Retail Automotive Service and Sales

[Arcus]

Oversize (taller) rims screw with speedometer readings, so if they do go up +1 in rim, they'll decrease the tire's sidewall by the same amount. The overall diameter is the same, and there's no recalibrating of the speedometer.

It is possible to change it so the speedometer work right again (and is required by law to show the correct speed.) In older transmissions the speedometer cable had a gear at the end that you changed. Modern transmissions are computer controlled and can be adjusted with a hand held calibrator.

[Ironclad Alibi]

The things I Google . . .

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/200...rent-tire.html

Whoever would have thought they existed?

That type of tire has been around since at least 1938.

[TheScaryOne]

That Michelin is called the "Tweel." It's actually not going into passenger production. Costs are too high, ride is too poor at speed, and you can't really balance them. They are getting put into production in the Military and Heavy Equipment sectors, where speed and ride are not even factors over durability and longevity. Expect to see huge versions of these on mountain movers and humvee's in the future. Good concept.

Kumho made colored tread tires for a few years for burnout competitions. Red, Orange and Blue clouds look cooler than black ones. :P

@protege I can understand wanting low profile tires too, but there's a fine line between increasing desirable characteristics and ruining a vehicle. I've got a little '94 Miata that I'm looking to put some 15's on. They're an inch larger than the stock wheels. Anything bigger than a 15 though is too heavy for a little 100 horsepower car and kills acceleration. Not an issue with a 500 horse V8, but I don't understand these little Kia's and stuff with huge wheels.

@earl_colby Yes. That is EXACTLY what insurance companies do. In fact, because the T and V ratings are more than one step apart (S,T,H,V) the tires might even get full blame. Never ever ever downgrade unless you have to. Example: 1994 Subaru Legacy has 185/70R14 H-Rated tires. No one makes this anymore. It is acceptable to downgrade one notch to T-rated.

@wolfie We quote total prices at our place, so that was total out the door on a set of four. Why you still running those high profile 11r22.5's and not the newer 275/80's or the 295/75's for the fuel mileage increase? Unless you're running local haul, then it doesn't matter, 11's are cheaper and casings are more available for retreads.

[wolfie]

@wolfie We quote total prices at our place, so that was total out the door on a set of four. Why you still running those high profile 11r22.5's and not the newer 275/80's or the 295/75's for the fuel mileage increase? Unless you're running local haul, then it doesn't matter, 11's are cheaper and casings are more available for retreads.

How are the low-profile tires supposed to increase fuel mileage, other than (very slightly) reducing the vehicle's cross-section by dropping a small amount? I like to keep steer and drive tires the same size, and if I were to go with low-profile drives, it would effectively take me to a "shorter" final drive ratio, so at cruising speed it would take my engine out of the "sweet spot". I'm sure that would more than outweigh any savings that the low-profile tires were capable of delivering.

[protege]

@protege I can understand wanting low profile tires too, but there's a fine line between increasing desirable characteristics and ruining a vehicle. I've got a little '94 Miata that I'm looking to put some 15's on. They're an inch larger than the stock wheels. Anything bigger than a 15 though is too heavy for a little 100 horsepower car and kills acceleration. Not an issue with a 500 horse V8, but I don't understand these little Kia's and stuff with huge wheels.

That's the point I was trying to make. There's a huge difference between making your vehicle handle better...and handling like shit. For example, some of you know that I once owned an '00 Mazda Protege. I drove one of the 'lesser' models (an LX or DX, I forget which now), as well as the top ES. I went with that model, because it handled better. Slightly different suspension and yes, low-profile tires and bigger wheels. That thing really was a sports car in sedan clothes--Mazda wasn't kidding about "BMW Verve for half the price"

The other point is, that putting rims and tires with a different overall diameter can screw with the vehicle's final gearing...which can upset your fuel economy. For example, I know a guy who bought an MG Z-series Magnette that someone fitted modern radials to. Not only did the car look a bit odd (too much space above the wheels), but it ran a bit odd as well. The car simply wasn't happy at highway speeds. Rather noisy, in fact. Cruising became more relaxed when the correct size tires were fitted.

[Captain Trips]

I knew someone who gave up paying rent one month in order to get oversized tires/wheels on her little sedan, in an attempt to "lift" it. As a result, she lost almost all of her turning radius or would end up shredding her tires on the car's wheel-well.

Stick with what the car was designed for, and you'll always be better off in the long run.

[Argabarga]

I knew someone who gave up paying rent one month in order to get oversized tires/wheels on her little sedan, in an attempt to "lift" it. As a result, she lost almost all of her turning radius or would end up shredding her tires on the car's wheel-well.

Stick with what the car was designed for, and you'll always be better off in the long run.

Funny you should mention that, we towed in a "modded" car a while ago, it was an otherwise normal Honda Civic, but the owner had tried to make a race car or something out of it.... on the cheap.

He'd "lowered" it a scary home-made way that resulted in the wheels having camber so bad you could tell it from blocks away and had lost so much of his steering from tire rub that in order to back out of the spot the car was in and make the simple 90 degree turn to leave the impound lot, he had to execute a 15-point turn

Then, he got hung up on the sidewalk outside the gate.... it goes downhill, but not by THAT much

[PepperElf]

There's a Lexus sedan in my neighborhood that's a bright green - with the same matching green spokes on the wheels.

Definitely looks ridiculous.

i don't know what kind of car it was but I saw one just like it a few months ago on the highway - bright green with spokes to match.

although, it at least looked better than the "winter rat" cars with super duper rims.


although ... i don't have much room to talk right now since i need new tires on the back.