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tire size question

530 Views 5 Replies 2 Participants Last post by  Trunk Monkey
my wifes car has 185-60-14 on it and it seems that there are not many tires available in that size. but i have seen a set of kuhmo all season with a good tread pattern (might see some snow in ny) but they dont come in the oem size. i can get them in 175-65, 185-65, or 185-70. what would be the best size to run so that i dont run into any problems with the speedo?
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There's a great Tire size calculator at:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

You need the latest version of Java to use it.

According to this calculator: with 175/65 your speedo would be 1% too slow.
When your speedo would indicate 60 you would actually be going 60.6MPH

With 185/65 your speedo would be 3.2% too slow.
When your speedo would indicate 60 you would actually be going 61.9MPH

With 185/70 your speedo would be 6.4% too slow.
When your speedo would indicate 60 you would actually be going 63.8MPH

You can try it with other sizes.

Edit: Typo
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so it looks like the 175/65 would be the best bet then. how much of a difference is that compared to the stock size?
Stock Tire
Sidewall 4.4 in
Radius 11.4 in
Diameter 22.7 in
Circumference 71.4 in
Revolutions/mile 887.0

175/65/14
Sidewall 4.5 in
Radius 11.5 in
Diameter 23.0 in
Circumference 72.1 in
Revolutions/mile 879.0

OR 1% Difference.
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well i guess what im asking (and worded poorly) is that if it will have the same handling as stock.

the 175 part is the tread width right?
Yes, 175 is the width measured in milimeters. This tire (175/65) would be 10mm narrower than stock. I would say with only a 1% difference you, or your wife would barely notice. The only way to know for sure would be to put a set on the car.
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