Rear tires are wearing - what should I do? (Split thread)

[Dirk Diggler]

Thank you bro! I cant tell you what a relief it is too get honest unadulterated opinions on here.

[Top_Fuel]

What about the parts guy saying anything but 165 65 R14 will ruin my brakes?

Ummm...he doesn't know what he's talking about?!?

I've been running completely non-stock wheels/tires on my Mirage for almost 70K miles and I'm doing just fine.

[Dirk Diggler]

What size you run again on yours?

[Eggman]

Look closely for a little blue box with arrows after Top_Fuel's name in the following quote. It is a link to Top_Fuel's summary thread with step-by-step instructions about how to deal with this situation.

Every Mirage owner should read the Rear Wheel Misaligned thread...but it’s 109+ pages!

So I created a FAQ to help people understand the problem without having to read 1000+ posts.


If you don’t read anything else, read this…

IF YOU OWN A MIRAGE, GET A 4-WHEEL ALIGNMENT CHECK DONE!


NOTE: If you have alignment data to share, keep posting to the thread above so this one doesn’t explode. I will make summary updates here.

Now here’s everything you need to know about the Mirage rear alignment problem…

---

Once again Top Fuel, Fummins, Cobra, Eggman, thank you immensely for the sage wisdom!

Party at Dirks!

[Top_Fuel]

What size you run again on yours?

Details here

[Fummins]

I can be in Atlanta in 35 hrs. But I don't have a passport and the locks might be changed when I get home.

[Dirk Diggler]

I can be in Atlanta in 35 hrs. But I don't have a passport and the locks might be changed when I get home.

Everyone is invited! Fummins, Atlanta is fun as hell. Ill take you out for chicken n waffles, we'll shoot a bunch of guns, and the world reknowned Atlanta strip bar scene. You havent lived sir, until your hanging out behind the World of Coca Cola museum drunk with a 40oz of King Cobra in your hand. All yall come on down now, I mean it. Plenty of space and we can all compare Mirages.

[Mark]

And will it damage my vehicle putting on 175 65 R14s?

Stock steel rims on a base level Mirage are 14” x 4.5”. A 165 or 175 wide tire would fit stock rims the best, but some are using 185 width tires without issue. See below -

Rim width = Recommended tire widths below -
4.5” = 145-175
5.0” = 155-185
5.5” = 165-195
6.0” = 175-205
6.5” = 185-215

Stock tires are 22.4” outside diameter on the base level 14” steel rims, and the 15” stock wheels on other trim levels have a 22.6” outside diameter.

Any tire within a 3% variance is considered pretty acceptable by most tire places. Once your 2nd owner 5 year/60 miles bumper-to-bumper warranty expires, I would run any size tire you want. The 175/65-14 would probably be your best option with the stock steel wheels. Most U.S. tire companies start at that size and go up. Thus, many options exist.

Personally, I haven’t heard any major complaints against the 165/65-14 Federal SS657 tires. I am running a pair along with a pair of the factory Dunlop tires on my Mirage. I see no problem with the Federal tires. I would pick the Federal over the Dunlop tires even if they were the same price, but that's me. Others may feel differently.

Search the sizes below on any tire site. You'll see what options exist.

Tirerack.com, tires-easy.com, simpletire.com, discounttiredirect.com, and walmart.com are good places to start, but you need someone who is willing to balance/mount any new tires. I would give a local business/mechanic the opportunity to match prices, & factor in their fees for doing the work. My local mechanic charges about $10 to mount/balance a tire for me. He doesn't care where the tires come from, but I try to buy them through him most of the time.

14” tires/outside diameter/variance
165/65r14*, 22.4”, 0%
185/60r14, 22.7”, +1.3% variance
175/65r14, 23.0”, +2.7% variance

15” tires/outside diameter/variance
175/55r15*, 22.6”, 0%
185/55r15, 23.0”, +1.8% variance

* factory stock tires

[Dirk Diggler]

Rock solid advice thank you kind sir. Im tempted to just get some 175s right now considering how lousy Mitsu Corporate is treating me. But I did read something on here about 175s possibly voiding out whats left of my warranty, a paltry 2 months. I figure sense my rear axle sucks but not completely catastrophic I can get by dropping $150 bucks every 2 years for new rear tires and installation. The gas savings is putting good money back in my pocket.

[Mark]

Rock solid advice thank you kind sir. Im tempted to just get some 175s right now considering how lousy Mitsu Corporate is treating me. But I did read something on here about 175s possibly voiding out whats left of my warranty, a paltry 2 months. I figure sense my rear axle sucks but not completely catastrophic I can get by dropping $150 bucks every 2 years for new rear tires and installation. The gas savings is putting good money back in my pocket.

I did say once your warranty expires. If you only drive 7,000-8,000 miles per year, your tires should last you 4-5 years easily. Plus, you should be rotating all four tires. I like bringing the front tires straight back, and the rear tires criss-crossed to the front.

I wouldn't buy tires until you need them or find a really good deal that's hard to pass up. If they are sitting around for long periods of time, tires still age. Buying tires comes with owning a car. Tires don't last forever.

We are quite a bit off topic for this thread. Sorry!