 195/60 or so should be similar.
-my current set up is 16" fuchs from a 911-6" front and 7" rear, 205/55-16
really these are stock size for a 911 but i should have 205/50 - 205/45 would be pretty harsh id bet- i like the feel right now, fairly firm and super awesome grip with the Bridgestone Poteza tires once warmed up very sticky! with 8.5" tread on rear( this is the actual width of tread on ground with a 7"rim) its more focused toward performace than ride comfort- I also like the look- the tires and wheels fill up the fenders with out looking jacked up and no rubbing- i have 5/8" spacers on front to push them out a bit and it looks way better than the 14" or 15 with low profile that looked so small inside those fenders -
i saw all the same issues that Dave listed with positive and negatives
good luck with your Journery
Phil
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DRPHIL914
post Sep 11 2017, 08:50 AM
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current look front


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Racer
post Sep 11 2017, 03:41 PM
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imho, a 195/60-15 is the right tire for a -4. Ran them in the early 1990s when sticky tires and 60 series still worked together. Good balance of grip and ride comfort, as well as ground clearance. improved acceleration to boot.

I tried a 195-50 and hated the gearing impact when on the highway. Revs were way too high.

I always thought a 205-60 was too bulbous.

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Olympic 914
post Sep 12 2017, 07:50 AM
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QUOTE(Robnxious @ Sep 10 2017, 05:26 PM) *


I have the Dan Gurney Western Wheels on it right now. I agree that the Fuchs don't look great with the lower profiles, but I think these would. I am on the lookout for a set of 2.0 Fuchs, but haven't found any at a price I like yet. I want to go with a wider and lower profile tire, and figured I would pick people's brains on this. Thanks for answering


Be careful with the Dan Gurney wheels. I think most had the VW bug offset and run pretty close to the inner fender lip in the rear even with 185s

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JamesM
post Sep 12 2017, 03:33 PM
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Are you running on stock rims? I think anything over 185 width looks silly on stock rims, the tire just balloons out to much. Its less noticeable with shorter sidewalls but then you run into the issue of not filling out the wheel well. Also going with a tire treadwidth larger than the rim width can adversely affect handling. My choice for stick rims is either 185/70 if you can get it but tire selections sucks in that size or 185/65 isnt horrible and slightly more common.

If you want to run a wider tire get a wider rim. There are 15x7 and 16x7 4 bolt rims available that will let you run a 205 width without looking ridiculous.
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HansJan
post Sep 12 2017, 08:39 PM
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205/40/16 is the size on my tires.
The overall diameter is about 22 1/2". The result is that I'm running somewhere around 3,200 rpm just cruising on the highway.
That's not right.

And (of course) my speedo is way-off.

Can't wait to wear them out, so I can justify getting taller tires.

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