mrmustang Posted June 10 Posted June 10 Currently have 185/70/14's on my 03 SV, factory manual states 185/60/14's are optimal. Not much available in a street tire for either size, wondering whether I should switch back to the 60 series to bring the car back in to factory spec. The question I guess I have is whether dropping the sidewall height is worth it for the more accurate speedometer and perhaps a little more clearance for the front cycle fenders. What say you?
MoBoost Posted June 10 Posted June 10 Consider 195/60-14 size for which there are some 200 tread wear rated tires. Or switch to 13” wheels. tire dia. (in) tire circum. (ft) tire revs/mile 195/60-14 23.21 6.08 869 185/70-13 23.20 6.07 869 185/65-14 23.47 6.14 859 185/60-14 22.74 5.95 887
MV8 Posted June 10 Posted June 10 (edited) Aspect ratio alters tread width to fit the same general rim width range, so a 185 60 is wider than a 70. It is also lighter for better grip over rougher surfaces, increases rear wheel torque through gearing multiplication, and lowers the chassis for better handling. In this case, the differences are small but they are all in the right direction if you have adequate ground clearance. Edited June 10 by MV8
mrmustang Posted June 10 Author Posted June 10 (edited) 49 minutes ago, MV8 said: Aspect ratio alters tread width to fit the same general rim width range, so a 185 60 is wider than a 70. It is also lighter for better grip over rougher surfaces, increases rear wheel torque through gearing multiplication, and lowers the chassis for better handling. In this case, the differences are small but they are all in the right direction if you have adequate ground clearance. When delivered to the 1st owner in the UK it wore 185/60/14's , somewhere along the line these got swapped for 185/70/14's. Could it be during or after the owners honeymoon trip to Australia (24/9/03) mileage 5,369 and (27/10/03) mileage 10,694, or after the car was imported to the US by the same owner in January of 2005. Or perhaps his central to west coast, then east coast, then back to central US journey after the 202hp Zetec was installed by him in 2005. I've attempted to contact the original owner but have come up empty with this attempts. Current tires are Pirelli, but they are aging out, which is why I started this thread. Right now I'm looking at the Michelin Pilot Exalto in a 185/60R14 (currently on national back order) or General AltiMAX RT45 in the same 185/60/R14 size (in stock) Should be more than plenty for the car. Thought about a R888, but I do have a tendency to drive my cars all year round, and in all sorts of weather. Bill Edited June 10 by mrmustang spelling
Dave W Posted June 11 Posted June 11 Check out the Dunlop Direzza ZIII in the 185-60-14 size. They have a 200 tread wear rating and are available at your local Discount Tire/Tire Rack. I'm very pleased with the handling, but have not used them in rainy weather.
mrmustang Posted June 11 Author Posted June 11 1 hour ago, Dave W said: Check out the Dunlop Direzza ZIII in the 185-60-14 size. They have a 200 tread wear rating and are available at your local Discount Tire/Tire Rack. I'm very pleased with the handling, but have not used them in rainy weather. If I was tracking the car as well as driving on the street, that might work, yet, I drive in sub freezing temps, yeah, I'm "that guy".
mrmustang Posted June 11 Author Posted June 11 Anyone else care to chime in with a brand/model of tire in the 185/60/R14 size that they have experience with?
Slonie Posted June 11 Posted June 11 I haven't driven any Azenis past the original one (RT215s?) but this is what I'm looking at when I get a second set of wheels in 14"... Price is right too, although I guess it's a closeout price (at Tire Rack) 1
Slonie Posted June 11 Posted June 11 R888Rs (what I actually run on my 13" wheels for lack of any other options) also come in that size but they're nearly $200 each
MV8 Posted June 11 Posted June 11 Eco Waterfall in 185-60-14 is about $50 each. Could be carried out to your installer. I have my own equipment.
mrmustang Posted June 11 Author Posted June 11 1 hour ago, MV8 said: Eco Waterfall in 185-60-14 is about $50 each. Could be carried out to your installer. I have my own equipment. Never heard of them
mrmustang Posted July 1 Author Posted July 1 Been a few weeks, the Caterham was put on the back burner (actually all the cars were), but after careful consideration, I replaced the eight plus year old Pirelli 185/70/14's with Falken Sincera SN250 A/S tire in the Caterham suggested 185/60/14 size. Sure not as aggressive as the R888, (still "H" rated up to 130mph )but also safer for all year round driving, and especially in the rain, which has been known to pop up with little notice in my neck of the woods. Had the car out for a test spin earlier today (11:30am, already 87 degrees). Car feels sure footed with no clearance issues, even at full lock. Bill 2
Anthem Posted July 1 Posted July 1 12 hours ago, mrmustang said: Sure not as aggressive as the R888, (still "H" rated up to 130mph )but also safer for all year round driving, and especially in the rain, which has been known to pop up with little notice in my neck of the woods. Had the car out for a test spin earlier today (11:30am, already 87 degrees). Car feels sure footed with no clearance issues, even at full lock. Bill Do they make you miss the splatter of road debris sounds against the body work and tossing small stones into the cockpit? UnderSeat Treasures: 2
mrmustang Posted July 1 Author Posted July 1 1 hour ago, Anthem said: Do they make you miss the splatter of road debris sounds against the body work and tossing small stones into the cockpit? UnderSeat Treasures: They still pick up road debris, but not as much as the Pirelli tires did. Nothing in the cockpit so far, but I only drove about 18 miles on my test loop. Bill
wdb Posted July 2 Posted July 2 12 hours ago, Anthem said: Do they make you miss the splatter of road debris sounds against the body work and tossing small stones into the cockpit? UnderSeat Treasures: My crappy ancient Kumho all seasons will do that too 😀
Anthem Posted July 2 Posted July 2 11 hours ago, wdb said: My crappy ancient Kumho all seasons will do that too 😀 FYI my Caterham has Clamshell fenders. For me the trajectory of the debris are at low speed 25mph when warming the drivetrain while in my subdivision trying not to disturb thy neighbors, luckily always wearing sunglasses (eye protection) in the Caterham. The Avon's ZT7's that came on the car didn't do much of anything as they were old and hard, now running the 195/60-14 RT660's 200 treadwear that's when the showers started. I have other cars with 180 and 260 treadwears but body designs impede the showers, before the Caterham last time I got showered was riding my mountain bike in muddy conditions
IamScotticus Posted July 3 Posted July 3 If you have a spare tyre carrier, the mount bung will be fixed at the center height of the specified tyre and wheel
mrmustang Posted July 3 Author Posted July 3 9 minutes ago, IamScotticus said: If you have a spare tyre carrier, the mount bung will be fixed at the center height of the specified tyre and wheel I'll let the picture speak for itself
theDreamer Posted July 3 Posted July 3 51 minutes ago, IamScotticus said: If you have a spare tyre carrier, the mount bung will be fixed at the center height of the specified tyre and wheel I do not believe that is the case. My car came with two different spare tire brackets. One has a single arm and therefore only uses a single lug nut. That is what is on my car now with the OEM 16” HPC wheels. It is still in the body shop, DON’T ASK, so I cannot take a photo of it. But the second bracket is like mrmustang’s photo with two arms for two lug nuts. It’s shown in the circle with other parts that came with my car. I cannot see Caterham making up four different drill jigs for four different wheel diameters (let alone consider different sidewall heights) so the spare tire will sit nicely on spare tire frame. It would make more sense to have one hole set for halfway between the center of the 14” and 15” rim sizes with a bracket that would work for those sizes. Then have an adaptable bracket for the other rim sizes. I know this is plausible because I have seen a Caterham 1700 Sprint which was shipped with Revolution wheels, I assume 14” when first ordered. Later the original owner had James Whiting make a number of changes. One was to modify the mounting bolt and the accessories (I assume the bracket) to fit 16” HPC wheels. See the final line items at a cost of 30 GBP on the work sheet. 1
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