tyres/rims - any thoughts?

[ZanettiZA]

I have been considering increasing the size of my tyres/rims, does a 195/50/15 seem like a bad idea?

[Ed Levin]

for which model / original size?

[lancialulu]

What for?? Outright track maybe but I changed back to 175 width from 185 and rediscovered how nicely an HF handles!

Tim

[ZanettiZA]

sorry... for a Fulvia (of course) S2 1298cc...

[ZanettiZA]

What was wrong with the 185's?

[lancialulu]

Too much tyre for the engine!!!

[gamma a.i.]

Not knowing how much wider or narrower a Ful Z is vs a Ful Coupe is fender-wise; I will venture to say that 185's look good, but hardly barely fit under standard Z fenders...although I've not had any rubbing yet

I would have hated to shave the inner-lips just to have fatter rubber. My It. Car Meister told me - soon after I bought my Z - when it was in his shop "ahhh urrhh...getting "some problems corrected", that he researched price vs quality-in-tests, weighed various width-options & decided on Mich Energy 185's. They handle well.....I think....but how do I really know ? ...since I never drove the car with other tires.

These tires have never tire-rubbed the fenders at all; ever when the car was loaded to waistline...which will never happen again ... since no 1 larger than small-cat can climb into the back, due to (non-original) fix-back sport seats & shoulder/lap harness belts(tu). Ba'ra, who is petitely-small & build-narrow, tried climbing thru seats 1x. She couldn't get 1 foot into rear ofcockpit...so we didn't drive, as a family, a Z on that day or since that day.
Meaning "family-trips " are restricted to a quiet comfortable Gamma*; which looks "proper" on Series 2 185x15's;); but looked "underwheeled & tired" on Series 1 165x14's (which were "rather plain", to say the least.
*PS : worse things could happenB)

Interesting comment from Lulu - "too much tíre for the motor".
Lu... R U referring to 1600's or smaller Ful ? 1600... I would have I assumed...would have plenty-a-power for semi-fat tires ??? In any case an interesting thought; especially since I've previously believed that "fatter is better", as was proven on 911 / 912 Porsche...which were horrible on 165x14's skinny / tall rubber....

Hmm, any thoughts about narrower fronts, i.e 175's & 185's on rear ? Like hot weight in the butt 911s ?

Dumb idea ? Benefit ? Has it been done before ? 1 Final ?.... what tire size did 'back-then' / do 'these-days' - flared-fender track hot Fulvias wear ?

[Ed Levin]

Assuming you're speaking about a street car, it seems like a bad idea for a couple of reasons.

The standard S2 Coupè came with 165/80-14, which has an overall diameter of 626mm. A 195/50-15 has an overall diameter of 576mm. The shorter overall diameter will shorten the effective gearing, which isn't ideal for the street IMO. And the shorter, stiffer sidewall will give you a harsher ride.

I think you'd also find that 195s are very wide for the wheel wells. Because the 195/50-15s are so much shorter than standard, they might fit without rubbing, but I suspect you'd have some clearance issues.

But for me, the biggest problem will be the steering. The increased contact patch will help later grip, but that same factor will make the steering much heavier and dull the turn-in response.

So I'm not sure I agree with Tim that the engine couldn't handle the tires--I suspect that the effective gearing reduction would take care of that. But there's just too much downside here. IMHO, you should take the money you'd spend on the new tires and new wheels, and buy a set of 165/80-14 Michelin XAS for your standard wheels--all the grip you need, while retaining the pin-sharp steering response.

[ZanettiZA]

Thanks for all the comments!

I've also looked at some light weight alloy wheels which I think suit the car quite well, the are very light in fact much more so than the standard steel rims, surely that would make a difference to the heavy steering?

Having said that, they are 14's not the 15's that I originally referred to. 6x14, that shouldn't be an issue, right?

Is the general thought here to keep the original/close to original size wheels and tyres for best performance?

Anyone running on 175x65x14?

[Huib]

Well said, Ed. Personally I already find the 165R14 too wide for a Fulvia coupe. I prefer the 145R14 on a S1 coupe.for the best ride.

I have always wondered why the tire size changed when going from S1 to S2 coupe's. The weight of the car hardly changed and never exceeded the weight of the berlina. On the berlina the size remained the same 155R14.

The reasons I can think of are either commercial. People started to think that wider tires are better around 1970. Or a simple technical reason. Around 1970/71 head light regulations changed. Maybe the minimum height of dipped lights changed. Changing from 145R14 to 165R14 is an easy way of changing the height of the car by an inch.