I have a 1987 RX-7 with the stock 14", 4-bolt wheels and the original 185/70HR14 Bridgestone tires. After 15 years, I'm looking for a new set of tires to put on the same stock wheels, and am considering Bridgestone Potenza RE950 or Dunlop SP A2 tires in 195/65HR14. Two questions: 1) Will the size change cause me any ground and/or side clearance issues or other problems, since the stock wheels aren't very wide?, 2) Are there any other tires I should be considering?

Both Tirerack.com and NTB recommended both of these tires, but I'm looking for some independent confirmation if possible. The car is never driven in snow and rarely in the rain, and only gets about 1,000 miles/year, so winter performance and treadwear are not crucial issues.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

Thought I'd respond. Most of the guys have converted to 5 lug 15,16,or 17" wheels/tires, therefore not much info available on 14". I would just go with the recommendation. Stock 185/70 @ 24.3" dia.
195/65 24.0
205/60 23.6
215/60 24.2
To keep the same dia. in a wider tire, other than the 195/65 you'd need to go to the 215/60. Honestly, I don't know the width of the 14" rims, and don't know whether it would accept that size nor would it not rub. My guess is that it would rub the suspension.

 

Turbonut, thanks for your reply.

My quandary is that the higher performance tires aren't made in 185/70HR14, so I'm trying to stay away from that size unless absolutely necessary. I don't need the latest 17" wheels and pure performance tires for my type of driving, but I don't want to end up with hockey puck passenger-car tires either -- I'm trying to find a sweet spot to increase performance without buying new wheels or rubbing against the suspension. I'm going to pull the beast out of the garage and take a close look at how much clearance I have now with the steering at full lock; maybe that will be a clue. It seems that with other folks putting on ultra-wide tires and wheels that I should have enough room to move up one size without problems..................

Any further comments?

 

Yep, you will be fine running 195/65 tires. The max you could run on stock 87 rims would be 205/60. You will probably get better handling performance from the 195/65s, not to mention that overall diameter is closer to stock than 205/60s.

 

Rynberg, thanks for the info.

I think I'm going to go with the 195/65HR14's within the next week--need to get this done to take the RX on vacation in mid-August, and to the Indy drag races over Labor Day weekend.

Now that I've got the size down, any thoughts on tire selection?