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Thread: Rims and Tire Size

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    My Little Putter Wolf's Avatar
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    Rims and Tire Size

    I currently have the original wheels and tires on my 2018 Mirage ES. Was just wondering I read somewhere it is more safe to get larger tires and rims to be safer when cornering etc.What size should I get with out having to spend a ton of money.Thanks



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    Quote Originally Posted by Wolf View Post
    I currently have the original wheels and tires on my 2018 Mirage ES. Was just wondering I read somewhere it is more safe to get larger tires and rims to be safer when cornering etc.What size should I get with out having to spend a ton of money.Thanks
    The 165/65r14 factory tires have an outside diameter of 22.4" that are mounted on 14"x4.5" rims. In general, 3% tire variance is considered acceptable. You can get that percentage using a tire calculator on line.

    Are far as rims goes - 4.5" wide rims are meant for 145-175 mm wide tires.

    As far as tires goes, 175/65r14 may be the most common alternative to 165/65r14 tires. 175/65r14 have an outside diameter of 23", which is a variance of 2.7%. You can make up other sizes with numbers, but it's important to look at what size tires are being made/used in today's market. Some people consider 175/65r14 tires, because they are slight larger in diameter/width & more importantly offer many more tire options.

    Looking @ Walmart today -
    165/65r14 (22.4") - offers 12 tire options & I would rule out half of them.
    175/65r14 (23") - I changed one number in the tire size, & I now have 135 tire options to pick from.

    On a personal level, I prefer a narrow tire in snow. If comparing the same tire, I would pick a 165/65r14 tire over a 175/65r14 tire in snow.

    If you have trouble keeping your Mirage on the road with 165/65 r14 or 175/65r14 tires, I would re-evaluate your driving. I am not saying a 185/55r15 on new 15" rims wouldn't handle better on clear, good roads. I have found wide tires make climbing snow covered hills more difficult. Thus, I put an emphasis on that. Everyone's situation is different. If I live in the south with no snow, this would be of no issue to me.

    15" factory rims/tires - A common upgrade to factory 175/55r15 (22.6") tires is the 185/55r15 (23") tires. Notice the same 23" outside diameter as a 175/65r14 (23") tire.

    You don't need to new rims to consider using 175/65r14 tires. They will fit perfectly fine. Why use a wider/fat rim when a narrower/less weight one will work? Some upgrade rims, because of appearance. There's nothing wrong with that.

    Top Fuel has some good info. on upgrading to 185/55r15 tires and lightweight 15" rims. He also has some excellent points about LRR (low rolling resistance) tires with a good tread warranty. My interest is more on traction in snow.

    I hope this helps some?

    How many miles are on your factory tires?

    I didn't find factory Dunlop tires to be that great in snow. I bought my Mirage in October of 2017. I bought a pair of Nokain snow tires in December of that same year. I reached my conclusion on snow performance quite fast.

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    Senior Member PityOnU's Avatar
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    Here is the link to the existing thread full of awesome information on wheels/tires for the Mirage. Also consider that new wheels/tires may slightly affect your alignment, which is touchy on the Mirage to begin with.

    Regarding safety/handling - I am one of those people who upgrade to 15"x6.5" wheels and use 185/55R15 tires. I did this as, similar to you, I worried that the factory tires would have very poor handling. Additionally, the OEM rims made the whole car, which is otherwise quite easy on the eyes, look very cheap.

    Theoretically, an "upgrade" to the specific tires I ended up using did not actually change the contact area of the wheels (or did so only a very tiny amount), so my traction likely didn't change at all. And those are apparently the largest tires you can easily get onto a Mirage before starting to encounter other issues.

    All that being said, I have been very surprised at how well the tires I ended up using have performed. They handle rain very well and have yet to lose traction in any of the situations I have found myself in. My guess is, given the similarities in contact area, the OEM tires would be performing near-identically.

    Of course, all of my ramblings above are anecdotal evidence from someone who is definitely not a professional race car driver or automotive engineer, so take it with a grain of salt.

    P.S. - Thinking about it, as well: My upgrade to the probably-non-performance-effecting wheels and tires end up costing ~$400 for the wheels, ~$400 for the tires, ~$200 for a TPMS programmer and sensors, and then ~$400 for alignment/balancing (they got me good with camber bolts), so ~$1.4K total. So that's something to keep in mind if you are considering things from a ROI perspective.
    Last edited by PityOnU; 02-02-2021 at 05:26 PM.

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    My Little Putter Wolf's Avatar
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    Thank you for the info I think i will stick to the 14 inch and go with the 175 tires. Thanks for the info

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wolf View Post
    Thank you for the info I think i will stick to the 14 inch and go with the 175 tires. Thanks for the info
    Mirages in Canada don't have TPMS. That simplifies anything you decide to do, too.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wolf View Post
    Thank you for the info I think i will stick to the 14 inch and go with the 175 tires. Thanks for the info
    If you wanted to compare/shop for tire options for your existing 14" rims, these three sizes (different widths) would be the best place to start.

    165/65r14 (22.4") - factory size

    175/65r14 (23") - 2.7% variance

    185/60r14 (22.7") - 1.3% variance

    A 185/60r14 tire would be a bit wide for 14" x 4.5" rims, but they most likely would work, too. They are in that 22.4-23" tire diameter range. It's also a somewhat common size. Walmart offers 89 tire options in that size today.

    In my experience, increased tire width does not necessarily improve traction on small lightweight cars. You may like the handling/feel of a wider tire, however. The trade off may be gas mileage (economy), but that can depend on the type of tires used.

    If you should ever decided to run two sets of tires (winter/summer) some day, you could use your 14" steel rims for winter tires & upgrade to some 15" rims with 185/55r15 tires for the summer months, too.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    upgrade to some 15" rims
    I’m curious why do you consider 15” rims an upgrade? Is bigger always better when it comes to rims, tires and wheel assemblies?

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by Eggman View Post
    I’m curious why do you consider 15” rims an upgrade? Is bigger always better when it comes to rims, tires and wheel assemblies?
    I see no reason to do 15" rims. In some cases, it reduces tire options.

    Many consider larger wheels an upgrade, but I don't.

    The 2021 SE has 15" wheels, because that is perceived as an upgrade.

    You already know I am advocate for 165/65r14 tires. I am just trying to answer his question & point him in direction of tire options used on the Mirage.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    I see no reason to do 15" rims. In some cases, it reduces tire options.

    Many consider larger wheels an upgrade, but I don't.

    The 2021 SE has 15" wheels, because that is perceived as an upgrade.

    You already know I am advocate for 165/65r14 tires. I am just trying to answer his question & point him in direction of tire options used on the Mirage.
    Everything about post #3 is about upgrading to 15" wheels. That's how some look at it. Thus, I just referred to it that way.

    You're free to tell them they are wrong if you feel that way.

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    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    You're free to tell them they are wrong if you feel that way.
    Just wanted to hear your rationale on the matter since you said it was an upgrade. Maybe there was something not obvious, that's all.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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