Tire Height

[89fester]

Is anyone losing any acceleration or mileage on a bone stock Festiva by going with a 14 or 15" tire that ends up being 1 or 2 inches taller than stock?

Thanks
89 L

[Safety Guy]

You'll definitely lose some acceleration due to the decreased mechanical advantage of the taller tires plus the greater weight to spin them up to speed. That's a double whammy.

I figure for a stock Festiva, the 165/70-13 ain't too bad for larger tires. They're only about 12.5mm = 1/2 inch taller.

If you want wider rubber, 185/60-13s would only be 6mm taller.

But remember with wider rubber, you'll also increase friction between the tire and the ground, which will slow you down a bit, at least on the straights.

Karl

[89fester]

No I am def. up on all the physics of rolling on heavier W/T combos, just noticed that everyone was talking about 14 and 15 inch meats, but nothing about turning them with 58hp. Or stopping with stock brakes. I want to ditch the 12's ASAP, but haven't decided on the Aspire swap yet. And I don't really want to drop $2-300+ on dual pattern 13" wheels yet. Plus there are next to no choices to keep stock height and go with 14"s.

Thanks for the good info though.

89 L

[89fester]

Tirerack numbers, just a ref. point.

The stock tire weighs 12lbs. 165/70 SR12
The 13" in 185/60 HR13 weighs 17lbs.
165/70 SR13 is listed at 15lbs.

And we aren't even including rim weights yet. So I could see how the braking might suffer some. A little taller tire will help the ride a little though.

89 L