Can I use a different size tire for my car.?

Question

Bougt a little junker to commute in. 1999 Daewoo Nubira.
P185/65R14 are the tires that are on them. If I wanted to buy some online that were just a little off will it effect my vehicle?
P185/70R14, P185/75R14 , So on. What exactly is the 65, 70, and 75? Could I look at something other than 185? Are there like 190s or 180s? I know I cant do anything about the rims.

Answer 1

Here we go:

P=Passenger
185= section width in millimeters of the tire at its widest part(not the tread)
65 =section height of the tire, expressed as a percentage (AKA profile or series)
R=Radial
14=Rim diameter in inches.


"Um...what?"I hear you cry.

185 is how wide the tire is (divide by 25.4 for inches.)
65 is how tall the tire is, from the rim to the tread (65% of 185mm, 70% of 185mm, etc.).

185/65/14 is 23.46 " overall diameter
185/70/14 is 24.15" overall diameter
185/75/14 is 24.92" overall diameter

"So what? BFD" I hear you cry.

The 75 series tire is almost an inch and a half taller than the 65 series tire. It will rub in the wheel well.

All P-Metric and LT-Metric tire have section widths that end in 5. There is a Millimetric Michelin TRX that is the only tire that uses this nomenclature that ends in 0 (220/55R390). This is an obsolete size.

BTW: Daewoo is no longer producing vehicles, and replacement parts (brakes, hoses, etc) are becoming increasingly hard to find, and increasingly more expensive.
Buy an old Corolla or Civic.

Answer 2

Here is the skinny. If you change tire sizes you have to be careful to keep the same tire diameter as the original tires. If not, it will make your engine rev more, or less, to get the same speed out of the car before you changed the tire size. So to keep the diameter the same, which keeps the circumference the same, and the engine rpm the same, is an easy formula, as follows:

P= Passenger tire designation
185= The maximum width of the tire at the mid bluge and not the tread. Tread width can vary with same tire width.
70- The aspect ratio of the height of the side wall from the rim to the top of the tread as compared to the maximum width. It means the side wall height = 70% the maximum width. So 185 max width x 0.70 = 130 side wall height.
R14- is the rim diameter, in your case it's 14 inches


60, 70,and 75 are all side wall aspect ratios and without the tire maximum width, they mean nothing.

If you want a 60 series tire to keep the same diameter (same enginme rpm) as your original 185-70 tires, then the maximum width size would be calculated as follows:

185 x .70 = 130
130 / .60 = 217 as the maximun width, then your new tire would be a P217-60-R14. But they don't make such a trie size. So you have to find a size they make that is as close to that new size as possible.

Go to a tire store, or amn online tire website, and find a tire that most likely fit your size. In your case it's probably a P215-60-R14.

You can use the above formula for any tire size, to got to any other tire siz,e for the same rim diameter.

There is a thing called plus 1, plus 2, plus 3, where the rim diamter goes from a 14 to a 15, to a 16, to 17 and this get a bit more complicated, but same concept of keeping the diameter the same as the originals.

Also the rim mounting width (not the tire 185 dimension) will limit maximum width size tire the rim can hold too.

Hope this helps. Go to www.tirerack.com and they can answer all your questoins and give you all the tires that will fit your car/rim size.

Good luck and have fun

good luck

Answer 3

the 65, 75, etc is the profile rating, that is the original tires are 185/65 which means the sidewall height (profile) is approximately 65 percent of it's width (represented by the 185).

So, the height on your original tire is about 120.25 mm. (.65 x 185). If you increase the profile while keeping the width the same, you'll end up with a somewhat "taller" tire, which will of course have a larger diameter. This will affect the accuracy of the speedometer and odometer. You can probably go up or down a little, but try to keep the height about the same as the original for mileage accuracy, you can do the math for any tire you're considering. The simplest choice is to just go with the original size, but now you know what the numbers mean.

Check www.tirerack.com for tires for your car, they have many options in all price ranges including review from customers.


Added note - Bill and Doobie are totally wrong the 185 is not the height!!!!!

The first answer is pretty much the same as mine, don't listen to those other two!!!!

Answer 4

There isn't a lot of clearance in wheel wells now, especially in small cars.,so you don't have too many options. 185 is the width of the tire, and 65 is the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the width. A 185/75 will almost certainly rub on every bump, and possibly on every turn. A 185/70 may be okay, but the handling will not be quite as crisp and the speedometer will read a little low. A 195/65 will likely also rub on turns. A tire shop can explain to you any possible changes, but your best bet is to stick with the factory recommended size, and go for an upgraded tire, not an upsize. Don't buy tires online, you have nobody to go to if you have a problem, and you still have to pay a shop full price for installation and balancing.

Answer 5

Tire Size For My Car

Answer 6

Here we go:

P=Passenger
185= section width in millimeters of the tire at its widest part(not the tread)
65 =section height of the tire, expressed as a percentage (AKA profile or series)
R=Radial
14=Rim diameter in inches.


"Um...what?"I hear you cry.

185 is how wide the tire is (divide by 25.4 for inches.)
65 is how tall the tire is, from the rim to the tread (65% of 185mm, 70% of 185mm, etc.).

185/65/14 is 23.46 " overall diameter
185/70/14 is 24.15" overall diameter
185/75/14 is 24.92" overall diameter

"So what? BFD" I hear you cry.

The 75 series tire is almost an inch and a half taller than the 65 series tire. It will rub in the wheel well.

All P-Metric and LT-Metric tire have section widths that end in 5. There is a Millimetric Michelin TRX that is the only tire that uses this nomenclature that ends in 0 (220/55R390). This is an obsolete size.

BTW: Daewoo is no longer producing vehicles, and replacement parts (brakes, hoses, etc) are becoming increasingly hard to find, and increasingly more expensive.
Buy an old Corolla or Civic.

Source(s):

ASE Certified Service Consultant
7 year Michelin/BFGoodrich/Uniroyal Product Expert
Goodyear Certified
Bridgestone/Firestone Certified
17 years experience diagnosing automobile-related problems

Answer 7

There is one big question. Is your car an AWD vehicle? If the answer is no, then you are OK. As long as the tires fit in the wheel well without rubbing. Disregard those trying to scare you, it really doesn't matter. The front and back wheels of a car are totally independent of each other, unless you drive an AWD car. One other exemption, if this is a new car with tire pressure sensors, they could be thrown off by this and give you error messages. Also watch it with the spare tire. This will now only match the rear tires. If you have to use it to replace one of the larger tires, do not drive more than 50 miles on it or you could have damage. Also, the speedometer will read a bit low, depending on the size of the tires, so keep your indicated speed a bit low or you may get tickets.

Answer 8

185 = width
65 = height
14 = rim size
you can put wider and or taller tires on it if the will fit without rubbing any were however your speedo will be off a small bit. Taller tires and you will be going faster then the speedo says. Shorter tires and you will b going slower then the speedo says. Not a big issue just something to keep in mind while driving to avoid tickets

Bill And Doobie have it backwards do not listen to them

Answer 9

1

Answer 10

Go to tire rack look up the tire sizes on there site will tell you everything.If you go taller it will effect the power as the taller the harder to push. Wider drag you don't have much eng to start with so best to stay with the size they come with??