My '92 Honda Accord LX tires are sadly in need of replacement, and as they came with the car I hadn't really looked at the size before. I looked at the inside of the door and the size is supposed to be 195
60R15. I checked the tires and they are 185 70R14.Is there some funny business going on with the rims? Would there be a reason I couldn't replace them with the specified size? Is there a reason someone would have chosen the different size? Thanks.
may have had alloys originally, and someone just swapped out some steelies from a junkyard? anyway, you're best advised to get a set of the proper size wheels and tires. junkyard is fine as long as you get the right size!
I've been Googling all over on this, & from what I've seen, I think they were replaced with the smaller size because it's more common, so cheaper. It also seems to be a common substitute (http://www.rims-n- tires.com/rt_tire.jsp? req=newCar&brand=Michelin&model=HydroEdge&carYear=1992&carMake=Honda&carModel=Accord)
However, I have noticed a resonance when driving on the highway with a window or two open, also it's kind of noisy Perhaps the 195 60R15 size will eliminate this.
I'm with Jim on this, someone swapped the wheels, and either kept the alloys or sold them separately.
the 195 is the only size listed on the door? Sometimes Japanese cars will have a 'stock' size, mounted on steel wheels for the standard size, and a larger size mounted on alloys for an optional tire.
The resonance may be because it's a cheap tire, or perhaps just a noisy compound/belt setup.
sam8988378 wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com:
tire noise is probably more affected by tread pattern than wheel size. lower profile tires also make for a harder ride,the shorter sidewalls of a
60 series tire transmit more impact to the suspension.(but give better handling)Narrower tires give slightly better gas mileage,less rolling resistance.
compound makes a huge difference too.
kinda. depends more on the tire itself though. from personal experience i can tell you that 65 michelin hydroedge will batter your brains out. 60 dunlop sp sports are like butter. [great tire.]
again, depends on the tire.
assuming inflation is within manufacturer specs, compound has more effect with radial tires.
The 195 60R15 87H is the only size on the door. I don't think the rims were swopped, as the car only had one owner before me, a woman med student who kept somewhat meticulous records in the original Honda owner's book -in doctorscript of course ; ) .
At the TinyUrl link
As for the resonance, perhaps it was due to the fact that the tires are the same ones on the car when I bought it (and drove 12,000 miles), alarmingly now-worn BF Goodrich's. From the outside they look somewhat worn, but the tire that blew had the tread ripped away, exposing the metal. Definately time to replace all four, as well as get another rim w/ tire, & get rid of that stupid doughnut!
innews: snipped-for-privacy@22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com:
a harder ride? I never thought of that as a factor, but I did have the suspension checked when I had the exhaust pipes replaced. I thought something must be amiss because I felt every bump & ragged road depression. The roads where I live are pretty terrible, and the car is good on gas, so a smoother ride might be a plus in getting the
195's.
And she bought it new? Somewhere along the line, something got swapped! If the door says a 15", and you have 14", then something's amiss.
The other possibility is that she wanted to save a few bucks when she bought the car, and had the alloys 'deleted' at the time of sale, and the dealer swapped them.
In any case, unless you want to buy new wheels, I would go with the
185/70-14. These will handle OK and will not alter the speedo.You can also try this:
I did a 185/65-14 and a 195/60-14 and the difference is negligible. The
195 will give you a slightly wider tread, and the lower profile (/60) will give you less sidewall flex. This combination will give you slightly better handling but a slightly harsher ride (probably hardly noticable).But you'll also have to make sure they will fit on the wheels, widthwise.
And, as it is now, at 60 MPH, you're actually travelling 58 MPH with the tires you have on. If you go with a 185/60-14, you'll be doing 57.5 MPH.
We're only talking a couple millimeters here. Not a significant difference. Probably more a factor of the compounds used in the manufacture of the tire.
I agree with jim b on this one. The SP Sports are a good tire. But I haven't owned Michelins for years.
Currently on my Supra I have a 205/50-16, as specified by Toyota (I usually go 10mm wider than spec, but these tires were a deal!) The Supra is a Pop-Top (Targa) so I was concerned about road noise, but the tires are quiet. The /50 means a harsher ride; if I had gone with 60's or 65's the ride would be softer, but I wanted handling!
The tire? Hankook K106. $70 each. Third year on the tire, negligible wear, really good handling in wet or dry. They are supposed to be All Season, but you can bet the Supra hasn't seen a single *flake* of snow! ;)
For what it's worth, my '93 Accord (Canadian LX, similar to U.S. base DX) had a specified stock size of 185/70R14 87S. But for higher end models,
195/60R15 was specified (don't remember speed and load rating).Apparently, alternating between these 2 sizes has virtually zero effect on speedometer and odometer accuracy. I would get 195's for all-season tires. If you have winter weather in your area, get 185's for winter tires.
Moreover, you'll have a greater selection of tires to choose from in the
195/60R15 size.Wow, apparently my last 2 posts bit the dust. I checked out the Dunlop Sports (apparently there are many Dunlop Sports) at the website where I was reading the reviews
I decided to go with the Toyo Versado LX Dry: 4.6 Wet: 4.5 Snow: 4.6 Handling: 4.6 Comfort: 5 Noise:
5 Treadwear: 4.6 8 reviews 4.7but after hearing the Hanckook spoken so highly about, I went to the site and found: Hankook Ventus ST RH06 Dry Wet Snow Handling Comfort Noise Treadwear Rating
4.8 4.7 3.6 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.6they are in the running.
BTW, I went out to the car and measured the diameter of the rim. Definately 15", so I guess there was no funny business about it.
I also went to
Um, where the 'helk' *ARE* you?!?!
When *I* go 'down south', I can ditch my snow tires!
lmao! West Virginia has had some serious snows. We took pics of someone's car which had been completely buried after one nasty storm. Driving outside of Hagerstown on Rt 81 was so bad once that you just followed the rapidly disappearing tracks of the drivers ahead of you.
LOL! North Carolina has, too. Three inches of snow and they shut the state down!
I'm from Mass, and when I go down there I can't believe the number of spin-offs I see! Of course, we're used to it up here!
So when you go 'south', you're heading up into the mountains?
Yes, definately serious snow in Mass. You're right, it is amazing to see people panic at a couple of inches of snow. My fav was the TransAm in front of me outside of Hagerstownwho couldn't adopt the concept of driving @30mph or less on snow covered ice during a storm. Everytime he lost it, went sideways and miraculously straightened out, up he would go trying to speed.
Lately it hasn't been camping in the mountains of WV, but visiting in the valley. Martinsburg is surrounded by mountains and gets as much snow (if not more) than New York, and is hotter in the summers, too.
North Carol> > >> > >> > While we mainly only
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