Like alot of owners here, my car ride suspension is quite hard and jarring. What do you expect with 40 year old bushings and shocks and struts that need to be replaced. The front had also been lowered via torsion bar I think.

My tires are also in need of replacement. I think I still have the original 165/15s.

I will eventually get to replace all of these, but just wondering if I will feel at least some difference with newer tires?

I plan to buy 195/60r15s.

The Front Suspension is not lowered with New Bars, there is an adjustment

If you are riding on Original 40 Year Old Tires, you are Insane!

Well they were probably replaced at one point, but definitely needs to be replaced because people have told me.

There are huge differences in the way new tires feel. My car came with Pirelli P6000 195-65-15 tires. They were a stiff ride, but razor cornering. My tires got slashed, so I bought Bridgestone RE960AS 195-65-15. Those things felt like marshmallows. I couldn't stand them. Sold them on Craigslist. Now I have Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 195-55-15 (no longer available). These things stick. Ride is softer and turning less razor then the Pirelli. Speedo is off about 5mph. Better off the line, but higher engine revs on the freeway. The Goodyear Eagle GT might be worth a try.

I was actually looking at Dunlop Signature II tires. Maybe these replaced the Direzzas. At this point, I don't really care for cornering and sticking but more comfort. I am old!

Cmon anyone here with a shitty suspension who felt a difference after replacing their old old tires.

Yes!

I bought a 914 a couple of year ago that had the crazy old Michelin XZX 165/15's. I replaced them with 195/60 Goodyear Eagle GTs. Both the ride (smoothness) and handling were greatly improved.

FYI, I saw your car when it was still at Garret's and thought it was really great.

Thx for your input. Since then the car has been transplanted with a 2.0 and a banana exhaust.

Typically tires starting getting hard and losing grip after a few years. Really old tires also suffer from dry rot.

New tires as mentioned above vary in ride and grip. Tire Rack is great place to shop to read their tests and customer reviews to get an idea about characteristics of a particular tire.

i had some old tires on my car when i bought it, then went to a lower profile wider tire(195/55 15), along with brand new bilistien sports shocks and new springs , ride became very firm, almost hard. I just got my new tires on my 14" fuchs which are 195/65- 14"s , a taller tire that should give a bit softer ride i am hoping. overall size is about 1/2" more diameter, but tire itself is about an inch taller than the /55 15's so i'm sure it will give good performace but a better ride comfort. let us know what you choose, -

Yes, new tires will make a huge difference.

Then, raise the car up a bit for the potholes, and get it aligned and corner balanced...

Then you will smile.

I just bought a set of Goodyear Eagle GT 195/60//15's for my Pedrini Alloys. So far they feel great! I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for the best all-around performance and comfort.
Cheers!
Chris

We run 205/50-15 Falken Azenis rt-615k tires on Betty's car. Handling is great, and the ride is acceptable. Of course, I have replaced the shocks and springs, corner balanced the car, and made sure all the bushings are good.

Honestly, they only last about a year (less on the rears with her lead foot), but they are not expensive tires either.

Makes a great autocrosser like this.

I prefer 60 series tires because 50series will shift the gearing to a less pleasant place. Everything goes up. So cruising on the freeway your RPM will go up with smaller tires.

60s don't have this problem as much. The original tires were something around 85.

So swap 5th out for a taller gear. Or use 16 inch rims and tires.

225/50/16 is the same rolling diameter as a 165SR15 that was stock on a 914.

I had 205/50/16 on my car until I stupidly bought 205/40/16s to replace them. 5th gear turned really sucky. 3000rpm at 60mph. Keeps the engine cool though.

Pic?

The signature II is not even close to the Direzza Z1 Star Spec. Read the product descriptions on TireRack. They are very helpful.

This may help because I've been looking too.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php

I'm running 205/65 15's. Stated to be same height as stock. Only a slight bit of rubbing at full lock. Rears are fine.

I don't AX, just cruise...

Just bought 205/55/16s. I like them much better than the 205/50/16s I had been running.

Thanks for sharing this link!

Your welcome. I thinks it's better than the pinned thread at the top of the forum.

I'm leaning toward a 205/60r15 but a 195/65 would work too in keeping the gearing the same. Deciding on a specific brand and model is next. Please post what you decide on and why when you figure it all out.

"Kaduku" Please share your final option on what brand of tire. I'm also in the stage of looking for 195x60x15 tires for a fuchs wheels. On the picture below, I tried installing the fuchs wheels with damaged/old 195x60 and it fit so well and looks it can fit 205 also on a narrow body.



Click to view attachment

Hey Marty, are your 16" wheels 6" or 7" wide? Also, which brand tires are you running? I have some 16x7 Fuchs I'll be running when the 5 lug conversion is completed. This is on a narrow bodied car. I figure the rear fenders will need to be rolled and possibly pulled out a bit but I'm trying to figure out which tires to get. It's a street car. Currently, I have 195/60/15's and they do throw the speedo off between 5-10 mph and the car revs a little higher than normal as well.

205x60x15 and 195x65x15 both work well on a stock bodied car with 2.0 Fuchs.

185X65X15 on 7" Cookie Cutters. Speedo is dead on by GPS. Ride is fine.

16x6 Fuchs with Michelin Pilot Sport AS/3 (Y speed rated) narrow body car.
No rubbing lock to lock in the front (lowered, with typical spacers under steering rack). About .25 to .38" fender clearance in the rear. (140lb springs, 1.5 degree negative camber).