tire questions

[simon guey]

hi yalls
my name is kendall
I have a stock 1985 sr5
would a 155/80r15 fit? manufacturer list 24.8" diameter
if this works in my car ill be on the look out for 15x5.5 wheels.
(mini cooper has alloy wheel that kinda looks like steel rims that id powder coat white to look a little like oem steel wheels


bfg makes radial ta with white raised letters in that size. (I like the look)
not to interested in sporty handling. my thinking is improved mpg and winter traction.

firestone has a 155/80r14 thats prety close to size I have now.
this is a much more economical option since I have 14" miata rims now
im thinking id go this way but would sure look good with bfg radial t/a and white cooper wheels. (my opinion)

[rer233]

Simon- Welcome to the site! Why such skinny tires? I'm running miata daisys on 3 of my wagons- 185/70 14's on 2 of my 4wd's and 195/70 14's on my fwd (they rub a little on full-lock turns over bumps.) I kinda like 'em.

[rer233]

Ooops- just read the rest of your post- disregard my question.

[simon guey]

rer233,
thanks for the reply.
yes its more a look thing than anything else.
the white letters remind me of muscle car/off road car
the skinny reminds me of baja bugs in the desert.

The size should lower rpm down the highway.
the skinny should be less rolling resistance and more psi on the ground.
the 80 aspect should make smooth ride.

The above are educated guesses to justify the cost of this upgrade.

but the 155/80r14 firestones have max psi air preasure of 44psi

I think that if your car has no lift modifications
the 195/70r14 = 24.75 inch with some rub
the 155/80r15 at 24.8 would rub as well
unless its the wideness of 195 that makes the rub?

heres a picture of a tire 6x14
I wonder if they fit 14 miata daisy rims haha


btw.
i originally joined with user name Kendall
then lost the reset email for the next few accounts.
when I needed to view instructions /pictures etc.
I am sorry I cant remember password and emails.

heres a picture of my car.

[dlb]

great pic of your car. where was that pic taken?

i've never heard of 155/80r15's. i just looked on the tire size calculator i use and they don't list anything in that size. the closest i can find is 175/65r15. even then i think that's pretty uncommon.

something to keep in mind with lowering rpm's with bigger tires: increasing tire size decreases mechanical advantage. it is like using the next gear up when driving. so if you increase your tire size a lot, starting from a stop in first gear will be like starting from a stop in second gear with stock tires. if you do a lot of city driving, this will probably wear your clutch out sooner. it also means having to gear down a lot more in underpowered cars, like these ones.

as for increasing mpg, i've messed around with different tire sizes and haven't found any noticeable difference between different tire sizes. i know that skinny tires absolutely must improve fuel economy but i think that it's so small that it is not measurable in uncontrolled, real world environments, what with all the other various factors affecting tank-to-tank fuel economy (ambient temps, wind, driving style changes from day to day, hills, etc).

all that being said, i still like the idea of what you're going for. if you get them, please post pics of them. i'd love to see what they look like on the car.

[simon guey]

The starting in second and wearing out clutches
make perfect sense.

I think ill go with 155/80r14 firestones
with my miata daisys.

here is link to tires.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/2516430474 ... =82&chn=ps
http://www.walmart.com/ip/BF-Goodrich-R ... 5/33076317

That picture was taken in Ashland Oregon a few years a go.
I live in Portland OR now car still looks that good.
has had many new parts since.
starter
alternator
radiator
and last month water pump and timing belt thanks to the info in this forum. (first time)
took me 3 weekends as I had to borrow tools then order crank pulley thing that I broke removing it.
I had to pass smog with weber conversion (passed with timing around 3btd on second try)

[irowiki]

I can fix your accounts up and merge them together. Let me know.

[simon guey]

irowiki
sure thanks
Id like to have user name Kendall again.

[rer233]

dlb- I think 155/80 15 was the stock size for old air-cooled VW beetles.

[Gottolovem]

$_57.JPG

I love the rims did you paint them yourself?

[RudyCantFail]

What's the offset on those? Does it work with or cars?

[simon guey]

Gottolovethem
I did not paint them I found this image on Ebay some one painted them white just like I want


here is image and description.

1 Single ALY59360 Mini, 15x5.5, 4 Lug, 100mm Bolt Pattern, 45mm Offset, 7 hole painted alloy wheel.

does 45mm offset work with tercel 4wd? had not thought it out that far.

I would also have to put "Toyota" on center cap

yes, rer233
the 155r15 very common with vw bugs,Alfa Romeo, Porsche vintage sport cars etc 50's 60's 70's

[teranfirbt]

The only thing to worry about there is brake caliper to rim clearance, although you can get pretty close (I've seen newer cars/trucks with <1/4" between caliper and rim).
Offset on the CRX rims that I have is 42mm and everything is happy, so shouldn't be an issue there.
One thing to note is that is reduces steering force quite a bit compared to stock rims.

[simon guey]

against my better judgement and advice from some of you guys (or girls?)
I found some 15x5.5 rims on craiglist for 100.00
not my first choice in rims but wasnt gonna wait for ever for a good deal
on my first choice or pay over 100 each on ebay

found that the tire was in portland and had them next day from closest bfg dealer
and cheaper than web prices!


bfg 155/80r15 just had them mounted and have <10 miles on them
so far so good.



have mis matching lugnuts that I gotta fix asap.
have to carry two sockets as they are diferent size.



I tried to whipe the blue off the side walls but gave up as I need soap and scrubby pad gonna wait till it cools off.

have not driven them enough to notice huge differance starts in first gear ok maybe longer to accelerate gonna studdy
milage readings so I have an idea how fast Im going its 8.9% more than 185/60r14
so at a reading of 65 it will be over 70mph (I wont tell my wife when she looks over haha)


one thing is for sure I like the look
hope clutch dont ware too fast.

now I gotta sell some 14s I got laying around now.

[dlb]

i think the tires and wheels both look great, and $100 for those wheels is a great deal.

can i bug you for more pics? i want to see the whole car from further away.