Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 27

Thread: Tire Size Questions

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Southern California
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    42
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked 9 Times in 5 Posts

    Tire Size Questions

    I have a 2015 Mirage DE, and it'll soon be in need of some new tires. I see in the owner's manual that the tire size is 165/65R14. Does that mean any tire with that number/letter combination will fit on the Mirage?

    Any specific tires that this community recommends? I see that Wal-Mart offers these tires for $44.40 apiece, but the low price point makes me think they're crappy: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Federal-S...g-HP/187641144



  2. #2
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Florida
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    1,225
    Thanks
    324
    Thanked 936 Times in 539 Posts
    Simplify and add lightness.

  3. #3
    Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Southern California
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    42
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked 9 Times in 5 Posts
    Thanks, but I'm still wondering if any tires labeled 165/65R14 would fit, regardless of the numbers that come after.

  4. #4
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Florida
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    1,225
    Thanks
    324
    Thanked 936 Times in 539 Posts
    You didn't read the information that I linked.

    The short answer is yes. There's a little more to it than that, but for a car like the Mirage, things like speed rating and load rating aren't going to matter. So, yes, any tire that is specified as a 165/65R14 will fit the car.

    The relative crappiness of a tire is another matter entirely.
    Simplify and add lightness.

  5. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Loren For This Useful Post:

    tbird89 (06-10-2018),Wallythacker (06-10-2018)

  6. #5
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Olympia, WA
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,126
    Thanks
    1,197
    Thanked 1,848 Times in 1,101 Posts
    The OEM Dunlops are also what are called 'Low Rolling Resistance' tires (LRR). LRR tires are optimized for maximum fuel economy, but other areas of tire performance are necessarily compromised (grip, tread life, etc).

    Look for LRR tires if you want to keep your mpgs where they are now. Otherwise, you will likely see a slight drop with the new rubber.

    But yes, any 165/65-R14 tire will work fine. Personally, I have gone to a 175/65-R14 because they are easier to find, cheaper, and available in a much wider variety of performance characteristics and price points. The mpg hit for going to a bigger, non-LRR tire has been relatively small, but noticeable.

  7. #6
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,699
    Thanks
    2,582
    Thanked 2,537 Times in 1,471 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by tbird89 View Post
    I have a 2015 Mirage DE, and it'll soon be in need of some new tires.
    I read some of your other forum posts and noticed that you bought your Mirage used. Before you get new tires, here are a few other things we need to know...

    1. How many miles are on your car?
    2. Are these the car's original tires (Dunlop Enasaves)?
    3. Are all 4 tires the same brand/size?
    4. Why are you replacing them? Are they all worn failrly evenly or are certain tires showing more wear than others?
    5. Have you ever had your alignment checked since buying the car?


    These questions don't have anything to do with determining the best tire size for your car...but they will help identify potential alignment issues your car might have that will shorten the life of any new tire you purchase.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  8. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    SW, WI
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    7,401
    Thanks
    594
    Thanked 2,688 Times in 2,106 Posts

    What's out there?

    Quote Originally Posted by tbird89 View Post
    I have a 2015 Mirage DE, and it'll soon be in need of some new tires. I see in the owner's manual that the tire size is 165/65R14. Does that mean any tire with that number/letter combination will fit on the Mirage?

    Any specific tires that this community recommends? I see that Wal-Mart offers these tires for $44.40 apiece, but the low price point makes me think they're crappy: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Federal-S...g-HP/187641144
    The Mirage is a small car. 14” rims is not that odd for a small car. The 165/65r14 tire size is odd in the U.S. market. Limited options do exist, however.

    I know a number of forum members will suggest upgrading to 15” wheels &/or going with another tire size. All that information can confuse a person.

    A 165/65r14 tire is 22.4” in diameter. Any tire that is not that diameter is going to impact your speedometer/odometer readings. For many forum members, this doesn’t seem to be an issue.

    Personally, I am not so quick to knock the small, narrow tires on the Mirage. I am not certain lower profile/wider tires are always better in every situation. How many guys take on the Tour de France with a heavy mountain bike that has fat tires?

    The tire discussions on this forum can be confusing. Everyone seems to have a different opinion. It would be nice to have a discussion that is focused on the limited 165/65r14 options for the U.S. market. I’ve owned my Mirage less than year, & my Mirage is still under 10,000 miles at this point. I don’t see myself needing tires for quite some time, but the following seem to be the major players in the U.S. market –

    Dunlop Enasave 01 A/S – Most of us have experience with these tires. I can honestly say that I have no complaints. They don’t seem to have the greatest traction, but I’ve had worst. I must admit the Mirage really rolls with these tires. I’ve owned/driven manuals my entire life, & I have never seen/felt a car coast like the Mirage. It’s really noticeable with a manual transmission. The Enasaves are expensive for such a small tire. Thus, I am always open to what others are saying about other tire options. I might add that I don’t feel Mitsubishi skimped on tires by using the Dunlops, because they aren’t cheap. Then again, just because a tire is expensive doesn’t mean it is the best. A person can be disappointed with expensive tires & pleasantly surprised by cheap ones. It happens!

    Bridgestone Potenza RE92 seems to be another common option. It’s almost like Mitsubishi chose the 165/65r14 tire size to steer people to the Dunlop (Goodyear related) & Bridgestone (Firestone related). Both tires in this size are known to be LRR tires that enhance a car’s mpg. I would be interested to hear how the Potenza compares to the Enasaves by others. They are a little less money, but still not cheap for a small car tire.

    Federal SS-657 tires are much cheaper, & several on-line tire stores are carrying them. Walmart sells most major brands of tires. To generalize Walmart tires are junk is silly. I once owned a car that had 12” tires, and Walmart always had the best options. I haven’t bought tires from Walmart in over a decade, but I wouldn’t rule them out either. Since a number of retailers are carrying the Federals, I wouldn’t be quick to rule them out just because of their lower price.

    Thankfully, a couple quality 165/65r14 snow tires exist for the Mirage. The Dunlop Winter Maxx 2, & a variety of Nokian snow tires are available. I bought a pair of Nokian snow tires from Tires-easy.com last December. I was very happy with them. Nokian snow tires are well respected world-wide.

    Simpletires.com carries the main brands & a variety of unknown cheap tire brands. Some of their cheap options don’t interest me. I believe Discount Tires carries a cheaper GT Radial brand. Some of these companies have been around for decades, however.

    An interesting tire is the found @ Tire Rack. They carry a Vredestein Quatrac 5 Grand Touring All-Season tire. Just because we never heard of a tire company in the U.S. before doesn’t make it bad. This tire intrigues me, because it looks like a truly all-season tire. It looks like it can handle snow, & the reviews really seem to support that. It may be a quality tire for those of us that may need some added traction during the winter months. This tire has some of the best tire reviews I have seen. It’s a quality European tire, not China. If traction in the snow is a must & you don’t want to run snow tires, these tires are worth a look in my mind.

    The Mirage is a world car made for the world market. My hope is that tire retailers will continue to bring good tire options for it to the U.S. market. Retailers like Tire Rack may be already starting to do that for us. Tires-easy.com & simpletires.com have more options than Walmart, & their prices usually include free shipping.

    FYI - I am not a tire expert by any means. In some ways, limited options may be a blessing. There’s a lot of tire companies out there.

  9. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Mark For This Useful Post:

    Avgjohndoe (03-24-2020),DOC1969 (04-25-2019)

  10. #8
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Florida
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    1,225
    Thanks
    324
    Thanked 936 Times in 539 Posts
    I bought a brand new Metro LSI convertible in 1993. It came from the factory with Potenza RE92 tires. Hard to believe they're still selling the same model of tire 25 years later. It's not a bad tire, but unless it's dirt cheap... I'd opt for something better.

    What was sort of hinted at above is this:

    Before you shop for tires, you need to define your goals. What your wants, needs and expectations are from a tire.

    You need to consider how important the following things are to you:
    Fuel Economy (low rolling resistance and treadwidth are major factors)
    Cost
    Availability
    Mounting Cost (included in the price or not?)
    Tread Life
    Warranty
    Road Hazard (included with the mounting or not... and do you care?)
    Comfort
    Noise
    Dry Traction
    Wet Traction
    Snow & Ice Traction
    Responsiveness
    Weight
    Appearance

    You tell me how important each of those things are to you, and I can recommend a tire.

    If Fuel Economy and Tread Life are tops on your personal list, then the Enasave or something similar might be your best bet.

    If other things are more important, then you might choose something else.

    I live in Florida (rain, but no winter) and I autocross a lot, so my priorities are Dry and Wet Traction, Responsiveness, Weight and Cost. Tread Life is irrelevant, I'm going to burn them up in 9-12 months or less regardless. Noise and comfort are minor concerns. Not much else matters to me for my purposes. So, I run 195/50-15 "Extreme Performance Summer Tires" on lightweight 15x7" wheels.

    Those are two pretty big extremes. Stock sized Enasave tires vs. Super-grippy Summer tires. And there are hundreds of choices of different tire models and sizes in between there. You just need to decide what your priorities are and shop accordingly.

    The difference in diameter between a 165/65-14 and a 195/50-15 is only 1.3%. Not enough to matter. You'll be driving 1.3% faster than your speedometer says. (60.8 mph at 60 indicated) And you'll travel 1.3% farther than your odometer says. (101.3 miles for every 100 indicated) You could choose a size, like a 195/55-15... and it would fit... but the difference in diameter would be much greater and matter a little more.

    Useful tool for comparing tire sizes:
    https://tiresize.com/comparison/

    And the professional reviews and owner survey data on different tire models on the Tire Rack is very good to look at when trying to decide between one model and another.
    Simplify and add lightness.

  11. #9
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,699
    Thanks
    2,582
    Thanked 2,537 Times in 1,471 Posts
    Lots of good info in this thread. If you are curious how 2 different size tires will affect your speedometer reading, go use this simple tool:

    Speedometer Calibration Tool


    One final thought...

    If you decide to install tires other than the OEM size (165-65-14) AND you have under 60,000 miles on your car, seriously consider getting a 4-wheel alignment check BEFORE doing so.

    Why? Because a significant percentage of Mirages have alignment problems with the rear axle. The axle is covered by the 5-year/60K mile warranty. If an alignment check indicates you need a replacement rear axle, your warranty process to get it replaced will be a LOT easier for you if you have stock size tires on the car.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  12. #10
    Senior Member Dirk Diggler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    looking into the abyss
    Country
    Turkmenistan
    Posts
    5,389
    Thanks
    2,034
    Thanked 1,242 Times in 909 Posts
    Hey has your 175s caused you any transmission problems? I read on here that might be a thing?



Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •