14x7 appliance wheels - need tires

[joker72z]

I have read almost every thread about tires and wheels but there isn't a clear answer to my question..

Is 195/60/14 too narrow to run on the 14x7 appliance mesh wheel? I've seen a bunch of responses that indicate it may be best to run 205 or 215's but my car has been lowered with a new suspension kit by 1.5 inches all around. It's a 1/74 260Z so I am unsure of rubbing issues. I have 195/70/14's on an old set of mesh wheels but I think they are only 6 inches wide.

A second question is in regard to those appliance wheels...I picked up the Eagle center caps as suggested in another thread but they don't seem to want to fit. Do they need added pressure to snap in or should be relatively easy to "pop" in? I don't want to force them or break them.

Thanks everyone... I enjoy reading the posts and learning as I go along.

Chris

[impulsive]

The 195 will fit, but may look a little stretched. (not vw fad however) I run 205/50/15' F and 205/55/15's R. Without any rubbing. (Low Z) I've had 215/50/15's on there as well. (These had a little bit of rub in the rear under high load corners on the track.) If you listen closely you'll hear it here.

I know you're asking about a 14" in rim. The only 14's I have are 14x6, and I use the 195s.

[kinfish]

I run Falken ZE-502 195/65-14 on my 7" wide appliance aluminum mags bought in early '72. They fit, look and run fine.

I also bought the Eagle caps to replace the original Appliance caps that had rust cancer from ID. None of the four caps were tight. I did have 2 that were slighltly loose to touch and I adjusted the radial fit by wrapping aluminum tape around the OD of the cap. The fix worked since none have ever fallen off.

[Jeff G 78]

I run 195/60R14 Falken RT-615 tires on my LeMons 260Z and they fit and look great. The rims are 6" wide and the car is lowered about two inches. If anything, they would look better on wider rims.

They might look really small on a stock height Z.

[joker72z]

I'm going to have to re-measure the center hole as I tried 3 of the 4 caps and they do not want to snap in. I'll be upset if they sent me the wrong ones...even more if I measured incorrectly. Ron, did yours just slide in or did you have to use some good pressure to snap them in?

As for tires, I was looking at the 195/65/14 - Falken ZE-912's as they seem to be the only decent mid range tire available unless you want to spend big $$. I don't drive my Z much and in Canada we only get maybe 4 months worth of good weather.

[Casey_z]

I had the same problem with the Motorsport center caps

They were a touch to large.

I got a little to rambunctious and one of the tabs snapped and the cap popped right in.

By this time I owned them and snapped a tab off the other three caps and they have been on the wheels for a year.

If you look very carefully where they are up against the wheel it isn't quite round but until now I am the only one who knows.

May or may not work but if you try you own the caps for life!:laugh:

Casey

[joker72z]

Hi Casey,

I'm going to try and massage them into place without breaking any tabs. They weren't that expensive but I hate spending money only to break stuff.

[Casey_z]

Use dish soap as lubricant.

Great for that type of fitting plus it does not affect the parts.

Casey

[rtaylor]

Hi Chris. I also have the Eagle center caps, as does Arne. I have the 14x6 Appliance mags. My center caps just popped in, a little snug. Had no problem with them.

[geezer]

Wonder if setting them in hot water for a bit before installing them would help prevent breaking any tabs? It might give them more flexibility. The dish soap sounds plausible too.

[joker72z]

I'll give both ideas a try when I try them on for size this week end. I just received my roto lugs from Massey in the USA and let me tell you... Sheila was the absolute best person I have ever dealt with. I order the wrong thread pitch (1.5mm) by mistake as I was too excited to read first and she just took ownership of the problem , shipped me the new pieces and even gave me a break on the shipping. I'll get a refund from her when the others arrive back to her but what a GREAT experience overall.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Massey at this point for anything based on her service. Thanks Sheila.

Now...back to those pesky center caps.

[BadDog]

I've run 215/60/14 on my 7" wide wheels, no problems. Firestone firehawks (nla) and now BFG Radial T/A. Yes, I feel I must have raised white letter tires: -)