Tyre sizes - help!

[rt172]

Possibly a dumb question, but can wheels that have 185/55/15 tyres fitted have 195/50/15 put on instead?

Rhys

 

[big hp]

In a word...........Yes.

Scott

 

[rt172]

Nice one,

Cheers,

Rhys

 

[BRUN]

Rhys it will mean your speedo will be ever so slightly out, when it says 60 it will be 59

other than that no problems at all

 

[paddymph]

I never knew you could do that either so u cant be that thick???

Paddy

 

[big hp]

185 or 195 part = width

55 or 50 part = denotes the profile of the tyre

15 = the wheel size

Scott

 

[steve_rt]

ok heres another question concerning wheel sizes:

what size tyres can go on 15s which will equal the size of standard wheels+tyres? i am anxious not to muck up the geometry of the car and the speedo!

cheers,

steve

 

[alnug]

In a word if you want spot on speedo measurements you stick with the stock tyre sizes. Although spot on speedo measurements can mean anything since there is about a 10% (if not more) error in the reading anyway!

Lets take the example of 185/55 15 and 195/50 15. What you want to do is work out the rolling diameter.

185/55: thickness of tyre = 185*0.55=101.75mm

multiply by 2 since there are two bits of tyre along the diameter = 203.5mm

then add the 15 inches for the alloy (convert inches to mm first!) = 203.5 +(15*25.4)=584mm

doing the same for195/50 gives 576mm which is slightly smaller but it is only 8mm! which is only 1.4%, specified limits lie within 4%???

In a way a slightly smaller rolling radius is good because you are going sssslllliigggghhhttyyyy slower than what your speedo reads! which is always good!

Hope this helps

 

[steve_rt]

yeah i did some maths today and worked out id have about an extra 2inches of diameter, which i worked out would be ok! so the speedo dont change drastically thhen, thats good news!

I think im gonna get a set of team dynamic mirages on 15s with 195/45 rubber - dunno if you guys know this rim but someone told me the 5-spokes were old and "unfashionable" now!!! what do u guys reckon?

 

[Daz]

Just a quick question - What size wheels are on the 1.4 S (Mk1, Phase3) as standard? Anyone know?
My Speedo is originally from one of them (I got it so I could have a rev counter)..

Daz.

 

[woots]

I read in a mag that a mate brought back from America that they give a tyre a rounder profile to give a more progressive characteristic by fitting tyres wider than the rim is meant to have.They had an evo 6 with the same tyres front and rear but narrower rear rims to give a more progressive tail out slide under power. I had some Eagle F1s put on and they couldnt get a seal with 185/55/15s so they used 195/50/15s instead. Seem okay but the car feels less neutral/understeers more than it used to. Could be paranoia though.

 

[steve_rt]

daz - ive got a mk1 phase 2 and have 13s on with 165/65 rubber, reckon the phase 3 must be the same?

 

[R3OBC]

the new dynamiques have 185/55 R15........but the wheels are only about 5.5 or 6 inch wide.............wouldnt a 195 be off-the-rim too much???? anyone with any ideas????????

 

[steve_rt]

or what about these?

http://www.elite-design.co.uk/kosei_sniper.htmlhttp://www.elite-design.co.uk/kosei_sniper.html

cheers for any opinions!

 

[Daz]

Steve, yours is an RT though, right?

I have a feeling the S had 14" wheels for some reason.

Daz.

 

[steve_rt]

yeah good point, just checked in the haynes "bible" and cant find any detilas - uver to someone else then!

 

[Daz]

Page 0.18 of the Haynes say tyre pressues, they must be 185/55/14s on the S... or 165/60/14... the 185/55/14s look more likely.

Thanks,

Daz.

 

[Leanne]

I have a clio maxim 1.4S and I run 15s on a 195/45 profile tyre

 

[Ben H]

The rolling radius of standard 16v/Williams wheels are greater than non-wide arch original Clios.

Many Clio 16v owners like myself and Mat Brown have 195/50/15s on our cars. The 16v originally came with 185/55/15 profile tyres.

It doesnt matter about the speedo issue - by the time youre doing what you think is 60 on standard wheels, itll be more like 62-64. Speedos always over-read a bit. Hence why any car youve ever taken to top speed is a bit better than the book says!!!!

The 195/50/15 tyres will give a little more grip, a little less comfort, slightly better acceleration and minutely lower top speed. A winning package in my eyes!

 

[steve_rt]

cheers ben im goin to elite racing in essex on fri to investigate (no, prob will get some then, damn these moddin urges !)! do you have a pic of what the rubber looks like on your motor? sorry if this sounds really picky, just probably too interested in the whole alloy thing!

 

[steve_rt]

scrub that, just seen them on the brands pics. i wanted something a bit thinner tho-but im gonna have to go up to 16s to get that aint i?! b*****d alloys, so damn expensive!

 

[Daz]

I have 195/50/15s on my Mk1, Phase3 Clio (None-16v).

Daz.

 

[Rick]

Steve, Ive got 195/45/15 tyres on my RT. The wheels are Team Dynamics Tornados and they suit the car really well. I can post a pic on here if you want to see what they look like on the car.

Rick

p.s I dont think those Koseis would look good as 15s IMO.

 

[Nick Read]

Yeah its pretty much been all said on here. In my experience, the wider you go (and lower profile), the less progressive your handling will be on the limit. A more balloon like tyre will keep gripping for longer and be more controllable but when it goes it really goes. A rubber band type tyre is the opposite, kind of all or nothing grip, snatchy you might say; once it slides thats it, its gone, but it seems the sliding is more controllable than on a balloon tyre. Just my impressions, I may be mistaken.

 

[steve_rt]

rick - yeah i would really like to see what they look like if u can get a pic on! wanna see how "snug" they look! Also, why dont you think they would look very good? are they wheels made for bigger sizes?



Nick - thatnks for your comments, v-.interesting; wil prob go for the 195/45/15s so as to get a decent compromise!



FINALLY: do you (rick, or anyone else!) reckon then that for smaller rims, in general they look better with designs that have more spokes? (team dyn. tornados) than, say, the team dyn. mirages (5-spoke)?

 

[Ben H]

I had multispoke 15s on my old 1.2, then 5-spoke 16s. Although the 16s werent much bigger, they looked a LOT bigger than the 15s. So I find that in fact that multispoke wheels make wheels look smaller - simple designs with spkes that go right to the rim look bigger.

 

[steve_rt]

yeah thts what i thought - im gonna go and lopok tomorrow anyway and will prob make my mind up then!

 

[Rick]

The reason I said those Koseis wouldnt look good in a smaller size is because the spokes stop so far from the outer edge of the rim. If youve got wheels (5 spokes, multispokes or whatever!) where the spokes go out to the rim then they will look bigger.

At the end of the day the choice of which wheel you buy should be made on what YOU perceive to look good and one that will suit your car.

Sorry about the big pic, I didnt want to reduce it too much. Mines lowered about 35-40mm, Im thinking about getting some -55mm springs after christmas.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/billhemsley/clio.jpg

Rick

 

[steve_rt]

cheers rick, i see what youre saying now - nice rims by the way!

i dont know if i will get to elite tomorrow now, my car is in the hands of some cretins at a garage (see my other post re the cambelt!) and may not get it back in time!