How will 215/60/15 tires work on S13 stock alloy wheels?

[nightheron]

I was thinking of getting some 215/60/15 tires for my 1991 240SX on the stock alloy wheels. Has anyone used them? I was wondering how they work compared to the 205 width tires. Will the grip and handling be better or worse with 215's than using 205/60/15 tires? Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks

[mechanicalmoron]

I was thinking of getting some 215/60/15 tires for my 1991 240SX on the stock alloy wheels. Has anyone used them? I was wondering how they work compared to the 205 width tires. Will the grip and handling be better or worse with 215's than using 205/60/15 tires? Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks

I asked this on nico, there's a guy with them on his vert. He said they hardly cleared the stock springs, but are fine with narrower coilovers.

[racepar1]

215/60/15's fit fine. I ran them in the past. You won't notice any real difference in handling though, other than the fact that your 215's are new and your 205's are old as hell that is.

[PeaceOnesxWai]

^Im pretty sure hes gonna throw on used tires since hes asking this question

[nightheron]

No, I'm getting new ones, they make both sizes, I've always gotten 205's in the past and was wondering if the 215's in the 60 height would be better or worse in regards to handling and grip and rubbing too.
Thanks

[racepar1]

No, I'm getting new ones, they make both sizes, I've always gotten 205's in the past and was wondering if the 215's in the 60 height would be better or worse in regards to handling and grip and rubbing too.
Thanks

You're talking about 10mm of additional tire width. You're not going to notice much of a difference either way...

[KiLLeR2001]

195's went on the stock steelies and 205's were on the SE's. Personally I wouldn't go above 205, even the 195's have a balloon looking appearance.

I'm pretty sure the SE wheel width is 6.5" which equates to about 165mm. So as you can see, even a 195 series tire is 30mm (over an inch) larger than the wheel width.

[SupaDoopa]

http://zilvia.net/f/chat/166563-maximum-tire-rubber-fitment-thread.html

There you are, jack.

[nightheron]

Well, I went ahead and bought the 215/60/15 Falken ZE-912 tires. I chose poorly. The tires are not that hot, but the biggest problem is that they are too big in diameter. Great if I lived on a dirt road. My car is stock and it just doesn't have enough power to spin those big wheels. The car is just too sluggish now. I've contacted "Discount Tires" and luckily they will take them back. I am returning them and getting some All Season Yokohama Avid 205/60/15 tires like the car was designed for. I have to pay for shipping and have them put on and all that, but in the long run it will be worth it. Lesson Learned. My previous tires were the 205/55/15 Yokohama S Drive tires, the closest I could find in a performance tire without spending $200 or more. With the smaller diameter the performance and acceleration was better at low speeds than the 60 height tires but top end and gas mileage suffered. They are like driving in a lower gear and are easier for the stock motor to spin. Like in race cars, lower powered cars have tiny wheels and tires and higher powered cars have large wheels and tires. I've had 240's for a while and the selection of tires has dwindled. I guess that in the future, I'll have to break down and get some 16 or 17 inch wheels and lower profile tires and have a better selection. To me the later stock alloy wheels look great and are easy to replace when you bend one but you can't have everything.

[racepar1]

WOW, you suck at tires. I can't believe that you're returning your tires because in your opinion you chose poorly. Be a man and live with your decision...

:spank:

Also, the STOCK tire size is 195/60/15, your 215/60/15's are ONLY .18" taller than stock. That is too small to create any noticeable difference. You are making a far bigger deal out of this than is necessary...

[nightheron]

The Falken ZE-912 15's that I got are almost an inch taller and don't have much grip either. The tread is pretty narrow too, just the sidewalls are wide. I made the mistake of not checking out the specs for particular tires before the purchase. I'd rather lose a little money and have tires that are better and the right size. I've had 240's for a while and can notice the difference. In the owner's manual it says either 195 or 205 tire size. If I bought a pair of shoes that didn't fit right I'd return those too. For people's general info tires that are smaller diameter do give better low end performance, if that's what you want.

[mechanicalmoron]

WOW, you suck at tires. I can't believe that you're returning your tires because in your opinion you chose poorly. Be a man and live with your decision...

:spank:

Also, the STOCK tire size is 195/60/15, your 215/60/15's are ONLY .18" taller than stock. That is too small to create any noticeable difference. You are making a far bigger deal out of this than is necessary...

stock is 195 OR 205, it lists both.

But, he's getting the SAME freaken sidewall as the ones he's sending back....

It will be exactly the same, except with less traction.

I must say, I just went from 185/65 (came on the car) to 205/60. Looks lots better, might be a tiny bit rougher even with less pressure, but it seems to get considerably worse highway mileage, probably as a combined result of the smaller diameter and especially, the wider contact patch.

I didn't notice any change in effective power. Going 70 you may use more energy, but not so much more that the car's acceleration is noticeably impacted.

Anyway, yeah, that's pretty tool-ish, the narrower tires will feel exactly the same but with slightly less grip. The tread IS wider, the sidewall just is too. A tire's like a balloon, you can only have so much shape, and they've determined that it will work better at that size to have that much sidewall bulge.

(edit) yeah, I can see why you would go from 205/55 to 215/60, but I can't fathom why you'd go from 205/55 to 205/60, which is what you've done. I wanted either 215/60s or 205/55's, except I couldn't get them without spending an arm and a leg. You have just returned your upgrade, in exchange for a downgrade, that will still feel like the part of the upgrade you didn't like. And all so you can do a one-wheel burnout with your little engine.

[QuickSpoolSR]

your returning 215's because they grip too much and don't spin with your stock motor on stock wheels... :zzz: lol is this really forum worthy talk here bro

[racepar1]

The Falken ZE-912 15's that I got are almost an inch taller and don't have much grip either. The tread is pretty narrow too, just the sidewalls are wide. I made the mistake of not checking out the specs for particular tires before the purchase. I'd rather lose a little money and have tires that are better and the right size. I've had 240's for a while and can notice the difference. In the owner's manual it says either 195 or 205 tire size. If I bought a pair of shoes that didn't fit right I'd return those too. For people's general info tires that are smaller diameter do give better low end performance, if that's what you want.

I wouldn't buy the fucking shoes if they didn't fit right...

Returning something that you have already used because YOU made a bad decision on the purchase is fucking childish. Adults live with the consequences of their actions.

You are noticing a difference in performance and overall heighth because your old tires were NOT the stock size. They were smaller in diameter. If you want the same look and performance why don't you buy the same tires??? Those S-drives are 100000000x better than either set of tires you're talking about. Your 205/60/15's are going to feel EXACTLY the same as your 215/60/15's. You are a moron, sorry the truth hurts sometimes...

[nightheron]

As far as living with bad decisions, I've chosen poorly with women in the past and they were a lot harder and more expensive to return. Just a little more general information for you all.

[PeaceOnesxWai]

My car is stock and it just doesn't have enough power to spin those big wheels.

OP is a moron..
notices performance difference because hes running a shitty single cam..
cant do 1st gear donuts b/c tires are too sticky

[racepar1]

OP is a moron..
notices performance difference because hes running a shitty single cam..
cant do 1st gear donuts b/c tires are too sticky

I can spin my 225/50/16 s-drives with my "shitty" stock singlecam. I should return them, they're not grippy enough...