Originally Posted by
91cavgt
I had one stock tire that died a pre-mature death by way of metal debris destroying the tire. I searched around but could not find ANY replacement tire except through the dealer. So, I went to Pep Boys and bought a complete set of 175/65/14 tires. Here are my thoughts in them;
1. Grip. I thought the stock tires had decent grip at the limit once the suspension settled down. Now I realize how little grip the stock tires had. These wider, non-Eco tires, grip so much better and the tires do not squeel nearly as easily in hard corners.
2. Gas mileage. Gas mileage has dropped slightly. I was able to average around 50 mpg on my commute(11 miles each way with speeds averaging 40-50 mph) with the stock tires and now that has dropped down to about 47-48 mpg. However, this also could be because I am running the heater a lot more than before, and it takes the car a lot longer to warm up than it did during the summer.
3. Road noise. These new tires are actually a bit quieter than the stock ones.
4. Availability. I can find tires in 175/65/14 just about anywhere which is tremendously better than the stock tires.
I personally would not go with a 185/60/14 on the stock rim due to the slight bulge that I currently have with only slightly wider tires. With 10 mm of extra width per tire, the bulge would be MUCH more noticeable and it could actually adversely effect the handling of the car.
Good information! I didn't think about the width of the rim. I'm back to the 175/65s, I saw a few other drivers here that have tried that size and said it worked.
Thanks!
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage 1.2 automatic: 39.7 mpg (US) ... 16.9 km/L ... 5.9 L/100 km ... 47.6 mpg (Imp)