I watch my friend drive my car down the road and i noticed the tires i got from tire rack , toyo's 185 are so skinny its just ugly. car looks so lovely till u see the skinny tires and it makes me look like im not in that high preformance level. What is the widest tires i can put on my 1985 GS ? Im not worried about price i just want some sexy tires on my car so when u look from behind it doesnt look like im on wagon wheels!

 

would 205/60R13 fit?

 

I ran the 205/60 13's on my car before I replaced them....I didn't have any rubbing issues at all, not even at a slow U-turn.

 

arent the stock wheels only like 5.5" wide or something lame?

you can put a pretty large width tire on there but it will bubble and make your car handle like *** if the width isnt right.

 

Exactly right. 205 on a stock rim will handle like *** compared to a 185.

 

nah, my buddy has 195/50 13's on his RX3 and looks and handles fine!

 

Don't know about the 85 GS, but the SE came stock with 205/60/14's. I had 195/60/14's on it when I got it and went to Kumho 205/60/14's and it handles ALOT better.

Like I said though I don't know about the GS model.

 

Yeah, 205 is about is about it unless you either flare and offset or go to a widebody kit. I think with perfect offset on a widebody you can get 245 wide under there. I've got 225's on the rear and it's roomy yet.

 

I've seen 205/60/13 bridgestones on an 85 S and it looked awesome. I've read that the wheel is 5.5" wide but when I measured it I think it was 6.5". I'm sure the car is easier to drift with skinny tires like my 175/70/13 mounted on 79 LM wheels on my 85 GS as compared to my friends 87 SE with 215/60/14, but that could just be the difference in cars.
But drifting only tears up the tires anyways...

 

205/60's look awsome on the car and don't affect handling too much. They fit on too without any rubbing, eccept in the rear, I had to roll the inner fender lip a little.

 

the thing I don't understand is why everyone is so hip on putting wider rubber under their car.

I know that it makes it look like it is mean and putting down enough power to use/need that big of a contact patch... but personally I would rather have a smaller tire that handled better in when going sideways on loose surfaces then some wide, thin strip of rubber that when you went sideways you lost it.

I don't remember the thread or where it was (probably one of the rally boards) but they went in depth on tires with a profile like: === vs. a profile like: <_>

But, then again, this is probably the rally side of me coming through since I have never been into "street cars" and could care less about curb appeal so long as it runs the way it is supposed to.

 

The wider tire does look sweet, but there's gotta be something in the middle for the best handling with the not so thin tires. If you were to put 17's on there, I bet that could be arranged ........

 

Personally, I'm going to a 225 when I make my "body kit" (hint, hint). I need it though with the power my car will be making. Actually, when I'm done with my car, I should probably go to a 245, but I'll have to see. Its not all about curb apeal. For me, its about better traction. BTW, I don't have stock rims anymore.

You don't need 17's to put a wide tire on there. You just need a wider rim. If you have a 10" wide 13" rim with a 245 tire on it, its the same as having a 10" wide 17" rim with a 245 tire. I think I remember reading once that the best tire for the stock "+" style rim is a 195/60R13.

 

I would just think that a 17" rim or you know a .. uhh 245/60R17 tire would look pretty sweet on a 1st gen right? Just have to get the right rim ..? It would probably have a little euro look to it, but I just like the bigger rims with bigger tires

 

Its personal preference when it comes to rim sizes. I myself prefer to have a little more rubber showing. The biggest I would go is 16". 17's look too big on a 7 in my opinion.

 

yeah I can see what you're saying. The car is kind of funky when it comes to tire size that I've noticed looking at it. That would be the only car that does look pretty sweet with 13's on there. And the thickness of the tire helps too. I'd figure a right sized thick tire with a pretty good sized rim would be perfect for that car.

But yeah I would have to have some rubber showing too. Having all rim and no rubber would be too euro like. You also don't see much of those 1st gen's lowered, so that could also affect the bigger tire size. Hopefully a 16" would do the trick.

 

i wont ever change rims, i like my 80's style 13 inch rims, when in perfect shape they are a must if you want your rex to look original, and not going for the ricer look.

 

Maybe I am confused, but, more rubber on the road = better grip, thus better handling. Unless it is wet and the wider tire is worse. Then again the tire hight also plays a significant factor. A higher tire will tend to roll on a hard corner where a thinner tire will not.

 

The 14's are a happy medium if you're planning on doing drag racing, and motoX. They provide quicker acelleration and a you get the best of both worlds, from the looks of a nice, fat wheel width, and also the wonderful traction you're looking for. IMHO...

 

I used to use 215/50/13 Bridgestone Eagers on 7" rims, and they were perfect. Unfortunately my turbo project will require 255's as a minimum on the rear, with 16" wheels to clear the brakes on the front. I don't want to flare any of the guards so I'm not sure how I'm going to achieve that yet.