about to need new tires for summer, last year i have the Nitto Neo Gens for my 15" wheels, and absolutely loved them, do they make a 14"?
and what other tires are people stoked about? falkens any good? etc...
(don't need super expencive tires, looking around 90$ a tire)
want great traction, a pretty quite wheel, and a brand with a good reputation.

 

For your '93 hatch your going to need a 185/60-14. Do you need these tires to be able to drive in snow?

 

185 60-14? sounds like a tiny little tire. im a 205-50-14 kind of guy, i like to have some rubber on the road.
im just wondering brand and models, not sized, and i need something for fairly all around but mainly a good street tire.

 

First of all, if 185/60-14 is the correct size for your car (CRX, del Sol, pre-96 Civic), which you didn't bother to list, then 205/50-14 is too small in diameter (205/55-14 would be right though, if they even make tires in that size)..

Second, neither size will change the size of the contact patch. For the same weight, using the same pressure will result in the exact same sized contact patch, regardless of tire size. Same amount of "rubber on the road", as you put it.

Buy tires in the correct size for your car.

 

Also, the performance and grip you get is determined primarily by the design of the make/model of tire, not by the width of the tread. A stickier but narrower tire will give you better traction than a less sticky but wider tire. So if you're looking for performance and grip, you should be concentrating on buying the best, stickiest tires you can find, not the widest tires you can find.

NeoGens are all-season tires, and like all all-seasons, they don't grip all that well in moderate to warm temperatures; they're actually fairly crappy. But they grip okay in snow. That's why people get all-seasons, when they have to use the same tires in snow in the winter as they do in warmer weather the rest of the year. If you don't need to use these tires in snow, either because you don't get snow where you live or because you have other tires or another vehicle for winter condtiions, you'll get MUCH better performance by getting summer tires rather than all-seasons. This explains why the poster above asked you whether you need to use these tires in snow.

NeoGens don't come in 14" sizes. If you need to use these tires in snow, then the best all-season tire for your car is the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position, which comes in the 185/60-14 size you need for your car ($77/tire at the Tire Rack). If you DON'T need to use these tires in snow, then you'll get better performance with a summer tire; the Yokohama ES100 is a very good summer tire and comes in the 185/60-14 size you need for your car ($79/tire at the Tire Rack).

If you want bigger tires than that, you should either get bigger wheels (your car can use 195/50-15 tires on 15" wheels, or 205/40-16 tires on 16" wheels), or a car that uses bigger tires. On 14" wheels, your car needs 185/60-14 tires.

 

I have the Falken Azenis RT 615 195/60/14 and love them. Was skeptical about them at first because people were saying the old azenis didn't do good in wet situations. No problems yet, hope this helps.

 

195/60-14 is a bit big for a CRX. It probably won't rub, but it will throw off the speedometer/odometer, and it will make your acceleration slower (like getting taller gears).

The Azenis is a very sticky tire, but it's not great in rain and it doesn't last all that long (10-12K miles is typical treadlife). It's a good choice if you autocross and/or track your car and have to use the same tires on the street. Just for daily driving, you're probably better off with a longer-lasting tire like the ES100 or RE960AS.