Is Wider Always Better?...RX-7 Tire Questions

Is wider always better?

I am in the process of figuring out what tires to buy for my ’88 RX-7. It is a base model coupe. I bough the car shod with some old 5-spoke 14x6” American Racing wheels…the ones with the full center cap to cover the lug nuts. Since I am on a pretty tight budget my plan is to rattle-can paint these wheels black and run them without the massive, heavy center caps. Right now there are some junk, stock sized, 185/70/14 tires on the wheels.

I am looking for cheap tires (the budget thing) with good fair weather grip that are wider than the stock size. My plan is to drive the car on nice days (i.e. not in the snow or heavy rain) and do some local club auto-crossing in STS-2. So far I am considering Falken Ziex ZE-912s sized at 195/60/14. I have seen these priced from $47 to 57$ each on-line. Tire Rack has Sumitomo HTR 200s in a wider 205/60/14 size for $51 each. Is the wider Sumitomo my best bet or will the newer design of the narrower Falken be “grippier”. In short is wider always better? Both will “shorten the gearing a bit” compared to stock. I am OK with that. Are there any other cheap 14” tires worth looking into for my application?

Thanks,

Ray

I would seriously look into a 195/60/14 Falken Azenis Rt615. I run them on my 1st Gen Rx-7 and they are an EXCELLENT match for the handling. Prices are not much more than the Ziex and in reality they are probably wider than the Sumi's and they are definitely stickier than either. If you can't swing the Azenis then go for the Ziex, it's GRM's favorite cheap tire.

You should be able to fit up to a 225 tire in the front with the stock dampers, springs, and fenders. I would suggest atleast 15 or 16" wheels, for a larger tire selection. For optimum performance use a 7" wheel for 205's, and a 7.5 or 8" wheel for 225's. The larger the wheel, shorter the sidewalls you will have, which will make the car much more responsive. Search around RX-7club.com. Mustang wheels are low cost, popular options. The popular sizes are 16x7.5 and 17x8, and they come in a 30mm offset. I picked up a set of 17x8 Cobra wheels for $70.

YaNi,

I have a 4-lug base model RX-7. So no cheap Mustang wheels for me. Are there any 15" wheels out there that have a 4X114 bolt pattern that were on a popular car that can be had really cheap?

P71,

I hear you on the Azeni. My budget can't handle them since I am trying to find a way to stretch my budget to replace the car's 150,000 mile shocks and springs too.

racer_ace wrote: YaNi, I have a 4-lug base model RX-7. So no cheap Mustang wheels for me. Are there any 15" wheels out there that have a 4X114 bolt pattern that were on a popular car that can be had really cheap?

Check the 80's 300ZX's. Not the prettiest things, but they'd work.

racer_ace wrote: YaNi, I have a 4-lug base model RX-7. So no cheap Mustang wheels for me. Are there any 15" wheels out there that have a 4X114 bolt pattern that were on a popular car that can be had really cheap? P71, I hear you on the Azeni. My budget can't handle them since I am trying to find a way to stretch my budget to replace the car's 150,000 mile shocks and springs too.

I'm confused... Azensis are cheap compared to most everything else... of course, when I was looking at them, I was looking at 245/45/17s, where they're the same price as Kumho allseason tires.

Vulcan Tire has the 195/60/14 Azenis for $66 each.

http://www.vulcantire.com/azenis_rt615_t.htm

And the HP 912's are only $47 each.

http://www.vulcantire.com/ze912hp_t.htm

Not available in 14" as a UHP.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I'd replace bushings before I replaced springs.

Not sure about diameters or offsets but accords have 4x114.3mm bolt patterns.

Really? I thought Honda used 4x100 for all their 4-lug.

I know 4x114.3 is used by all the RWD 4-lug Toyota cars. Regarding offsets, if you were to swap wheels, you'd definitely want to stick with wheels that came from a RWD car.

To answer your question - No wider isn't always better. Size the tire to the rim so it doesn't roll over or squirm on hard turns.

ReverendDexter wrote: Really? I thought Honda used 4x100 for all their 4-lug. I know 4x114.3 is used by all the RWD 4-lug Toyota cars. Regarding offsets, if you were to swap wheels, you'd definitely want to stick with wheels that came from a RWD car.

Nope. The Accord uses 4x114. I believe that some of the later Civics do too, but I'm not sure.

Nissan was partial to 4x114. The Sentra and 240sx used that.

And I'm pretty sure that the RWD Corollas were 4x100, not 4x114.

I think they are 4x114.3 because I've seen old Supra wheels on both the Corollas and old Datsuns.

AE86 etc are 114.3

So are Nissan 240SX and other Datsuns

Some Scions and others

Don't forget 14" GSL-SE 1st gen

The old Supra "Swastika" wheels would look great on your car, and they're fairly wide.