I'm looking at buying a '98 LS, and one thing that bothers me a little is that it still has the 14" wheels, as opposed to the 15s on the GS and the newer LS models. As someone who's basically a novice at this, I have a couple questions...

First, will I really notice a lot of difference in handling in going from 14s to 15s? Some people seem to think there's a decline in gas mileage, but from what I can tell that doesn't seem to be a big factor.

Second, just what is involved in switching to 15s? Are we talking major bucks or is it pretty straightforward?

Thanks, guys. I know these are newbie questions but as I said I don't know a lot about this aspect of a car's performance.

 

if you switched to 15s, the only costs would be, new tires, mounting and balancing. Tha'ts it. There should not be a gas mileage difference between 14s and 15s. And you could probably pick up a set of stock 15s with tires for around 400, depending on which one.

 

Im not really sure about the overall diameter on the 14" tire, but my guess is honda sized the OD of both the 14 and 15" tires to be the same. I doubt you'll notice increased handling unless you get better tires on the 15" wheels. Swapping them is just buying new wheels/tires (probably 250-400 for OEMs....and if you look long/hard enough you'll find a set with good tires for the same price) and replacing the old ones with them by taking off the 4 lugs and switching tires (with the car jacked up ofcourse).

 

Thanks. Here's another possibility... I've heard nothing but good things about the Dunlop 195/55 R-14s. I can put those on without changing the wheels, yes? As I understand it, the major effect would be a slight (maybe 3%?) inaccuracy on the speedometer at the upper end due to the change in diameter. Would these tires provide some of the same benefits in handling and cornering that switching to a larger wheel size would?

 

Honestly, i think youre getting too technical for 14's and 15's. The only reason i can see for being that technical about it is if youre using drag tires and in this case youre using regular street tires. As for choosing between the 2 sizes for street. Pick whichever you like. If you like the 15's that come stock on the other models, buy some and slap on some good tires. The better increases in performance will come from the compound/manufacturer you chose and width of the rim. More width, better footprint. Just be sure your car has the power to move it. If youre driving on whatever tires and youre worried about performance, youre driving like you shouldnt be for tires that wont perform.. do the job maybe, but not perform. I had some 14" dunlops on my stock steel rims before and they felt pretty good driving around for the most part. Hope this helped.