Wants the biggest size tire that i can put on 2003 14" factory aluminum rim? Stock size is p185-70-14 and I do not plan on lowering the car or changing springs.
Anyone with real experience on this? What about a p205-70-14? i'm sure a p195-70-14 would fit.

 

You need to put the proper size tires on your car. You're talking about putting on tires whose diameter is larger than stock. Why? It will only create problems - they might rub on your fenders, they will make your car accelerate slower, and they will throw off your speedometer and odometer.

If you follow the approach outlined in the FAQ topic stickied at the top of this forum, we can help advise you on the best tires for your needs:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Forum Rules and FAQ - READ BEFORE POSTING &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"><FONT SIZE="4">Tires FAQ</FONT>


What size tires should I get?

The proper size depends on your car, not just the wheels you are using. <FONT SIZE="4">So if you want to ask what size you should get, let us know what kind of car you have (year, model, body style, version)!</FONT>

For a CRX, del sol, or pre-'96 Civic, the following sizes are usually best:

13" - 175/70-13
14" - 185/60-14, 195/55-14
15" - 195/50-15
16" - 205/40-16, 195/45-16

For an Integra or '97-00 Civic, the following sizes are usually best:

14" - 185/65-14, 195/60-14
15" - 195/55/15, 205/50-15
16" - 205/45-16, 215/45-16
17" - 205/40/17

.
.
.

Which tires should I get?

This depends on what you're looking to get out of the tire. If you're still not sure what to get after reading the above information , make a new topic and tell us what you intend to use it for. In that topic, <FONT SIZE="4">make sure to answer the following questions:

- What kind of car you have (year, model, version)
- What size wheels you have
- How the tires will be used (daily driving, autocross/track/dragstrip)
- What kind of weather the tires will be used in (dry, rain, snow)
- What your preferences is in the trade-off between value (low purchase price and/or long treadlife) vs performance</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

Answer these questions, and we can recommend tires that best meet your needs.

 

I am pretty sure you are talking about a newer civic like a 2003 or newer???
If you were to go any bigger like a 195/70r14 you gain nothing in handling or all season traction or in grip. What are you looking for?? If it is better handling than you should be looking to upgrade your wheel and tire diameter!!!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vtecsi00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am pretty sure you are talking about a newer civic like a 2003 or newer???</TD></TR></TABLE>

That depends. The description of the rim and stock size sound like a 2003 Civic. But he could be using them on a different car with a different stock size tire.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vtecsi00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you were to go any bigger like a 195/70r14 you gain nothing in handling or all season traction or in grip.</TD></TR></TABLE>



<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vtecsi00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If it is better handling than you should be looking to upgrade your wheel and tire diameter!!!!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Actually, if you're looking for better handling and performance, you should get better, stickier tires. The type of tire (make and model) is a much bigger determinant of performance than the wheel size.

Again, tell us what kind of car this is on, and how you plan to use it - the questions bolded from the FAQ - and we can suggest a tire appropriate to your needs.

 

2003 Civic with stock springs with a neuspeed rear sway bar. Plans are for a bigger front sway bar. Strictly street car, not racing or lowering car

By increasing the size of the tire you increase the footprint on the road. Bigger footprint better handling on dry road(opposite for snow, narrow better) Some of the people that provide answers in this forum obviously don't know what they're talking about.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rick hybrid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">By increasing the size of the tire you increase the footprint on the road.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Absolutely NOT true.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rick hybrid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Some of the people that provide answers in this forum obviously don't know what they're talking about.</TD></TR></TABLE>

And you're one of them.

If you have a car that weighs 2800 pounds, and you inflate all the tires to 28 pounds per square inch, the footprint - in the industry, the area of the tires that comes into contact with the road is called the "contact patch" - is going to total 100 square inches. And that's going to be true regardless of whether you have tires that have a narrower 185 mm treadwidth, or a wider 235 mm treadwidth.

Of course, maybe you think you can divide 2800 by 28 and get a number other than 100. If so, I'd love to see your math.

Oh, if you'd like another reference on this, read this article.

If you're really interested in better grip and performance, concentrate on buying better, stickier tires, rather than wider tires. Differences between makes/models of tires are nearly always much greater than differences in treadwidth; IOW, a grippier, narrower tire will give you better performance than a wider, less grippy tire.

You're really limited in tire selection in 14" sizes. If you need to use the same tires all year round, in snow and winter cold as well as hot weather in the summer, you need all-season tires, and there isn't a single one of the top all-season tires that comes in a 14" size to fit your car. Furthermore, all-season tires are a compromise - the greater flexibility in their operating temperatures means they don't perform as well in winter as winter tires, and they don't perform as well the rest of the year as summer tires. So the best you can do is get all-season tires that just aren't going to be all that great, and this is going to be true regardless of whether you mount your 14" wheels with tires that are 185/70-14, 195/65-14, or 205/60-14. The best choice of those all-seasons IMHO is either the BFGoodrich Traction T/A H or the Yokohama AVID H4S in 195/65-14. But all-seasons are a compromise, and these aren't even the best all-seasons around, either, just the best ones available in this size.

If you're really intent on getting a higher level of performance out of your car, your best bet is to use your 14" wheels for winter (or, at a minimum, all-season) tires during the winter, and get a separate set of 16x6.5 or 17x7 wheels for the rest of the year, with some high-performance summer tires for them. There are lots of good summer tires in those larger sizes for your car (205/50-16 for 16", or 205/45-17 for 17"). Personally, I think your car would look nice with 16" rims, and in 205/50-16, you could get good "bang for the buck" summer tires like the Avon Tech M500 ($86/tire at the Tire Rack) or Kumho SPT ($87); if you were willing to spend more for really great tires, the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 is on sale right now for $119 and it's awesome.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rick hybrid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">comment demonstrating gross ignorance, since deleted by moderators</TD></TR></TABLE>

So someone goes out of his way and takes his time to give you some really good advice and you say this to him?

This is why I barely go on honda-tech anymore.