Quote:
Originally Posted by Burdekin
Yeah the 185/70 would be close but not a common size. 5.5” is the rim width. I might also get the Amazon cars 1” lower springs to go with the wheels. I have 205s on the Amazon and look great but didn’t know about that wide with the ATS rims and the 142 which has a bit more conservative style I think. Any idea what would of been a wide tyre back in the 70s for the 140s. It’s mainly for looks, what suits the rims and the car to be honest.
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The photos that I posted of my car are with 185/65 Michelins on the ATS rims with the Amazon Cars progressive road springs. Something to consider is that as you increase the section width steering resistance increases so take that into consideration if you have to do any significant low speed maneuvering, particularly if you have or plan to fit a smaller steering wheel.
In the mid '70s 185/70 was the common 'wide tire' fitted on to 140s. That may have been in part due to the fact that 185/70 was a very common tire size in the '70s (good selection) and that the profile height was very close (-2%) to the original 165/80 so the overall final drive ratios didn't change significantly. But, I think the only tires available in the 185/70 size are from Vredstein ($) and Pirelli ($$$).
Derek raises a point about tire height. This can be a consideration depending on what final drive ratio you are using. With a 4.1 differential ratio the 185/65 tire will give you a overall final drive ratio that is about the same as the original 165/80 tire with a 4.27 differential. With OD that should be quite acceptable at highway speeds. If you already have a 4.27 differential, then fitting is going to result in higher engine speeds. If you have a lot of hills / low speed driving then you may like that change in overall drive ratio. If you don't have OD / do a lot of high speed driving you may not like the increase in noise.
As you note the ATS rims are a 5.5" rim width so the 'common' application guides say that the maximum recommended tire width is 195 mm and the ideal tire width is 175mm - 185 mm. Some tire manufactures list 5.5" rims as acceptable for their 205 mm section width tires; but, when you do that both the tires contact patch and height changes and performance may change.