winter rims

bulaian · Post by **bulaian** » August 14th, 2005, 6:10 pm

I just found a nice deal on winter steelies with rubber on them. They are 195-55-15 though. I was just wondering how much this would effect my spedometer rating, seeing as the stock ones are 205-55-15.

I guess I would be travelling faster than my spedometer says?

V8KOMX3 · Post by **V8KOMX3** » August 15th, 2005, 12:35 am

it wouldn't affect your speedo

95 rs · Post by **95 rs** » August 15th, 2005, 9:48 am

yes it will effect your speedo, u would need 195/60r15 tires because what the 195 is the width and the 55 is a percentage of the width so obviously the 195 tires will be a bit smaller then the 205s thus making it spin alot quicker so u sill be going faster then what the speedo says

neutral · Post by **neutral** » August 15th, 2005, 11:01 am

Agree w/95 RS except that you should be able to use the 195's for winter I'd think. The overall tire dia. difference is small @~.5 inches/12-13mm between the two sizes. The slightly smaller 195's will turn ~30 - 50 more tire-revolutions-per-mile than the 205's. That translates to a dif of up to ~5% faster speedo reading than you would actually be travelling. Not a showstopper preventing you from getting winter use out of them but something to be aware of. With the 195's on, you could always drive a measured mile @60mph to see if 60 seconds elapses (more or less) (or meas. km etc.) and then you can calculate the actual difference between true speed and your speedo reading.

Nd4SpdSe · Post by **Nd4SpdSe** » August 15th, 2005, 12:58 pm

This could be handy:
http://miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

In that case, neutral is completely right, they are 4.9% larger than stock, so your speedo is showing slower than what your really travelling

bulaian · Post by **bulaian** » August 16th, 2005, 1:47 am

thanks for the reply, and excellent calculator.

I think I would be safer having my spedometer reading 1.8% too slow than 1.4% too fast with 195/60-15

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » September 13th, 2005, 5:57 pm

Are there any issues with mounting 185/60/R14s on stock 14s other than the effect on the spedometer reading?

mycarhatesme · Post by **mycarhatesme** » September 13th, 2005, 6:56 pm

not that im aware of.

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » September 13th, 2005, 11:12 pm

Thanks. I finally got an answer. I thought so myself, especially since a narrower footprint would give me better snow traction, but I like to double and triple-check before doing something. It may even reduce the bad aftertaste of having to pay $90 for a window actuator @ the stealer lol.

mycarhatesme · Post by **mycarhatesme** » September 14th, 2005, 3:26 pm

i use the 185/ 14' for my winters as well...no problems at all. i use 185/14' for the summer too..cause im broke

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » September 14th, 2005, 5:24 pm

I'm broke too, but I got rid of one of my Jettas (the clutch was gone and the body was almost as bad), that had nice GTI rims with good winter tires. My mom's getting the rims for her Golf and I'm keeping the rubber. The trick is just to keep an eye out for cheap deals, do lots and lots of shopping around and you can still have some of the nicer things in life without splurging too much.
The trick is to anticipate your needs and do your shopping around well ahead. That's how I got my little mx lol.

mycarhatesme · Post by **mycarhatesme** » September 14th, 2005, 11:23 pm

preach on brother...... if u come across anything...i need a whack load of parts for my ride.

lemme kno

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » September 14th, 2005, 11:56 pm

Rule#1: Don't buy anything or get any repairs done @ the stealership. Here's a couple examples:
Windshield weatherstripping for a 1986 Jetta @ the VW dealership: $220
Same weatherstripping from an aftermarket supplier: $20

Stock cat from the Mazda dealership 325 or 375+tax (i forgot the exact price) just for the part.
A universal cat and some custom pipe bending/welding: $200 installed
(And had they used a normal alloy, I could have fixed the problem with a $20 mig-weld lol)

I don't mind spending money on my needs, people I care about or having a good time, but I'm against just throwing it away

mycarhatesme · Post by **mycarhatesme** » September 15th, 2005, 11:58 am

im looking to get my exhaust re welded, cause the guy before me apparently used some JDT stuff, its like a cement compound...so, id like to get that welded instead, cause i hear a air leak when i hit the gas and i lose all my power...after everything is welded, i wonder how different the car will ride..

should be interesting.......how much u figure that will run me.

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » September 15th, 2005, 4:58 pm

$10 -- Coathanger (not worth the $$$/time)
$20-30 -- MIG (probably the best alternative for the MX exhaust system)
$30-40 -- Arc (the metal's too thin, so an arc-weld may even puncture some additional holes)

Those prices are in CDN dollars, in the greater Toronto area, based on the occasional welds I got from my regular mechanic and another guy I go to for minor stuff (like tire balancing) when my mechanic's too busy. They may use some muffler cement over the weld just to make sure it doesn't leak. Also the mechanic may tell you that you will need to replace the muffler/pipe/cat, whatever the guy patched. If the muffler cement already did the trick for a while, you may wanna try just filing/sanding some of it off and then putting on a new coat. It's cheap, it's easy, it's fast and it might just do the trick.

Edit: If it's easy to reach with a wire brush, use it first to remove the loose cement, then sand it (medium grit should be ok), give it a quick wipe with a damp rag/paper towel and put on some cement.