I was wondering what size tires I could fit to my stock 91 hatch DX steelies? I checked out TireRack.com and they have the stock tire size listed at 155/-13. When I bought the car last summer it came with 175/70 Pirelli's. These tires are downright awful, no sidewall support, but I've stuck w/ them since I had no cash to upgrade, until now. My question is this: What is the best size tire for spirited driving (that will fit on my steel wheels)? The car is basically stock.

Any help you can provide would be appreciated

 

Here are the sizes and brands I found avaliable:
1. Yokohama AO32R 175/60/13 (HR) 215/50/13 (VR)
2. Kumho Ecsta V700 175/60/13 (HR) 205/60/13 (VR) 215/50/13 (VR)
3. Sumitomo HTR 200 195/60/13 (HR) 205/60/13 (HR) 215/50/13 (HR)

 

The Sumi HTR 200 195/60-13 should serve you well in all sorts of weather conditions. If you want a good summer/fair weather tire, I'd try to snag a set of Yok AVSis in 185/60-13 size, before they're gone. Otherwise, the 195 Sumis, are gonna be your best bet. 205's will be too big of an OD, 215s, will prolly rub.


[Modified by crxfanatic, 6:23 PM 3/4/2002]

 

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

That should help in figuring out what range of sizes you can use. The steelies are 5 inches wide so you can't use that wide of a tire. BTW, civic.vtec.net and carpoint.com both list the stock size for a DX as 175/70-13. If you want more width 195/60 is probably the way to go.

The 185/60 yoko's will give some good stick, but they'll make your speedo (and odometer) a tad on the optimistic side.

 

Another option, since you do not oppose using steelies, would be to find some 14 inch steelies. That would give you a larger selection of tires and tire sizes. That would also reduce that sidewall which will help with your "spirited" driving.

 

The best tires you can get for stock 13 inch steelies are Yokohama AVS intermediates. I believe they are 185/60/VR13. But they may have been discontinued. The Tire Rack carries (or maybe used to carry) them. Give them a call.

 

You might try going to a pick-and-pull type of yard and getting some 14 inch rims. I got a set of four 14 inch alloy wheels from a 1986-1989 Integra for $48. And with 14 inch rims, the tire choices are quite a bit better. Steel wheels would be even cheaper.