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Problems ENCOUNTERED in moving to 13" or 14" TIRES AND WHEELS

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  • Problems ENCOUNTERED in moving to 13" or 14" TIRES AND WHEELS

    I am attempting to resolve a problem for my son and his 1993 Festiva GL. He needs new tires and the original 12" units seem to be very scarce and very expensive. I have read where owners have moved to larger WHEEL sizes. After exploring this move, I note that several things need to be known.

    1. Number & Size of the wheel studs. I assume 4 studs & 12mm x 1.5mm

    2. The spacing of the STUD HOLES in the wheels. I assume 114.3mm and NOT SURE HOW THEY MEASURE IT. Is it the center of one hole ACROSS to the center of the opposite hole? OR, is it from the center of one hole to the center of the next adjacent hole? Is there a website where this information is available in a comprehendible way? One place I found indicated 4"on 4.5" centers. Other sources? What is the real answer?

    3. The center of the wheel has a hole in it and I guess it is known as the CENTER BORE and from what I can determine, that is supposed to be 59.6mm. Can someone with a manual confirm this? Hope so.

    4. Apparently, the OFFSET of the WHEEL is of major importance and I have no idea if Festiva wheels are offset or not. If they are, what is the offset?

    5. Wheel width seems to be important and I do not have the Service Manual available to me (my son has it and he is unavailable at the moment) to determine the recommended wheel width. I guess I need to know this.

    After I have determined the above information (hopefully, someone will respond with accurate info) does anyone know where I would find a chart that lists the needed information for used cars that I could find in a Used Auto Parts Lot? I would like to buy compatible used wheels instead of new ones.

    I found this site: http://adaptitusa.com/referencebook.htm

    The site seems to be lacking critical info. It has Make, Model & Year and Bolt Pattern, Lug Size and Center Bore Information. No mention of OFFSET.
    Need to know the Offset as it impacts proper fit and handling.

    After the wheel selection is determined, and the proper Make, Model and Year selected and a visit to the bone yard yields the needed wheels, we then move to TIRES.
    What size of tire is needed for the new wheel (whether 13 or 14 or larger) that will provide good handling and NO FITMENT problems and adequate carrying capacity? Another concern is the circumference of the tire and how it affects the speedometer.

    Hopefully some of you drivers have already crossed these obstacles and can provide some insight into my problem.

    I sure hope so, the kid is running on bare wire in some cases. I just replaced all of the rear brakes and rear wheel bearings. The previous repair by someone else had resulted in very loose bearings and very worn tires.

    Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer.

    Previous 1988LX was retired and resold at 324,000mi
    Previous 1992L was sold by my other son at 286,000mi
    Current 1993 has 158,000 on it and we just put a new clutch and rear brakes on it. That's when I spotted the bald tires.

  • #2
    Discuss improvements to your Festiva or Aspire in the handling, braking, wheels and tires areas.


    The above link has some good info on upgrading to 13" wheels.

    Wheels that are known to fit well are from 1988 to 1994 Hyundai Excels. 1990 to 1994 Hyundai Scoupes and 1986 to 1989 Mazda 323 wheels will fit too. These are 13" x 5". There are many other wheels which will work, but I can't think of which cars they are from at the moment.

    All the above wheels have a 4x114.3mm bolt circle. The same as a stock Festiva. The centerbore is larger (67.1 for the Hyundai rims, 59.6 for the Mazda) but they should work fine with some hub centric rings (some say you don't need them - http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=15032). The offset is good too (45mm). If you choose to upgrade to Aspire pieces, you will then need wheels with a bolt pattern of 4x100mm.

    A nice size tire for these rims is a 165/70-13. The overall diameter is about 1/4" larger than stock (145/80-12). Tire rack.com has some Sumitomo HTR t4 all season tires in this size for $41.00 each
    Last edited by JPT; 06-16-2008, 09:27 PM. Reason: Addition
    Festiva: Because even my dog can build a Honda.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    '90 L. B8ME/Kia Rio 5 speed. Rio/Aspire suspension swap. :-D
    '81 Mustang. Inline 6, Automatic.
    '95 Eagle Summit Wagon. 4G64 Powered.

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    • #3
      I'm running the early Mazda alloys (13"x5") with 185-60-13 Sumitomo HTR 200's. These are very close to the same diameter as the stock 12" tire.

      You can see pics on my Cardomain page or in the 'garage' section of this forum (mine's #5 on the list).
      Last edited by fastivaca; 06-17-2008, 12:04 AM.
      Ian
      Calgary AB, Canada
      93 L B6T: June 2016 FOTM
      59 Austin Healey "Bugeye" Sprite

      "It's infinitely better to fail with courage than to sit idle with fear...." Chip Gaines (pg 167 of Capital Gaines, Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff)

      Link to the "Road Trip Starting Points" page of my Econobox Café blog

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      • #4
        i have been thinking about this upgrade for a while now, if only for the ease of getting new tires compared to the stock 12". But, does anyone know if having 13's actually improves the ride and handling at all? Or is it just a good upgrade for cheaper and easier-to-obtain tires?

        Mark
        If it has boobs or wheels, sooner or later you're going to have trouble with it.
        Mark S.

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        • #5
          deathegg: Upgrading to 13" wheels may or may not improve ride quality but will definitely
          improve handling because any 13" wheel is wider than the stock 4.5" width. You will now
          be able to fit a wider tire, Wider tire = bigger contact patch = more traction (grip). As
          for comfort that depends on the tire side wall height. A shorter that stock side wall
          (175/50 R13) will give better response in exchange for a harsher ride. A taller side wall
          will feel mushier but take bumps with less drama. You will get more road noise running 13"
          do to the wider tire. Using a 14" is the same deal just more magnified. - Chris
          Nothing says "triumph of enthusiasm over physics" like a Front Wheel Drive race car.
          - Dennis Grant
          FarNorthRacing.com

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          • #6
            I am still waiting to find out about the "Offset" for a Festiva wheel.
            Do they have an offset?
            If so, how much is standard?
            Regards,

            Comment


            • #7
              I believe its a +40 offset.
              Search Master - Honorary Member of Midwest Festiva Inc., Gulf Coast Chapter

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              • #8
                I have 14x6 wheels with +38 offset. I run 195/45/14 tires on a lowered car without any clearance issues at all.
                Brian
                http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2274977



                93 GL modyfied!!!
                :fish:

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                • #9
                  I got 15x6.5...had to put a 1/2 inch spacer in the rear and it looks sweet! The wheels fill the wheel wells perfectly and I got 190/50/15....basically the speedo will show me going 60 MPH but in fact the real speed should be 64 MPH. So making long story short, the wheel height is almost the same as the 12" originals but with more class, less expense and way better ride....

                  Ski
                  Ski

                  1986 Ferrari Testarossa
                  2002 BMW 745i
                  2002 BMW 325i
                  1989 BP'd Festi :p

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by 25Horseplay View Post
                    I have 14x6 wheels with +38 offset. I run 195/45/14 tires on a lowered car without any clearance issues at all.
                    I will have the same setup soon hopefully.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      With the thirteens I just put on my car I noticed a huge handling gain. The ride quality is improved in some aspect but lost in others. Small cracks in the road arn't an issue because the wheel just rolls over em now, But large bumps are felt more due to the lower profile.


                      -Scott
                      Aqua 93 L
                      Razor Red 09 F-150 XLT
                      White 06 Ford Escape XLT

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                      • #12
                        I've put "TEMPTEST Touring SR" 155/80-R13's on my car, with steel rims (uncertain origin.. they were "gimmee's")which have a +38mm offset, and there's plenty of clearance between the tire & the lower spring perch at the rear shocks (typically where you'd encounter an interference issues). Bought the tires at NTB, they were $33.00 each, installation & balance were of course extra. The good thing about these tires is, they're a standard "touring" type tread, not a M/S combo tread. Max cold is 44 psi, but I run these at 40. Very good ride quality & quiet!!

                        Focustiva: Because I was told it was was impossible to fit a Focus bumper on a Festiva.
                        In memory of Dean Allen - V8 Festiva 1955-2010

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                        • #13
                          I found these American Racing wheels:



                          Any idea how a 5.5" width wheel with 35 offset will do on a festiva?

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Arnie View Post
                            I found these American Racing wheels:



                            Any idea how a 5.5" width wheel with 35 offset will do on a festiva?
                            The size & offset are good, but on a stock Festiva they won't fit. They list a 4x100mm and 4x108mm Bolt circle (108mm is 4.25"). A stock Festiva has a 4x114.3 bolt circle (4.50"). If you do the Aspire swap, they would fit. The 4x108 bolt circle would fit a Ford Focus or Contour.

                            I just discovered that they offer the same rim with a 4x114.3mm bolt circle. These are the ones you want for a stock Festiva.



                            Too bad they don't come with a dual pattern bolt circle of 4x100mm and 4x114.3mm. Then you could reuse them if you eventually do the Aspire swap.
                            Last edited by JPT; 06-21-2008, 08:18 AM. Reason: Addition
                            Festiva: Because even my dog can build a Honda.
                            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            '90 L. B8ME/Kia Rio 5 speed. Rio/Aspire suspension swap. :-D
                            '81 Mustang. Inline 6, Automatic.
                            '95 Eagle Summit Wagon. 4G64 Powered.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Wheels

                              I have some very nice American Racing Estrella wheels, 14 x 6", part # 95-4616 from www.tirefactory.net, which are both 4x100 and 4x114.3; haven't got them on yet though. Offset is 35mm. I expect them to work fine. I'm mounting Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum tires on them, which are very good quality tires (BMW-worthy).

                              They have 13" versions too, but not with the right dual bolt circles.

                              One question though: what are "hub centric rings"; what do they do; do we really need them?
                              Last edited by TominMO; 11-18-2008, 12:57 PM.
                              90 Festy (Larry)--B6M (Matt D. modified B6 head), header, 5-speed, Capri XR2 front brakes, many other little mods
                              09 Kia Rondo--a Festy on steroids!

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