NA wheels - 14\" vs 15\"

[Steve Tinker]

Need some advice from you suspension gurus...
My NA Roadster runs standard daisy style 14\" wheels with 185/60 x 14 Japanese Firestone tyres which are due for replacement.
My quandry is, is it worth buying 15\" wheels (its just for road use), or spending the wheel money on better quality 14\" tyres to put on my existing wheels?
What advantage will the 15\" wheels give me considering its a slightly wider footprint, but with the disadvantage of a higher wheel weight and a lower profile (read harsher ride) tyre? The Ohlins shocks I've fitted are firm enough without going harder again.

[JBT]

If you get NB wheels, you'll get wider wheels at the correct offset at the same weight. 195/50 15 (NB8A) tyres are the ones fitted. The ride is better IMHO than with the 185/60 14........and the grip is just

They look bluddy great on an NA too.

[kitkat]

im running 195/60/14 yoko C-drives and the grip is just amazing!!!
the grip level of the tires seems to be never ending. i have absolutley no trouble keeping up with the $60k \"hot hatches\".

if there is more grip to be gained from going to 15s(which im sure there is) im gonna be absolutely stunned.


basically what im saying is tyre selection is crucial... there are some great rubbers out there and reasonable cost. I pay $135 for the c-drives

[StanTheMan]

I'm with JBT......15 inch is great. Most tyre choice available. good choice of sticky rubber avail in 15\"

[Steve Tinker]

JBT / STM - so what you are recommending is that I spend (say) $500-$600 on 15\" wheels plus a further $150 each on \"average\" tyres (total $1100) and these should perform better than my 14\" wheels with (say) premium $800 Mitchelin tyres?
Steve

[kitkat]

average 15's will not out perform quality 14's.

[StanTheMan]

JBT / STM - so what you are recommending is that I spend (say) $500-$600 on 15" wheels plus a further $150 each on "average" tyres (total $1100) and these should perform better than my 14" wheels with (say) premium $800 Mitchelin tyres?
Steve

what I'm suggesting is that you have far bigger choice of qualety tyres in 15".....Money never made it into my thought. I'm on the verge of spending $300 a tyre. Only cause i want to keep the current 16" WHEELS
If it means I may have to go back to 15"......well.....thats the price you pay for wanting performance.

I'm also of the opinion that a good qualety tyre in the 15inch size will leave the same qualety tyre for dead in the 14 inch size.

All comes down to your own needs or requirments. If you are going to be happy with a C drive....& stuggle with money....or have other prioreties.....stick with your 14's. (No respect lost)

If you want performance.......its going to cost unfortunantly.

[JBT]

JBT / STM - so what you are recommending is that I spend (say) $500-$600 on 15" wheels plus a further $150 each on "average" tyres (total $1100) and these should perform better than my 14" wheels with (say) premium $800 Mitchelin tyres?
Steve

I don't recall recommending anything of the sort. I simply recommended getting 15" NB8A wheels for various reasons and appropriate sized tyres -195/50.

I had 185/60 Yoki A539s on my OEM 14" wheels. The Yokis cr@pped all over the Firestones on the car when I bought it. I subsequently bought 15" NB wheels which came off a late model NB auto (thus the satin finish) and which had OEM Bridgestone Turanzas fitted. The car rides less harshly and has loads more grip with this setup than with the 14" 60 series A539s.

50 series tyres should theoretically be grippier than the same thing in 60 series. You'll also get extra width of tyre (195 vs 185) on the road with the 15"x6"wheels.

Recommendation: Get 15" NB wheels and get the best tyres you can afford.

Suggestions: Yoki C Drives will be around $170 and Mitchi Preceda 2 will be about $190.

[Steve Tinker]

Thanks everyone - guess I'll be saving up for a bit longer for the 15\" wheels and decent tyre combo.....