15" vs. 16" wheels and tire

VinceB

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I've been told various things, that hi performance 16" tires are getting harder to get so go with 15" then heard the opposite so wondering what club members thoughts are?

Building my resto-mod and need to buy some panasport's... Seems like Tire Rack has both sizes of high perf street tires as well as comp tires (or 4 really 2 front/2rear). Don't want to have to replace wheels in 4 years because of tire availability.

Also ride quality, while I'm going for performance, the car won't be a dedicated track and I don't want to jar my wife to death over rough roads when cruising.
 

michael-king

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FWIW i think beyond 15" and you will struggle to get decent ride as you will have a very low profile sidewall and the suspension just isnt designed to accommodate that.

There is always lots of talk about tyre availability.. Fact is the performance tyres are moving to larger and larger rim dia. The average compact has 16" wheels.

On a personal level ( again opinions are like a$$ holes.. Everyone has them and they all stink) i think more than 15" and yoe are compromising ride for performace you will very rarely need or use. Also i know its a resto mod.. But above 15" and its all a bit " the fast and the furious" in aesthetics.... Again... Just an opinion and people should do what they want with the cars... But people seem to want a modern porsche gt3 put of their tiger...

I run 14" and dunlop direzza which come in 15 too .. And its all the sports tyre you could need... And probably more for most tiger driving.. Same goes for falken azenis i used to run.. But they were probably to track orientated for most street driving.. Super sticky and stiff... But bad ride and road noise.
 

CLIFF_MK1

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Well, another "stinkin opinion." I have built my Tiger to be a "Modified" Tiger, which to me means keeping the best part of then Tiger and modifying the parts that are not so good. I've got 16" rims because that was needed to clear the suspension parts (using Dale's front end). The problem you have with the Tiger is the front suspension is wide which, when using larger rims, requires a deeper back space to keep the wheel within the fender. Dale's front end is just as wide as the stock front end which continues the problem of needing a deep back space. Mine is 5", which for a 16" wheel is a lot and severely limits you to only a few available rim choices. Here's a picture of my wheel/tire combination. I don't think it looks particularly odd. I've just finished the car, so I haven't worked out all the ride adjustments. I am not convinced that 16 inch low profile tires automatically make for a rough rider. My 2002 Corvette has 275 x 40 18 inch tires, and has a very soft ride. So, I suppose one question is what can be done to the Tiger suspension to have a comfortable ride using low profile tires. Anyway, 16 inch rim and tire combinations have a limited choice for rim styles and tires. Cliff
 

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TAH_Tiger

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15" still gives a decent ride quality.
Mine are:
Rear 195/55x15 15x7 wheels 4.8 backspace (20 offset)
Front 185/55x15 15x6 wheels 4.3 backspace (20 offset)
 

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michael-king

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. I've got 16" rims because that was needed to clear the suspension parts (using Dale's front end).. Cliff

Cliff quick question... You say you needed 16" to clear the suspension parts in the Dales aftermarket setup... I assume thats for optional very large breaks? I thoght dales front end worked for all wheel sizes just depended on size of the discs used?
 

CLIFF_MK1

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Michael, let me check my paperwork and take a look at the car to be specific about the details. Cliff
 

CLIFF_MK1

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My hub and disk are 12" with 5 lugs. The caliper just fits inside the 16" wheel. Dale offers disks from 15.5 up to 13." The 13" my require a 17" wheel as it likely woun't fit my 16" wheel. Cliff
 

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