sccsiouxland

ok, I have a few sets of 15s that I could use for autox but I have a line on some super light 14x5.5 wheels. The only main question I have is what would opinions be going from the 205/50-15 I have ran in the past to the 195/60-14 I would have to run with these?

What kind of ill effects or positive improvements?

Thanks ahead of time.

I'm not an expert but I know any time you go down a wheel diameter your going to shorten the gear ratio, some say this isn't noticeable anywhere but first gear but in a civic (don't mean to bash them, it's probably faster than my car) you'll probably notice a change that a faster car might not.

As for the difference of 10mm of width I am also interested in hearing an answer for because i've opted for the dunlop star specs this year over the falken azenis, and i had to pick a 10mm skinnier tire because star specs only come in 195s for 15 inch rims

And as for the difference of a taller sidewall the steering feel will be mushier and when cornered hard the tire will roll over to the sidewall easier, although this will be countered to an extent by the stiffer sidewall of high performance tires....This is why the outside 1/4th of my touring tires look like slicks

well I am not actually going with a shorter tire. I will actually be stepping up from a 13 stock to the 14. The tire rolling circumference is the same.

Need more information here. What car and other mods? What kind of tires are you planning on running? (street tires or R comps)

Car info:

1994 Honda Civic Dx
Stock Drivetrain
Skunk 2 Pro-C coilovers
Blox Lower Control Arms
Front and Rear Upper Strut Bars

Tire Will be a Falken Azenis for cost reasons.

I also May be doing the front and rear suspension techniques 19mm sway bars. Both bars are 19mm so Idk what issues that could cause.

To me the 5.5" rim is the issue as wider is always better. I guess it all depends on how good of a deal the wheels are.

well they are magnesium and like 8 pounds each so I figured with the super hp rating of 92 flywheel, the lighter the rolling resistance, the better off I would be?

I ran with the 205/50-15 nitto neo-gens on the last race of the season and I feel they did fairly well but I would like a little stickier of tire.

All I can say Tony- YOU WILL HATE THE FEEL OF THE TIRES. I am running my 205 V710's on 14x5.5 and my suspension feels sloppy vs on the 15x7's with the Nittos with the same 205. 205 suggested width is 7inches of rim.

I would say stick to an 11-13lbs wheel and stay 15x7 and run the 205/50-15 Azenis and you will be ALOT better off in the end.

ok, well maybe I will just get some azenis for the 15s and then get the 14s for dumping the car. Idk, I really like the idea of the super light 14s though.

If you can find one that is 6 inches wide I think you would be ok.

damn, I dont have any lightweight 15s. I guess I will have to find some cheap 15s for the autox then.

well I found some 15s and can get a great deal on them with m&b and azenis rt-615s. They are a 15x7 with a +43 offset. Should tuck nicely under the civic. Opinions?

Sort of a hard question to answer. First off it is good that you aren't changing the tire diameter.. that is a no no in my opinion.

It looks like the main issue being raised is the "feel" of the car. It's my understanding that when you go to a larger sidewall the slip angle you want the tires be running at will increase relative to a skinny sidewall tire. The slip angle is just the angular different between the direction the rim itself is pointing and the direction the contact patch itself is traveling. SO knowing that you can infer that the larger the slip angle, the less responsive the tire will be... giving you less feel.

I'm also going to assume that the wider the rim the lower the slip angle.. so that could be a factor too. I think that's why everyone is saying the rim width is the problem.

For whatever reason I've always been told that r-comp tires run at a higher slip angle than street tires (while full blown slicks run at lower slip angles). So there are a total of THREE reasons right there why Marcus had bad things to say about the "feel".

I too think the 15x7's would be your best option. Going from my 15x6 Si wheels with 205 Azenis to my 16x7 Grids with 205 Kumho Spt's I can feel the difference quite a bit. I know some of it is the fact that the sidewalls are also smaller on the Spt's being 45 series sidewalls vs 50 but the Azenis's stiffer sidewalls that should make up that difference. The car feels a lot more responsive and less sloppy like Marcus described with the 7 inch wide wheels, but the Azenis did offer a lot more grip. So in conclusion Azenis on 7 inch wide wheels ftw lol.