Hey all, just have a couple questions in deciding my wheel/tire purchase..

First, 15x7 or 15x6.5? Pro's & Con's of the different width's?

Tire Suggestions?

Looking for tires that are going to be seeing maybe 1 or 2 autocross days, grip in dry/rain, and has good treadlife (i drive around 3000 miles in about 2 months).

Pricing around 75/tire ? Also, which size to use? Research has said 195/50/15.. true?

These are all going on a 95 DX Hatch btw.

Thanks!!!

 

First, choose the diameter wheel - you've done that, 15".

Then, choose the tire size that is the best for your car. As you note, that's 195/50-15.

Then, decide on the best tire in that size. As long as you don't mind paying a little more for higher-performance tires, I recommend the Goodyear F1 GS-D3. It's an outstanding tire, Goodyear's top of the line. Excellent dry traction, excellent wet traction, and lasts a long time (25-40K miles). In 195/50-15, they're $93/tire at the Tire Rack, which is more than you mentioned, but you'll appreciate the extra performance at the autocross. If you don't want to pay that much, a good choice in a lower price range is the Kumho SPT, $51/tire, but it may be hard to find; another decent choice is the Yokohama ES100, $56/tire.

Finally, look at the approved rim width range for the tire size and model you have chosen. For all of these tires in 195/50-15, it's 5.5-7.0 inches. I would NOT get 15x7 wheels, because those are at the top end of the range of approved rim widths. That means they will look silly, "stretched" onto the rims. I recommend getting either 15x6 or 15x6.5.

 

Is it bad to increase the tire size, say to 205/50 ?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CTR-GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is it bad to increase the tire size, say to 205/50 ?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It will throw off the accuracy of the speedometer and odometer, and it will make your car accelerate slower. It probably won't rub on the fenders or wheel wells, but it might. If these tires were strictly for track/autocross use, I would say go for it, but not for street use.

If you're looking for performance, remember that you'll nearly always get better performance by getting better, stickier tires (like the F1 GS-D3), rather than wider tires.

Is there a particular reason you're asking about 205/50-15?

 

Well, I was set on getting Weds Sports and they only came in 15x7, so I was thinking to compensate for the 7in width by using 205 tires. I've seen the "stretch look" before and didn't really like it.

I guess it's off to finding a 15x6.5/6 rim.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CTR-GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I guess it's off to finding a 15x6.5/6 rim.</TD></TR></TABLE>



There are lots of used 15x6 Integra GS-R wheels for sale at reasonable prices, as well as aftermarket wheels in those sizes.

 

Thanks a lot for your help so far!

I might have more questions on tires later on..

 

Feel free to ask.

 

Well tirerack doesn't carry the SPTs in 195/50-15 anymore so I was wondering which of the following would you guys recommend to get...

g-Force Sport
RE750
DZ101
ZRi
Exclaim UHP
ES100

not looking for pros cons of each but, maybe a ranking best to worst and best bang for the buck?

Thanks!!

 

Here's how I would rank them, best to worst, and will also show Tire Rack prices. I'm going to add the Goodyear because it's much better than any of these, and not THAT much more expensive:

1. Goodyear F1 GS-D3 $93
2. Bridgestone Potenza RE750 $79
3. Yokohama ES100 $55
4. Dunlop Direzza DZ101 $47.50 after rebate
5. Fuzion ZRi $57
6. BFG g-Force Sport $74
7. General Exclaim UHP $55

It's up to you to decide whether it's worth it to pay more for more performance, or not. If you are, I would get the Goodyear; otherwise, the Yokohama or the Dunlop.

Also note that there are other retailers you could check (in addition to our Tire Rack sponsor), and some places offer free shipping. And the Dunlop rebate is good at any dealer; you can get a rebate form from the Dunlop website.

 

Noticed that you're in the chicago area, do you know of any good dealers around here? Or maybe up north in Lake County?

 

Dunno if I really wanna spend almost 100 on a tire.. gotta budget.

I found some SPTs @ tires-easy.com but there's two different ones:

ECSTA SPT KU31 195/50 R15 82H BSW
ECSTA SPT KU31 195/50 R15 82V

Both are listed @ $53.50 each.

Is the only difference the speed rating? and what does BSW mean?

 

bumpity

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CTR-GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Noticed that you're in the chicago area, do you know of any good dealers around here? Or maybe up north in Lake County? </TD></TR></TABLE>

I get most of my tires shipped from the usual places. For track tires, and certain brands of high-performance street tires, I occasionally use Frisby, in Gurnee. If I lived closer to there, that's where I would take all my tires for mounting/balancing, too.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CTR-GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I found some SPTs @ tires-easy.com but there's two different ones:

ECSTA SPT KU31 195/50 R15 82H BSW
ECSTA SPT KU31 195/50 R15 82V

Both are listed @ $53.50 each.

Is the only difference the speed rating?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CTR-GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what does BSW mean?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Black sidewall. But - as you can see from Kumho's spec sheet for the SPT - all the SPT tires have a black sidewall.

 

Thanks for your help!