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Stock rims... Quality tires?


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Hey Z people ... let me start by saying, I'VE SEARCHED!!! now, moving on.

 

I have stock 14" rims that I really want to keep but I want to get some Quality tires that can handle 300 RWHP. Is there even such a tire? If so, who makes it and how much does it cost?

 

Before I get people telling me that I must get 17" rims or 15" rims ... DON'T. I want to keep the stock rims. I just fear that there is no 14 inch tires that can handle that kind of RWHP.

 

Right now I'm running some crappy "american discount tire store" tire. They break loose with my 170 RWHP N/A engine. They are 205 70 R14's.

 

I know that most of the low profile tires are really good for cornering and handling but I just can't part with the stock look of my Z. So do they make a "stiff" side wall tire that is soft enough to hold traction at 300 RWHP? Just in case you are wondering, the 300 RWHP is an estimate For the L28 turbo that I'm building.

 

Opinions please

 

Matt-

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I have stock 14" rims that I really want to keep but I want to get some Quality tires that can handle 300 RWHP. Is there even such a tire? If so, who makes it and how much does it cost?

 

You need to define traction in your terms. If your car is a street driven vehicle that sees pavement quite often, you will not want very soft (low treadwear) tires as they will wear out quickly. There are not very many performance tires in 14-in. sizes anymore.

 

When I completed my turbo build, I was running 14x7 Western Turbines with 225/60s Yokohoma Avid S/Ts. Great all around tire, but no traction in first or second gear. None at all when I really got on it. Third gear on was fine, but the first two gears were useless at WOT. Just about any car can break the tires loose in first gear and many can "chirp em" in second.

 

Even now I am running 245/50R16s BFG G-Force, 340 treadwear and 1st and 2nd gear are still useless. :lol: I am putting down a wee bit more power now, but you get the idea.

 

Honestly, I would just get a high quality all-season performance tire like the Yokohomas and enjoy the fact that you can brake it loose in 1st or 2nd gear. I spent days searching tires and short of drag radials, there is just nothing out there in 14-in. anymore.

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i probably have somewhere around 300hp, maybe. sbc 350 with dart heads and lunati voodoo 268 cam. I have 14 inch wheels with 205x50x14 nitto r1 tires. They are the drag radial tire. I run 12.3 at the track on these tires with a 1.7 60'. I need a better stall because i am not coming close to breaking them loose on the launch. i do leave them on the car while driving around town. they still break loose on the street if i mash it off the like, but if i light them up then launch on the street it is a whole new ball game. granted this is my weekend driver so tire life is not a concern for me. I have had them on about 8 months now and after 7-8 nights at the track and a lot of street burnouts i still have over 80% tread left. They say these tires work better at the launch with less tread so i say for the price you should get them. i purchased mine from discount tire for about $120 each

 

just my $0.02

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You're going to ahve to focus on tire compound to get traction. Any of the drag radials will work. You can also look at the DOT-R road race tires in a soft compound.

 

You can get the Hoosier A6 and Kumho V710 in 225/50-14.

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Hey John, thanks for the reply. I have a question about the limitations of my stock 14" rims. How wide of a tire can I run on them... will they take a 225? right now I have a 205 on them. I think they are only 7" wide but I'm not sure... If you look at the picture below (the orange Z) thats the rims I'm going to use. Will they hold 225's?

 

Thanks for your time and info.

 

Matt-

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I have the same wheels on my 72 which I want to keep. Only decent tires Ive found in 14's have been Toyos T1r's and hankook RS2's. Ive had both and currently have the RS2's on my GLi. They are similar to the T1r's with out the price tag.

 

14 isnt a popular tire size anymore. 15's are the "small" wheel size now. Thank god for the Miata classes which keep the 14 inch race market barely alive :(

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225mm would be about as wide as you'd want to fit to a 7" wide rim. 7 x 25.4mm =177.8mm divide that by 8 gets you 22.225mm x 10 = 222.25mm such that the rim width is 80% of the tire's tread width. 225 is closer to 78-79% but still close enough. 205mm is about max for a 6.5" width rim. 80% of tread width is considered the minimum rim width by most tire manufacturers.

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Look into the Falken Azenis rt-615. You seem more interested in straight line traction, but these are excellent dual-purpose (street/autox) tires. We have been running the azenis series since about 2001 on the family autox miata. No complaints.

 

Only issue for you is the size. 195/60/14.

 

edit: They're also cheap (when compared to tires that offer similar grip), which is our primary reason for the selection.

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You're going to ahve to focus on tire compound to get traction. Any of the drag radials will work. You can also look at the DOT-R road race tires in a soft compound.

 

You can get the Hoosier A6 and Kumho V710 in 225/50-14.

 

Have you a pict of a 240Z with those "skate board" combo? How does it look? I am about to buy AVON CR6ZZ in 185/70r14 'cause I am afraid of the look of the small tires

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I don't think I could run 50 series tires on stock suspension... It would look ... dumb.

 

I might be able to get away with 225/60 R14 on stock suspension. I don't know though.

 

If anyone has a picture of that size tire on STOCK suspension, I'd love to see it.

 

 

Matt-

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