mk1 15" tyre size help

[funkamedic]

hey dudes

so my 15x6" steelies are painted and ready for some rubber, only prob is deciding which tyre size.

My car is currently on King springs, so is not mega low and i think having a tyre with a too low a profile (giving a diameter less than stock) might look weird...

Having said that i don't want no commodore tyres!

Wouldn't mind a bit of stretch, and keeping the wheel+tyre diameter close to what it should be.

I have spoken to a few tyres shops etc, and the best I have been able to find is 195/50/15 which is pretty much bang on daimeter wise, but i was hoping for something narrower. I have asked around for 175/50/15, although apparently these are not easy to find.

anyone got any suggestions?

[gldgti]

i dont think you'll have a lot of choice. 195/50 is fairly common, anything else is getting rarer for small 15" tyres.

i have a set of 15x6 steelies too sitting here, but i'm thinking i might cut them up and put the inners inside some 7" commodore barrells

[Jarred]

165/50, toyo and nankang do them,. that'll be the only tyre that'll give a little bit of 'stetch'

or 185/45 if you want a bit of a wider foot print. (nankang)

There might be some more manufacturors that do those sizes too, but i know for a fact about the ones that i mentioned, cause i've seen them in real life!

dont go 195/50, that'll be ballon and look bad. imo.

[funkamedic]

thanks dudes!

they sound like decent options Jarred, although both of them will decrease the rolling diameter by about 5%. that's all cool, but i'm worried that'll look silly when my car is just on lowered springs and wheels aren't tucked...

maybe not though... any ideas where to find them?

[gldgti]

165/50, toyo and nankang do them,. that'll be the only tyre that'll give a little bit of 'stetch'

or 185/45 if you want a bit of a wider foot print. (nankang)

There might be some more manufacturors that do those sizes too, but i know for a fact about the ones that i mentioned, cause i've seen them in real life!

dont go 195/50, that'll be ballon and look bad. imo.

if you get a 195/50 with a gutter protect strip it wont look like its ballooning too much

just found that you can get ecocontact EP (great tyres, have them on my mk1 - very good in the wet) in 15" and they do
145/65R15 72 T 190 355 4.0 - 5.0 577
175/55R15 77 T 190 412 5.0 - 6.0 581
195/50R15 T 190 585

thats: size - sidewall - load rating - max speed - load capacity - rim width - overall rolling diameter.

[funkamedic]

if you get a 195/50 with a gutter protect strip it wont look like its ballooning too much

just found that you can get ecocontact EP (great tyres, have them on my mk1 - very good in the wet) in 15" and they do
145/65R15 72 T 190 355 4.0 - 5.0 577
175/55R15 77 T 190 412 5.0 - 6.0 581
195/50R15 T 190 585

thats: size - sidewall - load rating - max speed - load capacity - rim width - overall rolling diameter.

cheers gldgti!! those 175 ecocontacts sounds like a good option. now i just need to find out where i can get em from. were yours expensive? thanks again.

[Jarred]

the 165/50 is still the same profile as the 195/50, so from side on, it should look pretty similar.(height wise) although it will actually be slightly less side wall cause of the tiny bit of stretch.

i agree the 185/45 would possibly look bad if you're not tucking, or close too. (ie, now wheel arch - tyre gap.)

http://www.tyrestretch.com/6_165_50_R15/

this isn't a 195/50, but it's close, should give you a slightly rough idea..

http://www.tyrestretch.com/6_186_55_R14/

EDIT: tyre stretch and "look" is all very dependant on the make of the tyres themselves too btw. pronounced rim protectors will give the illusion of stretch on a fatter tyre.

[gldgti]

the 165/50 is still the same profile as the 195/50, so from side on, it should look pretty similar.(height wise) although it will actually be slightly less side wall cause of the tiny bit of stretch.

i'm not sure if you might have the wrong end of the stick there bloke.

165/50 has a 50%x165mm (or 82.5)mm sidewall. 195/50 has a 97.5mm sidewall.

thus, the rolling diameters are quite different, even though the ratio of tread width to sidewall height is the same (50%).

you could say that the 165/50 is a "smaller" tyre than the 195/50. it will look different though. i went from 205/45 to 195/45 on my mk3, and you definately notice both the reduction in diamter, and that the car looks higher. HTH

[gldgti]

cheers gldgti!! those 175 ecocontacts sounds like a good option. now i just need to find out where i can get em from. were yours expensive? thanks again.

i have a nice little backstreet tyre place i go to, and i got mine (185/55/14) for $90 each.

i really cant rave enough about them. for a light car, i'd class them in high performance, despite the "ecocontact" branding.

[Jarred]

i'm not sure if you might have the wrong end of the stick there bloke.

165/50 has a 50%x165mm (or 82.5)mm sidewall. 195/50 has a 97.5mm sidewall.

thus, the rolling diameters are quite different, even though the ratio of tread width to sidewall height is the same (50%).

you could say that the 165/50 is a "smaller" tyre than the 195/50. it will look different though. i went from 205/45 to 195/45 on my mk3, and you definately notice both the reduction in diamter, and that the car looks higher. HTH

97.5 - 82.5 = 15mm. which is 1.5cm.....

1.5 CM! I'm well aware of the difference, but it's so minimal, that' it'd be pretty hard to pick, unless you had the two tyres next to each other!

hence why i said:

the 165/50 is still the same profile as the 195/50, so from side on, it should look pretty similar.(height wise) although it will actually be slightly less side wall cause of the tiny bit of stretch.
....

Hope that clarifies what I had previous written.

[funkamedic]

Thanks again guys. I have sent out a few feelers for some of the tyre and sizes mentioned and will hopefully get a few replies.

if anyone else has any other ideas re sizes or where to source some of the above mentioned options in Bris then let us know! i just wanna get these wheel fitted

cheers
ant

[gldgti]

97.5 - 82.5 = 15mm. which is 1.5cm.....

1.5 CM! I'm well aware of the difference, but it's so minimal, that' it'd be pretty hard to pick, unless you had the two tyres next to each other!

hence why i said:



Hope that clarifies what I had previous written.

well yeah, but over the whole tyre thats 30mm.... thats a lot! trust me, you'll pick it.

[Water Boy]

I run 195/50/15 tyres on 15x6 steelies with a rim protector and they look fine. I using Bridestone Firehawks http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/treads/tz100.aspx

[funkamedic]

I run 195/50/15 tyres on 15x6 steelies with a rim protector and they look fine. I using Bridestone Firehawks http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/treads/tz100.aspx

cool. have you got any pics handy Water Boy??

[abreut]

97.5 - 82.5 = 15mm. which is 1.5cm.....

1.5 CM! I'm well aware of the difference, but it's so minimal, that' it'd be pretty hard to pick, unless you had the two tyres next to each other!

hence why i said:



Hope that clarifies what I had previous written.

You'd be surprised, I noticed a difference when going from 195/50's to 195/55's. That's just under 2cm difference in rolling diameter, approx 10mm of sidewall difference. I noticed that the car didn't feel the same to drive, it didn't accelerate the same. It even looked different, less low profile. I'm sticking with 195/50's from now on.