Swapping tires P195/65/R15 to P185/65/R14

[greenquark]

I have these tires in my car :



And they are P195/65/R15


A friend of mine gave me 4 tires ( no rims) :-->


P185/65/R14

I just found out my honda accord DX 1990 manual recommends the size:
185/70/R14


My questions are:

Do the P185/65/R14 fit in the rims I have my car on? ( P195/65/R15)

If no:

What would be the best course of action without spending too much money?

Thanks!!

[willbill642]

Nope, let me explain why.

For the tire sizes, you get three numbers. The first is contact patch width, which is 195 on the tires currently on your car. Then there is aspect ratio, which tells you how tall the tire is in relation to the contact patch. This is 65. The last number is rim diameter, which is 15 on your current tires. Now, generally speaking you can go up or down on the first two numbers so long as the last one is the same; you might lose out on handling and speedo may be off, but overall is possible so long as they aren't too wide or too narrow for your rims.

Unfortunately, your new tires use a 14" rim while the current ones are mounted on 15" rims. To use them, you'd need new rims. The cheapest way is either find a set of OEM rims on craigslist or at a junkyard. Expect to pay $100-$300 for 4 rims. Steel wheels will cost you less, and can likely be had for a set of 4 for under $100.

[greenquark]

Thank you man!

So I have two choices:

1. Buy four rims OEM that could fit the new tires

2. Buy four tires that could fit my actual rims ( they are honda's )

What would be the better choice?

And one more question:

the P195/65/R15 tires rolling instead of the recommended 185/70/R14 , do not do any harm to the car's transmission, etc ?

Nope, let me explain why.

For the tire sizes, you get three numbers. The first is contact patch width, which is 195 on the tires currently on your car. Then there is aspect ratio, which tells you how tall the tire is in relation to the contact patch. This is 65. The last number is rim diameter, which is 15 on your current tires. Now, generally speaking you can go up or down on the first two numbers so long as the last one is the same; you might lose out on handling and speedo may be off, but overall is possible so long as they aren't too wide or too narrow for your rims.

Unfortunately, your new tires use a 14" rim while the current ones are mounted on 15" rims. To use them, you'd need new rims. The cheapest way is either find a set of OEM rims on craigslist or at a junkyard. Expect to pay $100-$300 for 4 rims. Steel wheels will cost you less, and can likely be had for a set of 4 for under $100.

[Fleetw00d]

Thank you man!

So I have two choices:

1. Buy four rims OEM that could fit the new tires

2. Buy four tires that could fit my actual rims ( they are honda's )

What would be the better choice?

And one more question:

the P195/65/R15 tires rolling instead of the recommended 185/70/R14 , do not do any harm to the car's transmission, etc ?

No, they will not harm your transmission. The DX and LX coupes and sedans originally came with 5 x 14 steel wheels with 185/70/R14 tires. EX and SE came with 5.5 x 15 aluminum wheels of various styles (17, 12, or 6 spokes) with 195/60/R15 tires. LX wagons came with 5.5 x 15 steel wheels, EX with 5.5 x 15 aluminum wheels, both with 195/60/R15 tires. If you do the math, the outside diameter of both tires is almost identical, so it won't make a difference either way to the transmission. The wheels you have are from a 5th generation EX (I believe).

All that said, your car will likely handle a little better with the 15 inch tires/wheels than the 14s because of the slightly wider, lower aspect ratio tires. The 195/65/R15 you have are slightly taller than the 60 aspect ratio tires and may show up as the speedo reading at little slow. I am running 195/65/R15s on EX 5.5 x 15 12 spoke wheels on my 90 LX; my speed reads within 1 mph of my GPS at 70 MPH.

Your cheapest option based on local U Pull prices would be a set of 14 inch steel wheels, about $15 each (including $1 core charge). You're not likely to get a good set of 15 inch tires for that amount. How much tread is left on the 14 inch tires? You could probably turn around and sell the aluminum wheels for more than what you paid for the steel wheels.

Personally, I prefer the 15 inch tires/wheels over the 14s and have upgraded both my LX sedans with EX wheels.

[willbill642]

Thank you man!

So I have two choices:

1. Buy four rims OEM that could fit the new tires

2. Buy four tires that could fit my actual rims ( they are honda's )

What would be the better choice?

And one more question:

the P195/65/R15 tires rolling instead of the recommended 185/70/R14 , do not do any harm to the car's transmission, etc ?

Better? Or cheaper? If I were you I'd jump over to TireRack and just buy a nice set of tires for your current rims and sell the 14" tires, going with the same size as your current tires. However, this definitely isn't the cheapest but is the best IMO. fleetw00d definitely covered the cheapest option, although 14" rims kinda suck especially when you're trying to get better tires. I imagine the alloy wheels you have are lighter than the steel wheels you'd be replacing them with, so you might lose 1 or 2 mpg as well.

[PakaloloHonda]

Personally, I prefer the 15 inch tires/wheels over the 14s and have upgraded both my LX sedans with EX wheels.

With a smaller rim/tire, will he suffer any loss in gas mileage? Albeit minimal?

[greenquark]

Hi there. Today I went to a scrap yard looking for 14 inch rims. I could not find any. The guys there told me they are harder to find

He also told me any 4 bolt rim will fit on my honda accord. I find that hard to believe. Can anyone guide me what 4 bolt pattern my fit my car ?

[Fleetw00d]

With a smaller rim/tire, will he suffer any loss in gas mileage? Albeit minimal?

The 185-70/R14 tire has a tall enough sidewall that it makes up for the 1/2 smaller radius of the wheel so that it is virtually the same diameter as a 195-60/R15 (stock size for EX) so it won't affect mileage. I guess the 14 inch tires will be slightly smaller than his 195-65/R15s, so the engine will be turning a little faster for any given actual speed. Unless he tracks his mileage very closely, he probably won't notice.

Hi there. Today I went to a scrap yard looking for 14 inch rims. I could not find any. The guys there told me they are harder to find

He also told me any 4 bolt rim will fit on my honda accord. I find that hard to believe. Can anyone guide me what 4 bolt pattern my fit my car ?

The bolt pattern is 4 x 114 mm - I don't know the OEM offset though and without a lot of searching myself, I can't tell you other car models that would have similar wheels.

[sonikaccord]

The OEM offset is either +50mm or +55mm.
As far as compatible cars, you'll have to do some searching for that one.

[cb9love]

Hi there. Today I went to a scrap yard looking for 14 inch rims. I could not find any. The guys there told me they are harder to find

He also told me any 4 bolt rim will fit on my honda accord. I find that hard to believe. Can anyone guide me what 4 bolt pattern my fit my car ?

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=205370

[willbill642]

With a smaller rim/tire, will he suffer any loss in gas mileage? Albeit minimal?

It mostly depends on weight of the wheels. If they're lighter or same weight, he'll likely gain a little due to the smaller contact patch and closer mass to the centerline of the bearing. Otherwise, he may lose a bit, but we're talking overall 1-2MPG total either way. The wind will be a bigger influence.

[greenquark]

I followed the advices...Got me 4 P195/65/R15 tires

great great great help

thanks !