Tires for a '90 Miata
 

It's time to replace the Kumhos on my '90 Miata. My thinking is to go up
one size (from 185/60R14 to 195/60R14), to compensate for the slightly
too-slow speedometer, and buy a set of four Sumitomo HTR A/S P01.

My questions:

1. Any wise comments on the increased size?

2. Any wise comments on the Sumitomos, or recommendations for a better
tire choice? I'm looking for a comfortable ride and good thread-ware in
an all-season (including light snow) tire, not performance.

-- Arye.

Tires for a '90 Miata
 

"Arye" > wrote in message
...
> It's time to replace the Kumhos on my '90 Miata. My thinking is to go up
> one size (from 185/60R14 to 195/60R14), to compensate for the slightly
> too-slow speedometer, and buy a set of four Sumitomo HTR A/S P01.
>
> My questions:
>
> 1. Any wise comments on the increased size?
>
> 2. Any wise comments on the Sumitomos, or recommendations for a better
> tire choice? I'm looking for a comfortable ride and good thread-ware in an
> all-season (including light snow) tire, not performance.
>
> -- Arye.

Some manufacturers make a P195/55 r14. I'm thinking that the 55 series might
be a closer match to the original circumference but I couldn't say for sure.

Chris
99BBB

Tires for a '90 Miata
 

In article >,
"Chris D'Agnolo" > wrote:

> Some manufacturers make a P195/55 r14. I'm thinking that the 55 series might
> be a closer match to the original circumference but I couldn't say for sure.

195/55-14 is a bit smaller diameter, and will make the speedometer error
worse. OTOH, if you fix the speedo via larger tires, you'll throw off
the odometer, which must be accurate with stock tires by law, for
warranty reasons.

Personally, I don't really care about any of that. I calculate the
speedo error with mileposts and a stopwatch, and pay little attention to
the odo. Actually, with 205/50-15 my speedo is almost perfect. But every
Miata is a little different.

--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C

Tires for a '90 Miata
 

On Sep 9, 8:50*pm, Arye > wrote:
> It's time to replace the Kumhos on my '90 Miata. My thinking is to go up
> one size (from 185/60R14 to 195/60R14), to compensate for the slightly
> too-slow speedometer, and buy a set of four Sumitomo HTR A/S P01.
>
> My questions:
>
> 1. *Any wise comments on the increased size?
>
> 2. *Any wise comments on the Sumitomos, or recommendations for a better
> tire choice? I'm looking for a comfortable ride and good thread-ware in
> an all-season (including light snow) tire, not performance.
>
> -- Arye.

not exactly what you are asking but if you are in the northern
hemishere, it is getting to be winter, get some nokian hakka's.
the differnece is amazing in the snow.ice.

peter

Tires for a '90 Miata
 

On 2010-09-09 20:50:12 -0400, Arye > said:

> My thinking is to go up one size (from 185/60R14 to 195/60R14), to
> compensate for the slightly too-slow speedometer

Is there a typo here?

I'm no expert but my understanding is that 185 and 195 indicate the
tread width in millimeters. In other words, you are getting a tire that
is about 2/5 of an inch wider. This may provide slightly better grip in
cornering, everything else being equal. (Tread pattern, compound
hardness, tire pressure, slip angles...)

But since they are both 60 profile I think the diameter will be exactly
the same, hence the speedo/odo will not be affected.

cheers

Don

Tires for a '90 Miata
 

On 9/15/2010 3:16 AM, Don Q wrote:
> On 2010-09-09 20:50:12 -0400, Arye > said:
>
>> My thinking is to go up one size (from 185/60R14 to 195/60R14), to
>> compensate for the slightly too-slow speedometer
>
> Is there a typo here?
>
> I'm no expert but my understanding is that 185 and 195 indicate the
> tread width in millimeters. In other words, you are getting a tire that
> is about 2/5 of an inch wider. This may provide slightly better grip in
> cornering, everything else being equal. (Tread pattern, compound
> hardness, tire pressure, slip angles...)
>
> But since they are both 60 profile I think the diameter will be exactly
> the same, hence the speedo/odo will not be affected.
>
> cheers
>
> Don
>
It's true that that 185 and 195 indicate the tread width. However, the
60 indicates the ratio of diameter to width, so it goes up proportionally.

But there WAS a typo the I was looking for good thread-wear, not good
thread-ware...

Thanks!

Tires for a '90 Miata
 

In article >, Don Q wrote:

> On 2010-09-09 20:50:12 -0400, Arye > said:
>
> > My thinking is to go up one size (from 185/60R14 to 195/60R14), to
> > compensate for the slightly too-slow speedometer
>
> Is there a typo here?
>
> I'm no expert but my understanding is that 185 and 195 indicate the
> tread width in millimeters. In other words, you are getting a tire that
> is about 2/5 of an inch wider. This may provide slightly better grip in
> cornering, everything else being equal. (Tread pattern, compound
> hardness, tire pressure, slip angles...)
>
> But since they are both 60 profile I think the diameter will be exactly
> the same, hence the speedo/odo will not be affected.

Ummmm... ...no.

The "60" indicates that the section height of the tire is 60% of the
section width of the tire (the "185" or "195" in the size; which is not
tread width, BTW), and both of these figures are nominal and not
necessarily completely precise.

So a 185/60R14 tire is (nominally!) 185mm wide at its widest point (the
tread is narrower and (nominally!) 2 * (185 * .6)/25.4 + 14 = 22.74"
tall.

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>

Tires for a '90 Miata
 

In article >,
Arye > wrote:

> On 9/15/2010 3:16 AM, Don Q wrote:
> > On 2010-09-09 20:50:12 -0400, Arye > said:
> >
> >> My thinking is to go up one size (from 185/60R14 to 195/60R14), to
> >> compensate for the slightly too-slow speedometer
> >
> > Is there a typo here?
> >
> > I'm no expert but my understanding is that 185 and 195 indicate the
> > tread width in millimeters. In other words, you are getting a tire that
> > is about 2/5 of an inch wider. This may provide slightly better grip in
> > cornering, everything else being equal. (Tread pattern, compound
> > hardness, tire pressure, slip angles...)
> >
> > But since they are both 60 profile I think the diameter will be exactly
> > the same, hence the speedo/odo will not be affected.
> >
> > cheers
> >
> > Don
> >
> It's true that that 185 and 195 indicate the tread width. However, the
> 60 indicates the ratio of diameter to width, so it goes up proportionally.

1. 185 and 195 indicate the *section* width, no the tread width.

2. The 60 indicates the ratio of the section height to section width as
a percentage


>
> But there WAS a typo the I was looking for good thread-wear, not good
> thread-ware...
>
> Thanks!

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>

Tires for a '90 Miata
 

In article >,
Arye > wrote:

> But there WAS a typo the I was looking for good thread-wear, not good
> thread-ware...

[...must...sit...on...hands...]

--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C

Tires for a '90 Miata
 

On Sep 15, 5:18*pm, Lanny Chambers > wrote:
> In article >,
>
> *Arye > wrote:
> > But there WAS a typo the I was looking for good thread-wear, not good
> > thread-ware...
>
> [...must...sit...on...hands...]

I was just tinking te same ting....