215/60 or 225/60 on 14x7

[Peter260]

thanks for the shots. 225 looks ppretty smart. I am noticing its a little bit chubby at the back in the third shot.

question is do i want a the ' 14's on fats' look.

cheers.

[240ZGL]

205/60-14 and 215/60-14 is too small of a diameter, looks weird. 225/60-14 is closer to the 25" stock diameter but the steering is going to be heavy on the front end. I'm running 205/60-15 on 7" fronts and 225/55-15 on 8" rear on a lowered strut and spring suspention. The ride is harsh in part to the size of the tires, the wider the tire the harsher the ride. I do rub a bit in the rear when I bottom out. I'm going back to stock height with 14x6 slots and I'm looking at 195/70-14 because of the right size overall diameter. Ride should be good and steering will be a bit lighter. 225/60-14 is close to stock diameter but the steering is going to be heavy like an old truck. I like the way my car looks and the handling is just plain insane but I sure hate the ride and I drive it most of the week.

[LeonV]

205/60-14 and 215/60-14 is too small of a diameter, looks weird. 225/60-14 is closer to the 25" stock diameter but the steering is going to be heavy on the front end. I'm running 205/60-15 on 7" fronts and 225/55-15 on 8" rear on a lowered strut and spring suspention. The ride is harsh in part to the size of the tires, the wider the tire the harsher the ride. I do rub a bit in the rear when I bottom out. I'm going back to stock height with 14x6 slots and I'm looking at 195/70-14 because of the right size overall diameter. Ride should be good and steering will be a bit lighter. 225/60-14 is close to stock diameter but the steering is going to be heavy like an old truck. I like the way my car looks and the handling is just plain insane but I sure hate the ride and I drive it most of the week.

I had no trouble with my steering running a 225/60-14 up front, when compared to 205mm or 195mm wide tires. It's not going to make your steering "heavy like an old truck".

A harsh ride, when attributed to tires, would be mostly due to the sidewall height/stiffness (not width) of the tires. With regard to street tires, a 70 series will be softer than a 60 series, which is softer than a 50 series, etc. Yes, 195/70-14 will make it ride better, but corner worse due to more sidewall flex.

I do rub a bit in the rear when I bottom out.

This is the reason for your harsh ride, you're bottoming out your suspension! At that point, your ride will be harsh no matter what tires you use. If you don't like the ride and are bottoming out, it's time to do something about your suspension.

[240ZGL]

Wrong, the width of a tire will matter in ride quality, putting wider tires on the front end will make it heavier, and I said when I bottom out they rub, If it's lowered it's going to bottom, that is if you drive the damm thing. I'm not running around scaping bottom all day. With 50 yrs behind me working on cars I think I know how to work on and setup suspension, not my first Z. Standard tire on the car was a 175SR14 that's what the car was designed for adding 4+ inches to the track will make the steering heavy, sorry but that how cars with no power steering react when you throw on wider and heavier tires, go figure. I never said he would have trouble I said streering will get heavy.

[LeonV]

With 50 yrs behind me working on cars I think I know...

Oh boy, if I had a penny for every time I heard those words...

Could you then please explain how tire width affects ride quality? Could you show any testing to prove so?

Wrong, the width of a tire will matter in ride quality, putting wider tires on the front end will make it heavier, and I said when I bottom out they rub, If it's lowered it's going to bottom, that is if you drive the damm thing

You really think that a lowered car should bottom out? That is exactly what you're saying. When your suspension bottoms out, your spring rate becomes that of your chassis (gets very stiff, very fast). This creates a harsh ride. This is what you said earlier:

The ride is harsh in part to the size of the tires, the wider the tire the harsher the ride. I do rub a bit in the rear when I bottom out.

If you bottom out, your ride will be harsh, no matter what. If you have shocks with too much compression damping, your ride will be harsh. If you've lowered your car enough to leave only and inch or two of bump travel, then you will be bottoming out a lot. Changing tire width will absolutely not help this. Changing sidewall height will make the ride softer, at the expense of handling (repeating myself here).

Standard tire on the car was a 175SR14 that's what the car was designed for adding 4+ inches to the track will make the steering heavy, sorry but that how cars with no power steering react when you throw on wider and heavier tires, go figure. I never said he would have trouble I said streering will get heavy.

If you don't mean to imply that he's going to have trouble, then why mention it at all?

Also, where are you getting this extra 4+ inches of track? Track width stays exactly the same, given that you're using wheels with the same offset and just changing tires.

You can say that the steering will get heavier, but it sure won't "be heavy like an old truck" unless your old truck's steering felt like a Z-car's. Going to 225mm wide tires is not going to make the huge difference that you make it out to be. The effect is minor, especially considering that the OP is choosing between a 215 and 225...

The steering will be noticeably heavier if your new tires are "stickier" than the old ones (as is often the case when upgrading to a larger tire).

I know you want to start an argument, but I'm just clearing up the facts for the OP so that he can make a wise decision. Pete, your steering effort and ride will be largely unchanged since your keeping sidewall height close to equal (staying with 14" wheels). Your decision to not go with staggered sizes is a good one with regard to handling, and if you're running the stock front valence then I think anything wider than a 205 is going to start getting close. A 215 should fit up front, but see if the tire shop can put on one tire to test fit and turn the steering through its range of motion. You should do this with the suspension compressed as well, but the initial test should give you a rough idea.

[Peter260]

thanks all for your replys;

i will be running a front spoiler so there should be room there for 215;

In terms of ride/handling i wouldnt go to 70 series; 50 series is really only on 15" wheels and bigger leaving me with 60 series the lowest series on 14s i could go to and try and get close to maintaining rolling diameter.

I am aware that the sidewall of a 215/60 is around 0.7cm*2 = 1.4cm less than the original 195/70.

(simply by multiplying 0.60*215 compared to 0.70*195)

But i am going down by 3.0cm in lowering height so i am guessing this will negate out any issues around gap.

I hope its low enough.

[240ZGL]

I've seen your car, I'm not going to bother with this fight you seem to want. Have a nice day Mr mechanic

[logr]

You might look at the speed rating when deciding how you want your car to ride. The lower it is, the nicer the ride. RS3's and Star Specs ride like an A6 which you can drive on with NO air in. The stiff sidewall is great for handling but not so great for a nice Sunday afternoon cruise with your sweetie. Width is only one of the factors on hitting in the front, height is the another. A shorter tire with more width will not be as likely to hit. Keeping the tire all the way inboard (offset) will also help to not hit the valance.

It has been my experience that lowering springs usually bottom out unless you do something to prevent it. Shortening the struts is a good way to stop that.

Hope that helps with your decision and doesn't just confuse you more. Sometimes I think my head will explode with all the decisions about how I want my Z.

Good Luck, logr

[Peter260]

head = so explodie right now.

but all good information.

[73str86]

These tire and rim discussions are always so lively and...confusing to say the least. :ogre:

I'm glad someone tried to restate the bottom line facts for the OP. It helped me too. Thanks.

I have BF Goodrich T/As on my '56 Bel Air, and I love them. 245/60-15s in rear and 225s in front.

I was tempted to pick up the T/As for my Datsun 240z as well. The market for 14" tires right now is horrible.

After calling about 8 big box and local tire dealers, their stock was unimpressive. Only 70mm sidewalls, 175-195 width...and all no name brands.

After scouring about 20 websites, I now have the latest Falken Ziex ZE-912 28921452 - 195/60R14s headed to my house in 4 days for $292 with tax and shipping. They are an all season performance tire rated to 65,000 miles.

I'm curious what the OP will choose. I went with the 195s because I like the idea of a little less weight to drive with. My car doesn't currently have much power over stock besides a header, balance tube and emissions gutted, and N36/3 screw set-up. I will be putting an air dam on as well.

My next set will be a summer performance tire, with 215/50-15s in the front and 225/50-15s in the rear, along with nice superlite DOT rims.

[tlorber]

Last night I saw a guy I know putting new Dunlop 195 60 14's on his Miata. I forget the model, but they were a sticky street tire that he is using for autcross. He said they were about $100.00 each. For me that would be kind of pricey for a daily driver set, but he bought a separate set of wheels for them just for autocrossing.

[zeenubee]

Not sure right thread,  but this is where search led me....I have a 78' 280z that has been more or less sitting in the garage for 17 yrs.  Just got it running again.  It has an older set nice panasport wheels with really nice looking BFG Eurosport 255/55 R 15 on them.  No dry rot at all but some flat spotting.  Vibration at 55 +.  I cannot find this same size.  Suggestion?  What 15" are you using?