Tires for a '90 Miata
Arye
one size (from 185/60R14 to 195/60R14), to compensate for the slightly
too-slow speedometer, and buy a set of four Sumitomo HTR A/S P01.
My questions:
1. Any wise comments on the increased size?
2. Any wise comments on the Sumitomos, or recommendations for a better
tire choice? I'm looking for a comfortable ride and good thread-ware in
an all-season (including light snow) tire, not performance.
-- Arye.
Chris D'Agnolo
"Arye" <rob...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:i6bvav$rhc$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
Some manufacturers make a P195/55 r14. I'm thinking that the 55 series might
be a closer match to the original circumference but I couldn't say for sure.
Chris
99BBB
Lanny Chambers
"Chris D'Agnolo" <cdag...@windstream.net> wrote:
> Some manufacturers make a P195/55 r14. I'm thinking that the 55 series might
> be a closer match to the original circumference but I couldn't say for sure.
195/55-14 is a bit smaller diameter, and will make the speedometer error
worse. OTOH, if you fix the speedo via larger tires, you'll throw off
the odometer, which must be accurate with stock tires by law, for
warranty reasons.
Personally, I don't really care about any of that. I calculate the
speedo error with mileposts and a stopwatch, and pay little attention to
the odo. Actually, with 205/50-15 my speedo is almost perfect. But every
Miata is a little different.
--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C
peter
not exactly what you are asking but if you are in the northern
hemishere, it is getting to be winter, get some nokian hakka's.
the differnece is amazing in the snow.ice.
peter
donq
> My thinking is to go up one size (from 185/60R14 to 195/60R14), to
> compensate for the slightly too-slow speedometer
Is there a typo here?
I'm no expert but my understanding is that 185 and 195 indicate the
tread width in millimeters. In other words, you are getting a tire that
is about 2/5 of an inch wider. This may provide slightly better grip in
cornering, everything else being equal. (Tread pattern, compound
hardness, tire pressure, slip angles...)
But since they are both 60 profile I think the diameter will be exactly
the same, hence the speedo/odo will not be affected.
cheers
Don
Arye
60 indicates the ratio of diameter to width, so it goes up proportionally.
But there WAS a typo there: I was looking for good thread-wear, not good
thread-ware...
Thanks!
Alan Baker
Ummmm... ...no.
The "60" indicates that the section height of the tire is 60% of the
section width of the tire (the "185" or "195" in the size; which is not
tread width, BTW), and both of these figures are nominal and not
necessarily completely precise.
So a 185/60R14 tire is (nominally!) 185mm wide at its widest point (the
tread is narrower and (nominally!) 2 * (185 * .6)/25.4 + 14 = 22.74"
tall.
--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>
Alan Baker
Arye <rob...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 9/15/2010 3:16 AM, Don Q wrote:
> > On 2010-09-09 20:50:12 -0400, Arye <rob...@gmail.com> said:
> >
> >> My thinking is to go up one size (from 185/60R14 to 195/60R14), to
> >> compensate for the slightly too-slow speedometer
> >
> > Is there a typo here?
> >
> > I'm no expert but my understanding is that 185 and 195 indicate the
> > tread width in millimeters. In other words, you are getting a tire that
> > is about 2/5 of an inch wider. This may provide slightly better grip in
> > cornering, everything else being equal. (Tread pattern, compound
> > hardness, tire pressure, slip angles...)
> >
> > But since they are both 60 profile I think the diameter will be exactly
> > the same, hence the speedo/odo will not be affected.
> >
> > cheers
> >
> > Don
> >
> It's true that that 185 and 195 indicate the tread width. However, the
> 60 indicates the ratio of diameter to width, so it goes up proportionally.
1. 185 and 195 indicate the *section* width, no the tread width.
2. The 60 indicates the ratio of the section height to section width as
a percentage
>
> But there WAS a typo there: I was looking for good thread-wear, not good
> thread-ware...
>
> Thanks!
--
Lanny Chambers
> But there WAS a typo there: I was looking for good thread-wear, not good
> thread-ware...
[...must...sit...on...hands...]
Tim M.
> In article <i6qhnn$43...@news.eternal-september.org>,
>
> Arye <robb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > But there WAS a typo there: I was looking for good thread-wear, not good
> > thread-ware...
>
> [...must...sit...on...hands...]
I was just tinking te same ting....
Tim M.
> In article <4c9072d0$0$13655$c3e8...@news.astraweb.com>, Don Q wrote:
> > On 2010-09-09 20:50:12 -0400, Arye <robb...@gmail.com> said:
>
> > > My thinking is to go up one size (from 185/60R14 to 195/60R14), to
> > > compensate for the slightly too-slow speedometer
>
> > Is there a typo here?
>
> > I'm no expert but my understanding is that 185 and 195 indicate the
> > tread width in millimeters. In other words, you are getting a tire that
> > is about 2/5 of an inch wider. This may provide slightly better grip in
> > cornering, everything else being equal. (Tread pattern, compound
> > hardness, tire pressure, slip angles...)
>
> > But since they are both 60 profile I think the diameter will be exactly
> > the same, hence the speedo/odo will not be affected.
>
> Ummmm... ...no.
>
> The "60" indicates that the section height of the tire is 60% of the
> section width of the tire (the "185" or "195" in the size; which is not
> tread width, BTW), and both of these figures are nominal and not
> necessarily completely precise.
>
> So a 185/60R14 tire is (nominally!) 185mm wide at its widest point (the
> tread is narrower and (nominally!) 2 * (185 * .6)/25.4 + 14 = 22.74"
> tall.
In fact, there is a great variance from manufacturer to manufacturer
and from tire model to tire model. On the company "Tire Rack"'s site,
you can compare the specifications of tires, and see that some tires
two full metric sizes apart (typically 20mm, or about 4/5's of an
inch) will have the same tread width, and the smaller section width
tire may even have greater tread width in some rare instances.
Alan Baker
<c96d7594-2304-4c19...@k13g2000vbq.googlegroups.com>,
"Tim M." <tomorrowe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Yup. But all other things being equal, the narrower section width will
typically have the narrower tread.
Lanny Chambers
<9d2de5b6-5897-45a4...@n7g2000vbo.googlegroups.com>,
"Tim M." <tomorrowe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > > But there WAS a typo there: I was looking for good thread-wear, not good
> > > thread-ware...
> >
> > [...must...sit...on...hands...]
>
> I was just tinking te same ting....
Ask nicely, and you might get your aitches back. :)
donq
> It's true that that 185 and 195 indicate the tread width. However, the
> 60 indicates the ratio of diameter to width, so it goes up
> proportionally.
Strictly speaking you are correct of course.
However, 60% of 185 versus 60% of 195?
Without going into heavy (for me) math, I will speculate that the
difference in diameter will come to about 2%. If I'm going 51 and my
speedometer is showing 50, I can certainly live with that margin of
error.
cheers
Grant Edwards
> On 2010-09-15 09:29:30 -0400, Arye <rob...@gmail.com> said:
>
>> It's true that that 185 and 195 indicate the tread width. However, the
>> 60 indicates the ratio of diameter to width, so it goes up
>> proportionally.
>
> Strictly speaking you are correct of course.
> However, 60% of 185 versus 60% of 195?
(195-185)/195 = 5%
> Without going into heavy (for me) math, I will speculate that the
> difference in diameter will come to about 2%. If I'm going 51 and my
> speedometer is showing 50, I can certainly live with that margin of
> error.
Using stock tire sizes, my speedo is off by 8-10% at freeway speeds,
so a 2% correction is hardly worth considering. A 5% correction is
a little better.
--
Grant Edwards grant.b.edwards Yow! What GOOD is a
at CARDBOARD suitcase ANYWAY?
gmail.com
Frank Berger
As many do.
rich
to 195/60 14's. I wanted a bigger tire and to get the car off the
ground a little more. And the tires do look better, but the amount it
raised the car is hard to tell getting in and out of it. But I will
say it made a drastic difference in the handling. Not quick and tight
in turns like it was before. It more does a swerve in turns than the
quick instant turns it used to. Now I'm a true believer in short
sidewall height for better handling. I wouldn't go back to the
original tire size on the next set though, I'll be shopping for some
15" or 16" wheels for the next go 'round. It will take me that long to
find bigger wheels I like. Most after market wheels look like total
crap to me, so I'll be looking for the same design that came on the
car in a bigger size if anyone makes them.
Christopher Muto
the speedometer would indeed read 2% too slow if going from a 185/60/14
to a 195/60/14. our beloved miata.net website has a handy little
calculator for this: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
Lanny Chambers
Christopher Muto <mu...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> the speedometer would indeed read 2% too slow if going from a 185/60/14
> to a 195/60/14.
Instead of 5% too fast, as it did originally?
> our beloved miata.net website has a handy little
> calculator for this: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
In truth, every Miata speedo seems to be off by a different amount, so
it's a good idea to check it with a stopwatch or GPS. Don't expect the
percentage to be constant over its range, either.
Mine seems fairly close with 205/50-15. More or less. But now the
odometer is off.