7" rims, How wide tires?

[Zvoiture]

What's the widest tire you can put on a 14 X7? Could I get 255/45's?

steve77/86/71

[2ManyZs]

255/45 would need an 8-10 inch rim.

Check the tread width and section width of the tire you are looking at, try to keep it under 9 to 9 1/2 inches for a 7 inch rim.

[Arizona240z]

OK Zvoiture.... where did you pull that avatar from.... that is hillarious ROFL

[ZmeFly]

you could go with a 245 50 14

the only manufacture i know of that makes that size still is BFG

those would fit though

[Mudge]

They may "fit" but they dont belong on a 7" wheel, 195-225 is the widest I'd go. Use an 8" wheel for a 245.

If you look at how Porch GT cars do things, as well as other road raced car setups, dont be supprised to find 275s on an 11" wheel.

If you drive a pickup truck with 80 profile tires, then you can be a bit more abusive, but on a low profile tire dont go wider than recommended.

[sjcurtis]

If you can get the hold of Falken 225x60 R14 they stick realy well I run them on 14x7 inch Enkie spun alloy wheelsHighly recomend if you stick with 14 inch rims. For a good aspect ratio on the 14x7 225 is the ultimate. I cant go to bigger rim width without coil overs or spacers

good luck with your tire quest

Steve:classic:

[Walter Moore]

Generally, the lower the profile, the closer the wheel width needs to be to the tread width.

The current (2002) U.S. Tire and Rim Association standard doesn't even list a 245/45R14. The only 45 profile tire they list for a 14" wheel is P225/45R14, for which they recommend a 14 X 7.5 inch wheel. (But they also list 14 X 7 as the minimum wheel width.)

The book does list a P245/50R14, again the standard wheel width is listed at 7.5", but it does approve a 14 X 7

I know that different years of the 240/260/280 had different sizes of tires stock, but my glove box door lists the "standard" size at "175HR14", which given that the old metric tire sizes were generally 80 profile gives it an outside diameter of ~636mm.

Scanning quickly through the book, here is a short list of the tire and wheel combinations that come closest to that outside diameter, along with their nominal approved wheel widths:

P195/70R14 --- 14 X 6

P205/70R14 --- 14 X 6

P215/65R14 --- 14 X 6.5 *** Closest OD to 1971 stock.

P235/60R14 --- 14 X 7

P195/65R15 --- 15 X 6

P215/60R15 --- 15 X 6.5

P205/55R16 --- 16 X 6.5

P225/50R16 --- 16 X 7

P205/50R17 --- 17 X 6.5

P225/45R17 --- 17 X 7.5

Three notes:

1. In the mid 70's sometime Nissan switched to P195/70R14 tires, which have an OD of 630mm, making many of the sizes listed above just a little too big.

2. The nominal OD is only really accurate when the tire is mounted on the "Measured" wheel width. Wider or narrower wheels will change the OD accordingly.

3. I restricted my search to sizes that were <= 1.1% different from the 636mm outside diameter of the "right" tires for my car. There may be tires that would work just fine with a different gear set, but I didn't go that far.

[Zvoiture]

Wow, thanks...That's a lot of great info. I'm not too worried about wheyther the will fit under the fender...because I am flaring and maybe boxing.

There are two reasons for my query:

1. A really great set of Gotti 14's just dropped into my lap.

2. I have reasoned (in my oft-wrong little mind) a drastically lowered Z could:

a. stay closer to the ground

b. with minimal fender re-configuration

c. and fill the well better

d. on cheaper tires

on 14's rather than 15's.

steve

[2ManyZs]

The Gotti's are 14's? Hmm, don't see too many in 14, the only ones I have seen were all 15's.

FWIW, you can find 205/50 to 225/5014's fairly easily and they will be a good fit on a 7 inch wheel. Best of all, the prices are fairly reasonable at under 125 a tire, but they will more than likely be a soft "race type" compound. Harder to find a more "street friendly" compound in the sizes you might want, unless you go to a 60 or 55 series tire.:cross-eye

[Zvoiture]

I ran into several 14" Gotti's in my research...mostly Renault Alpine stuff.

Is there a FAQ section here on "Re-sealing a 3-piece wheel"?

steve

[Mudge]

Originally posted by Walter Moore

2. The nominal OD is only really accurate when the tire is mounted on the "Measured" wheel width. Wider or narrower wheels will change the OD accordingly.

Yep, and this is yet another reason going overly wide is a waste, contact patch will be dissapointing versus a tire that actually "fits."

[Walter Moore]

Personally, I am not sure that I really want tires much wider than say 205 or 215 on a 2K LB car. I had 205's on a light sports car back in the 80's and it was sad in the rain.

I know, there that mid-western guy goes again worring about rain and snow, stupid: but for me that is a real issue. When it isn't snowing here it is often raining, and over wide tires just don't cut it in the rain, unless you are going for flotation. :