I went to buy new tires for the GSL, and I was looking at two sizes; 185/70r13 and 206/60r13. I checked the difference in width and went out to the car to check on the clearances in the wheelwells. The car had 185/70r13's already, and the front tires had very little clearance between the strut and the sidewall. I decided to get the 185/70's instead of the 205/60's thinking the wider tires would rub.

Could I have run the 205's on the front, with the stock rims, without any rubbing? What sizes are you running on the stock rims?

If you are running 205's, did you use spacers?

I hate the 185's....they look like pizza cutters.

 

205s should fit.

 

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
check this link out works nice for this sort of thing.

 

Nice! This will come in handy.

 

That works great. Then I should be able to run 225/55-14 on my SE.

 

I use 5 mm spacers, running 215s.

 

Anyone running 205's without spacers?

 

205 should fit without any problems. My 1st Spec RX7 I used the stock 13x5.5 wheels untill I could afford the 13x7 Panasports. To make the 13x7 fit all I had to do was to "roll" the fender lip up a bit
good luck

 

205's will work on the front and back without any problems. 205 is the limit on the front though and 215 is the limit on the back. The back tires will rub on the fender if you go any wider (I think 215 rub if you don't roll over the inner fender lip). If you want to go any wider than these, you have to look at making your fenders wider and using spacers on the front wheels. The rear I think will easily fit a 235 on a rim with stock offset and backspace if you have proper fender spacing.

 

I think Moses605 runs 205s.

 

I run 215's all around with no rubbing issues, 17X7's
84 SE
-Greg

 

I ran 205/60/13 on my car.....I didn't have any rubbing. I just recently had to go back to 185/70/13 when I got a flat, just swapped the whole set out.....205 did look better....

 

I used to run 205/60/13s for autocross. Never had any problems.

 

I've got Sumitomo HTR 200 205/60/13s all around with no rubbing or anything. I love them.

 

peejay says 205 sucks, and I agree. Go with 185.

 

Why 205 sucks?

 

I've only driven one Mazda with 205s and it felt like they laid under. I'd much rather have 185s. Just ask peejay for his views as he's a lot more knowledgeable on the subject of tires than I am.

 

I used to have a first gen mr2 with 185's. I went up to 205's and the car had more traction but the quick steering response that I was used to wen't away and it felt heavy.

 

With the same sidewall height, there should be very little roll-over difference between a 205 or 185. That just comes down to tire construction.

205s spread out the contact patch in a way that's more condusive to lateral grip than a 185 will for a given tire pressure. I've been running 195s for over ten years now on my 7 and would only go wider if I changed.

 

The "roll over" he may have been referring to could also have had something to do with rim width, another factor I was concerned about on the factory RX rims.

A wide tire on a narrow rim will lose a lot of it's rigidity in a corner due to the angle of the sidewall, resulting in poor cornering.

When you buy tires they usually list the recommended rim width for a particular size tire. In the case of the 205/60-13, the minimum rim width was 5.5". I think that may be pushing it, too.

 

I went from 195/60/14 on my '85 SE to 205/60/14 and the handling in the curves is ALOT better. I notice no difference in the feel except that I have better control of the car.

 

Yup, good point. But I think the risk is the bead of the tire not correctly sitting in the groove in the wheel rim, not the tire rolling over onto the sidewall during cornering.

 

I guess I'll just go around cutting pizza..

 

So do the Sumitomos grip good, What would you campare them too and if they do where could i get them?

 

First, the "nominal" (named) size is not actual size. So, a given "205" tire may be wider or narrower than another "205" tire. This is important for fitting purposes as the experience of one person with a given width tire of one brand is not always reliable with respect to the same nominal size tire of another brand.