Tires for 14" Basketweaves

[itsonlygeorge]

I have been on the hunt for a good set of tires for my basketweaves, but I really haven't been able to find any good tires. I called a few shops around me and none of their suppliers have a full set or they are some off brand no one has heard of.

Can anyone suggest good 14" tires for weaves?

I have been looking on tirerack, tirebuyer, and a few other onlines stores as well but nothing has come up. Anyone know anything about Kumhos or the Falkens? I've read some subpar reviews.

195/65r14
Kuhmo Solus KR21
General Altima RT43 (amazon)
Falken Sn-828
Falken SN-211
Falken Ziex ZE329 (pepboys)
GT Radial Radial Champiro VP1
Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP II

195/60r14
General AltiMAX RT43
BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport
Falken Ziex ZE-912 (on amazon)
FUZION - Touring
Kuhmo Sense KR26
Kuhmo Solus KH16

I found a set of Falken Ziex ZE-312 at pepboys for a good deal, and a set of Falken Ziex ZE-912 on amazon. I am leaning towards the ZE-312 since it is a new tire and the ZE-912 is 195/60r14.

[Coyote_ar]

you may want to consider 205/60-14 aswell. i went for those since i couldnt get 195/65-14. And i love the way they look, really beefier.

[itsonlygeorge]

I am considering the 205/60r14 as well but I am unsure how it affects cornering/performance if at all. As I understand there is more body roll and sidewall flex since the 205 is a bit wider and balloons out a bit.

[Mystikal]

205/60/14 Federal SS-595 aka 595. Sidewalls are stiff enough for the 14x6.5". Find them at onlinetires.com

[itsonlygeorge]

Reviews are not so good on those tires...

[DrJosh]

Stay far away from Federals. They are just cheap.

[itsonlygeorge]

Stay far away from Federals. They are just cheap.

I want tires that will perform well for cornering and dry grip, with good wet traction and wear.

I know the 196/65r14 selection is limited, but I am not so keen to go down to 195/60r14 and I am concerned about 205/60r14 sidewall flex.

[pandaboo911]

They are good tires for the rear, but not the front. You will get lots of understeer.

I'm running falken 615k up front and SS 595 in the rear. Switching to the 595 RSR in front soon and compare them to the falkens

[Mystikal]

The Federals provide more dry grip and response than any of the tires you listed. Every one you listed has better wet grip and treadlife.

[itsonlygeorge]

The tires that came with the car were Falken Sincera SN-828. They are way too worn out to reuse, and I want something that will do better then those tires. They were fine dry, but definitely pretty terrible in the rain. I have to get new tires before May 1st since my winter tires are studded.

I was really hoping to get a tire that was better than the Falken SN-828's that were on there. I live in Maine, which means good curvy roads to drive on so I want a tire that has good grip but can also handle some weather. It is currently the rainy season, which can extend into May/June, and I want something that will keep me on the road if it's wet.

[itsonlygeorge]

I am just going to stick to stock size this time around and shop for 15" or larger wheels next time. I would appreciate feedback about these tires from anyone who has run them before.

Here are my options:

195/65r14
Kumho Solus KR21 (tirebuyer.com) $70 ea, $310 shipped
Falken Sincera 828 (discount tire direct) $70 ea $280 shipped
General Altimax RT43 (onlinetires.com) $64 ea, $342 shipped + $70 Rebate Card
General Altimax RT43 (amazon via cheap tire outlet) $66 ea, $322 shipped
Falken Ziex ZE-329 (pepboys) $81 ea, $327 (plus $40 for road hazzard, 86 install, -81 discount)

Other Options:
Tirerack has a few Kumho Touring tires and BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S for $81 ea, but 195/60r14. Nothing in 205/60r14 but track tires.

Discount tire direct has a few other options in 195/60r14, Cooper CS3 Touring, Falken Azenis RT-615K. Nothing in 205/60r14.

Thats really all I could find. I guess 14" wheels are pretty much dead. Time to find some Euroweaves.

[itsonlygeorge]

I decided to try out the General Altimax RT since they got some good reviews from tirerack and are reasonably priced. I plan to track down some Euroweaves and get performance tires next time around.

[korn]

I have the Generals; they came on my car which was used by the PO as a daily. They are a solid all around tire, and adequate when pushed.

However, I am looking for a higher performance tire, the Federals look appealing but I am seeing mixed reviews. Any more insight from those running federals on a canyon carver/Weekend DE setup?

[Mystikal]

I once set FTD at an auto-x on those Federals. 235/40/17 on an otherwise stock '95 M3. Drove them to the cords and liked the performance in the dry until they died. Wet was never better than good, they hydroplaned fairly easily once at 4/32nds remaining, and they're a little noisy. But I just looked through the 14" available choices again and there is simply no other tire that has those types of dry and handling capabilities. The entire range of available tires are very comfort oriented with the Federal being the only real performance tire in my eyes.

[korn]

perfect. Thanks. And everything says they run pretty beefy- but I assume there are no fitment issues with the 205/60/r14?

Wow- I just looked to see they are under $55 a tire!